Can you add another fish in a 1 gallon tank with a betta?

Question

i have a male betta and was wondering if it could have a tank mate in a 1 gallon tank?

Answer 1

If you just have to have another fish, you could add a zebra danio with no problem. Too fast for the Betta. May make the Betta a little more active.

Answer 2

Not a good idea. Betta fish are rather territorial, and 1 Gal is a VERY small tank to have more than one fish in. Either the other fish will get beat up by the Betta, or the Betta will get depressed and not eat. ( This happened to me once. ) If you are considering making a community tank with Betta fish, get at LEAST a 5 Gal, however I recommend 10 Gal or more. Also, DO NOT place more than one Betta in a tank, and unless you want possibly hundreds of Betta fry, DO NOT MIX MALES AND FEMALES. I know COUNTLESS people who have had pet shop owners tell them to put one Male Betta for every 3 females.( Obviously, you DO NOT put more than one male in a tank. ) Yes, this is true and it works rather well, but these fish WILL breed, and after they spawn, you want to know what happens?
He'll chase her away like the devil himself, and try to kill her, that's what. ( Note: I got on this topic with friends before, and though I should leave this information. )

Anyhow, Betta's are rather naturally inclined to be solitary, as long as you pay attention to your Betta, it will be a happy fish.

As I said, if you insist on having a community tank with your Betta, 5 Gal minimum, and don't get any fish that even REMOTELY resemble a Betta. Depending on your Betta's personality, most fish are fine with them in larger tanks. Dont' worry about them 'immediately killing all your fish.' They are only aggresive to other Bettas.

Edit: I just remembered, please save yourself the hassle of possible disease, infection or injury of your Betta. Do NOT mix Mollies or Goldfish or anything from the Cod family with Bettas. They are SWARMING with parasites.

Edit: Obviously everybody here has highly aggresive Bettas. Not all bettas are nasty old monsters. I have a betta living very happily in a 15 gallon tank with guppies, danios, a cory, and an african dwarf frog. They all have extremely different personality. IF your Betta IS aggresive, introduce the fish over a VERY long period of time, so that the BEtta is comfortable with it.
Again, in a 5+ gallon tank.

Answer 3

1 gallon is too small to add more fish, not only because it's too cramped but because many fish that live well with bettas, like platies and mollies, do best in small schools. Having one of these fish by himself with just a betta for company will probably not be very enjoyable for him. It will also be hard to keep your tank clean with two fish in such a small environment. If you want a tank to keep a few fish with your betta, please get at least a 5-gallon tank. I personally think it's a good investment to upgrade to a larger tank, since these tanks are easier to keep clean and you can create a beautiful fish community. If you already have a filter, decorations, air pump, etc. that can work in a 5-gallon tank, the upgrade should not cost that much. Plus, your 1-gallon tank can then be used as a quarantine tank incase any ever get sick.

Answer 4

Any non violent, tropical fish that would not have long flowing fins and isn't any longer yet another betta can get alongside with bettas. regardless of if, your tank is only too small to characteristic from now on fish. you will desire to upload a million african dwarf frog or a snail, yet no longer the rest. in case you % extra fish, you will desire to enhance your tank to a minimum of a 5 gallon, then you definately would desire to upload a million or 2 small fish (a million to 2 inches in length) in alongside with your betta. Upgrading to a 10 gallon would be even extra beneficial, then you definately would desire to upload 4 small fish.

Answer 5

Honestly, I've had success with keeping bettas with some fish, and not with others and then other bettas have different opinions about who they want to live with. I've never had good luck with guppies, swordtails, tetras, etc... and it was those fish that beat up my male betta everytime! I've never tried danios and might try that myself. I also like the idea of having floating plants at the top as a hiding spot. I may try a betta again in my 10 gallon with some danios once my guppies die off. I would order one off of aquabid though, instead of going through a petstore. Oh, and I wouldn't do a tank mate in a 1 gallon. 10 gallons are cheap, what are you waiting for! ;)
Goodluck!

Answer 6

A male betta can exist with other fish as long as they are not other bettas, or other territorial fish. However, 1 gallon is much too small for a tankmate. Actually, a betta should have 2.5 gallons to himself, so already 1 gallon is quite limited for just one fish.

Answer 7

YES!!!
You could add some baby (fry) Guppy, Molly, Platy or Swordtail. These baby fish would be your Betta's' temporary mate until they are eaten by your Betta. They would also provide your Betta with lots of activity and exercise.

Anyway your Betta would enjoy the company of some food source instead of a tank mate. In their natural habitat, Betta's' are solitary fish and they would defend their territory if any similar fish came too close.

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Answer 8

To start with, one gallon is a bit skimpy for even a single betta. I wish you could go for a three or five at least.

But to answer your question, bettas do quite well with small non-agressive fish like guppies, swordtails, and neon tetras. Most of my betta tanks are ten-gallon with one male betta and a handful of the above. Note that if the guppies or swordtails breed the betta will generally eat the young.

Another poster suggested snails and ghost shrimp. This sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. I've had bettas acquire quite a taste for snail and shrimp :)

Answer 9

bettas can be housed with other fish, but not in such a small tank;
the tank needs to be big enough for everyone to have their own territory,
besides that more fish=more wastes and it's harder to maintain healthy pH levels and ammonia levels in such a small tank

I recommend several betta tank mates that I have successfully housed with bettas myself:
if you have a 10 gallon, then a small school of danios are nice
if you have a 10 gallon, then another option is an african dwarf frog
if you have at least a 5 gallon, then a couple mystery snails or ghost shrimp or combo (one of each) is always fun
I have also heard of housing bettas with white clouds however I've never tried that myself so I don't know how well it'd go;
follow the below link to learn more about betta tank mates:
http://bettas.fishjunkies.com/tankmates.php

either buy a larger tank set up, including a heater and filter, or keep your betta by himself

Answer 10

Generally not a good idea. The male beta is very territorial, and aggressive. While it can coexist in a larger environment with other non aggressive fish (community fish), a 1 gallon tank leaves little room for more that one of any type fish. The new fish will not have anywhere to go to get away from the beta, and even if the beta doesn't kill it right away, it will pick at it until it does finally die. Did you know that a male beta will even kill a female beta if she is just put into the tank with him? They have to be slowly introduced over a period of time, I can't remember if it was days or a couple weeks. It's a wonder they survive in nature!