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hi all, my girlfriend got given a Betta splendens the other week from one of her friends cos she never looked after it. i was in what looked like a small lunch box with dull pink and blue and yellow pebbles .. i felt sorry for it in there barley being able to move around let alone SWIM, so i decided to give her an old tank i had i think its proly about 60 maybe 70liters max? and added a fake drift wood piece that has some leaves on it from my excisting tank so there would be some baccteria to help kick start the tank and he started looking heaps better after one day in there starting to swim around a little (not with ease though?)..

so anyway on to my question my girlfriend would like to add some other fish to the tank now that it is set up and there is only one fish in there, just wondering what would be best for a small community tank with a male betta?

also anyone know why he doesnt use all his fins? it looks like he just uses his pectoral fins to swim?

thanks willy

There are plenty of fish that would go well with a betta.
Ive kept bettas with cherry barbs, harlequin rasboras, white clouds, kuhli loaches, and glassfish before, and none of which ever gave me any problems.

In a tank of your size, a school of small tetras or rasboras would certainly do well, provided they aren't a nippy species.

Im guessing you're betta is a long-finned male. The reason why he only uses his pectoral fins to swim is because all of his other fins have become completely deformed due to selectively bred mutations over many generations. Think about it, a betta swimming using an oversized caudal fin is like a human swimming with a king-sized bedsheet tied around his feet.
If you ever keep a female or a short-finned male(plakat), you will notice that they swim using primarily their caudal fin.

yea it is a long finned male, that does make sense..
well she decided to get some sort of tetra to not sure what type i havent seem them yet but surely thats not all you could put in there would a couple or single bottom feeder? do the male bettas tend to be aggresive only to other male bettas or will they be the same to other fish that have extravagant caudal fins with bright colours?
thanks willy

Are the tetras in a school of at least 6-8?
I ask this because even the most peaceful of tetras can become nippy if not kept in an adequate school.

As for bottom feeders, you could try otos, kuhli loaches, or even some dwarf cory species.

Keeping bettas with other long-finned, colorful fish can be risky, as they will often confuse them for another betta. IMO i wouldnt try it.

there a only three atm, she will be getting some more soon though.. thats what i was thinking, we'll have a look around at your suggestions thanks