Tank mates for my Beautiful Betta!

[Casper23]

Hi everyone! This is my first time posting, I am trying to get some answers on possible tank mates for my Betta. Currently I already have my Betta (obviously) he’s a male Halfmoon. I also have 5 peppered Cory catfish, 2 ghost shrimp, and 2 nerite snails. They are all super happy and comfortable in my Topfin 29 gallon tank. What I am wondering is, if I wanted to add more shrimp, snails, or Cory’s how many could I add? And if I wanted to add a schooling fish like tetras how many should/could I add. I am wanting to be very careful as to not overstock my tank. I’ve had my current set up for awhile now and would like to continue to add more life if I can. I also want to be mindful that all of my bottom/algae eaters are getting plenty of nutrients. I do currently feed my Cory’s some, catfish pellets, algae wafers and frozen blood worms. My betta seems to prefer frozen brine shrimp over anything else. He sometimes tries to bite at the catfish pellets. However, It’s hard to get him to eat anything other than the brine shrimp. I would love any insight or recommendations! I’m fairly new to this hobby so I’m doing as much research and planning as I can to ensure my aquatic babies have the best life ever!

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Bettas are not community fish and a male will set up a territory claiming the entire tank as his own. He might not be bothered with bottom dwelling catfish, but any fish that is brightly coloured and swims in the middle or upper parts of the tank will probably be considered an intruder and killed.

I would not add anymore types of fish. If you want to increase the number of Corydoras, you could add a couple more of them and 4-6 more shrimp.

 

[Casper23]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Bettas are not community fish and a male will set up a territory claiming the entire tank as his own. He might not be bothered with bottom dwelling catfish, but any fish that is brightly coloured and swims in the middle or upper parts of the tank will probably be considered an intruder and killed.

I would not add anymore types of fish. If you want to increase the number of Corydoras, you could add a couple more of them and 4-6 more shrimp.

Thank you for your suggestion! I am definitely trying to do some good research and make sure I keep not only my betta and current tank mates happy but also make sure I don’t harm any other fish in the process. So far my betta has done really good with the set up we have. He’s very gentle and loves to watch my Cory’s and shrimp run around the tank. He follows them around sometimes and observes. I definitely don’t want to add anything that will potentially be killed so I have been very cautious of that. I have read that plecos could be a good option as well, however I don’t want to take away nutrients from my other guys. So I was thinking of just adding a few more Cory’s and shrimp. Do you think 2 nerite snails is enough for 29 gallons or would adding more be beneficial?

 

[Colin_T]

I wouldn't add anymore snails unless you want a different species, then perhaps a mystery/ apple snail.