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I've got a 10 gallon with 4 platies in it. I'm not ready to add any fish just yet but I'm just trying to figure out what else I want to put in when I do add some. So, will a male betta be ok with my platies? I've heard of the bettas nipping at guppies but not platies before. If I do get one should I get some special betta food or is my flake food good enough?

A betta will be OK with platies. A male or female, but not both.

A betta will probably be alright. It's always a bit of a gamble with bettas since some can be quite agressive and others will get along with most anything. Females usually have a higher chance of working out than males. Any food you try to give the betta specifically will probably be snatched up by the platies as well and it won't make a huge difference. Fish do benefit though from having a variety of foods so even alternating flake foods(especially different brands) can improve their health and color. Feeding frozen or live foods at least occasionally often makes them much more colorful and improves their immune system so they are less likely to get illnesses. I have 2 types of flakes and 2 different sizes of new life spectrum pellets mixed together that I give my fish for dry food and I have several packages of frozen food in the freezer that I alternate using.

We have a male betta, 7 zebra danios, 2 cory dora cats in our ten gallon tank. Actually this is our second male betta the first died, we think due to temp.. They all get along tremendously well. We feed the beta a floating pellet food. We feed the danios flake food. We also just today bought some frozen brine shrimp. The way it works the betta food is too big for the danios. That may change as the danios get bigger. From my experience it is loads of fun to see a betta interacting with other fish and swimming in our ten gallon tank. I hate seeing them in the cups and small bowls. They say they don't mind but once you see one in a larger tank. I just love to watch him.

I have different experience..my blue betta killed the two blue bar platties mercilessly. But it was due to the same color, i think.

mughal113 I think the problem you had may have been color. I also I think it might also been flash.Platies aren't to flashy but if the fins are medium to large they bettas will be threatened. The tail fin on platies even though it might have been small.