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I was wondering if a betta would be a good community fish? The only othere fish in the tank are 4 glass catfish.

im not an expert with betta...but generally, the male ones r not specially if there r other fish resembling them(flashy fish, coloration, finnage, etc)...but there r some people who had succeess mixing it with the community tank.

in general....commercially bred ones can mix with other fishes that do not have the similar finnage colour or length...but the wild bettas....wont mix at all

In my tank I don't have colorful fish( exept the betta). so it's okay to put them in community.

I've got a male betta with 15 harley rasboras and 4 yo-yo loaches. he definetely chases some of the harleys sometimes, but nothing too bad. You should be fine. As long as you dont have any gourami or paradise fish or florida flagfish (or another betta for that matter, but that goes without saying... )

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Back in the saddle!

My experience with bettas has been this. Except for one they've all sulked over the slightest bit of water current. Other people have better luck, bettas are a "it depends" fish each one is different behavior wise.
As was said you generally dont want to mix with fish with similar finnage, or with fish that also enjoy a nip at flowing fins.

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Would a gourami not be a good mix with a Betta? Gourami have rather stumpy fins ...

Thats a good question fishy I don't know. why are they not good companions for bettas.

Other gouramis could work. However, if they are more inclined to hang out at the top of the tank (as many gouramis and many bettas are likely to do), then you might run into some aggression.

If you decide to get a betta, I would recommend going to small LFSs. They are more likely that large chain LFSs to have bettas in community tanks. These bettas, while more expensive, are more compatible with other fishes and filtration.

If you decide to not take the risk, I would recommend getting more glass catfishes, if you have room, because with them, the more the merrier.

Just as cory said, I wouldn't chance mixing the two because of similar habits and behavior. Gourami are slow moving and are non-schooling, they are top-mid dwellers, just like bettas. My point here is that if a betta were to lunge at or show aggession towards some speedy schooling fish, the stress wouldnt be too bad - the schoolers would school tightly and find safety in numbers, and could also swim away quickly. Any agreession between a betta and a gourami - just thinking about their behavior and habits - would be more likely to result in actual fighting and perhaps physical injury. I'm sure it can be done, but IMO I wouldn't chance it.

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Back in the saddle!

I wouldn't mix the Betta's with other fish, especially Gourami's.


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