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I have read up that Swordtails are great eaters of various types of Algae including the one that I currently am dealing with; RBA.

I also have a Betta splendens in that tank as well. Its a 19GAL (Tropiquarium 68), planted (of course) with a nice pH of 7.0

I was wondering on the compatibility of these 2 fishes in the same tank. A good idea or not?

Gary

Some Swords are nippy. I had a bunch of greens that I had to keep by themselves. It didn't matter what it was they'd pick at it, even an Apple snail.

Mike

Swordtails ARE nippy fish, and may nip the tail of the betta. Also swords are active fish, swimming around like they do may upset the betta. Also, on the other hand, bettas have been known to go evil and pretty much kill anything that even SLIGHTLY looks like a betta. My opinion is no.

I wouldn't do it just because I think the swords will drive your betta insane. They may nip at him, but their level of activity is MASSIVE compared to that of a betta, so I'd just avoid it and try to get a little tank for the betta while the swords take care of the algae problem...

PM/email/msg me if you have any questions/comments regarding me or my knowledge or if you want me to read a thread.

That seemed to sum it up anyways. My Betta is an unusual one to begin with, loves to swim "INTO" the current then do "cartwheels" to the other side of the tank.

He flares at the 5 Harlequin Rasboras (in the morning only) and thats about it. Generally he does his own thing in the tank.

Trying out some Otocinclus today to see if they will start with the process.

Gary

What about having swordtails with female bettas? With less fins to nip, would things be better? OR would the active swimming still stress out the girl bettas?

-Dennis

My "Lady" is in my large 55. I would never dream of placing her in with "Beaver" (the male).

In larger tanks, this setup should pose no problem, in a smaller one (like mine), it would definately have some issues.

Gary

Just to clear it up, is "Beaver" a male betta? or swordtail?

-Dennis

Male Betta. He belongs to my daughter (3). The names she gives things is unreal. I wanted to call him "VHS".

Gary

Gar,

Not sure from your posts if you already have a swordtail or not. But while they aren't bad at algae picking they are nothing compared to Mollies. Actually in my large tank I have a male sword, mollies and a female betta no problems.

The Swordtail does a fair amount of picking at the algae, but it's nothing compared to mollies who constantly attend to the plants, the only time they stop is at feeding time and err to...you know... the livebearer thing. Other then that it's peck, peck even at lights out I see then still browsing the plants.Worth a look if you haven't already got the sword.

---

Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

The best algae eater i have founder so far is the american flag fish. I got 5 of these to go in my ten gallon plated, which was covered in that green algae that nothing will eat, and they cleaned it all up. I think you should give a pair of them a try. I moved 4 of them into my 20 planted and they are doing a number on the algae in there.

Although the AFF (American Flag Fish) does eat algae well, it is *NOT* a good tankmate for betta/swordtail communities.

I had a major algae problem when I first started the hobby. I owned 4 lyretail swords, 3 axelrodi cories and a female betta in my 58gallon. I had put 2 AFF (one male, one female) in said tank, and after *ONE DAY*, two of the four lyretails were missing EVERY bit of their caudal fins, and I WATCHED the male AFF tear off the tail of a third sword! Needless to say, I couldn't get those Floridian @$$es out of the tank fast enough! They are true killifish, and I will never own them again.

Crazygar, my advice for your algae problem is to buy some Siamese Algae Eaters (Crossocheilus siamensis); they are VERY peaceful fish, will eat all but green-spot algae, and will not harm plants. I own 3 SAE's with my swords and betta, and there's never been a problem.

I hope this helps.

Do NOT put American Flagfish in with a betta.. They are known to slay guppys given a bad mood and no way I'd put it in with a Betta. What about Amano Shrimp ? (AND OTOS !)

The Amazon Nut...