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Hi guys

my girlfriend has a male betta she's relocating to one of my 15g tanks, it's square, and it has an internal filter.

i know, and have seen bettas in communbity tanks, but ii dont really know if they can live with other fish?

theres nothing in the tank at the moment so it'll be the 1st fish in there.

i have an army of guppies i could add to that tank. but would they be safe with a betta?

Putting a betta with any fish is a 50/50 chance. However, you should probably try anyway. A male betta, as nice a fish as it is, doesn't really fill up a 15 gallon. I would try small schooling fish like neon tetras or harley rasboras. I betta and 10 little schooling fish would look beautiful. As for guppies, they could work. However, sometimes it doesn't. Guppies have long tails like bettas. A male betta could easily mistake a guppy for another betta. But you never know if you don't try.

- DJ :88)

hmmm.

for now, it'll just leave him on his own, when i can, i'll move him into a 10G i have thats lighted. and move my guppies into the 15g. do bettas like alot of water movement or not ?

thanks dj


Last edited by stuquarium at 31-Mar-2005 23:19

Bettas, male or female may have problems with other fish, I've never had a problem with my bettas and other fish but people I know have so it certainly depends on personalities.
It's all trial and error and something you need to watch as you're doing it but it can work well

what about things like bubble walls and filters?

do they prefer them, or like still water?

they much perfer still water but a sponge filter, or a internal filter on low would work well too

Mine prefer the quieter parts of the tank but some of them love to play in the bubbles, they swim up and down and through the bubbles all day, it looks so cute

depending on ur bettas agression it can or can't live with otehr fish. always take that in to comsideration when picking/or not picking tank mates. if ur betta is just right, then u can add some guppies, but an army,can't be to many though,

You just have to be careful. Watch the betta... is he overly aggressive? Does he flare at anything? Put up a mirror to him. Does he go nuts trying to kill his reflection? Try to get a handle on his personality before you think of adding tankmates.

When all is said and done, it really depends on the betta and the fish you put with it. Some bettas will eat small neons, so be wary of that. Stay away from fin nippers or anything small enough for a betta to eat.

Basically, you want something that won't be eaten or attacked by the betta, as well as something that won't think a betta's tail looks like a mighty fine snack.

However, just because danios are sometimes nippy and guppies can be viewed as potential rivals by a betta... that doesn't mean a thing. I just put my "old gentleman" betta into a 12 gallon tank. I've had Liberty for two years and have had ample time to watch him. I've had my danios for over a year, and they've been in with male guppies for several months who have beautiful, untouched tails.

Yes, you guessed it, my lovely Liberty went into a tank with three danios and three fancy male guppies. The alpha female danio decided to nip at Liberty (he just acted startled, but didn't retaliate), and then after Liberty got settled in, he grew a spine, as I like to say, and flared whenever anyone gets too close for comfort. He's holding his own.

I also have a male betta in a ten gallon with six female guppies... he only flared a few times before settling in. Now he doesn't even notice them.

And then you can take a look at my twenty gallon long... which is a betta girl community currently housing seven female bettas, black neon tetras and various cory cats. The girls don't bother anyone. They've also lived with a young BN pleco in the past.

So, as you can see, it certainly IS possible to create a community tank with a betta... gentle current is a prerequisite (or, at least, a place where he can rest his long fins), but the most important thing to know is the personality and aggresiveness of your finned friend. When you have done your personality assessment on your long-finned friend, YOU make the decision as to whether or not he is community friendly.

As you can see from my experience, you can make the most unlikely combinations possible (really... betta, male guppies and danios? what AM I thinking?). On the other hand, I always keep a spare tank ready whenever introducing a betta into a community... despite "personality analysis", you never know how any one betta will react. I have bettas that I would never even THINK about putting in a community, while I've had ones that are afraid of their own shadows.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Some would faint if they seen how my bettas are kept and what their tank mates are and they love it and have done for some months
I'd never advise anyone to do what I've done but I also agree in the fact that you should always have back up if you're ever going to try this and watch very carefully