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OK I've got a crazy, crazy question...yesterday I was in a pet store looking at their fish...I wasn't so surprised to see male bettas in the fresh water tanks, though I myself wouldn't put a betta in my fancy guppy tank. What upset me was seeing the male bettas in the goldfish tanks. Fantails, BubbleEyes, Comets, Feeders, one betta per tank. When I asked, the girl in charge of the fish told me that bettas make great tank mates for any freshwater tanks. I disagreed with her with the goldfish, but she insisted...So have I been educated in the past wrong? Or is she out of her mind? What can you put Bettas with? The only thing the girl insisted a Betta can't go with is another betta, duhh...So folks educate me, or reeducate me...Goldie love, Heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

You're right, she's wrong.

Doesn't that make your whole day better?

Really, though, goldfish and bettas are about as incompatible as it gets. I'm thinking Discus and Monos would be a better match. They have completely different temperature and food requirements, their behaviors are utterly incompatible, and the poor betta is unlikely to withstand the heavy filtration the goldfish requires (or, worse, the heavy ammonia generated by the tank if heavy filtration isn't used!) There are a million and one reasons not to combine them.

-Molly
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Yup, you were right on that one.
Goldfish are huge waste producers, which doesn't bode well for any betta unlucky enough to be kept with one. Goldfish are coldwater, whereas bettas like warm temps. Plus, the fish have two totally different diets, and feeding two kinds of food would be a bit of a hassle.
There are plenty of other reasons not to keep goldies and bettas together, those are just a few.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Yeah, my brother had a betta and a goldfish together... the goldfish killed the betta!!

i also saw a male betta in a pet store!!!
it flare-and-all but no biteing!
i guess some do well in other community tanks.
i saw a sign that said in a fish magazine and they were not agresive!