Betta Compatibility

[Killer Smile]

Hey guys,im new to this forum and am hoping to learn a lot from here

i've always loved how beautiful betta fishes are and was wondering
i have a small pond, around 4 ft by 4ft in length and width and up to 4ft deep (though i only fill it up with a bout 2 ft of water)
i have quite a bunch of fish already,namely
10 angelfishes (only the young ones,around an inch or less in length)
5 tinfoils (only the young ones,around an inch or a bit more in length)
A bunch of swordtails (find it hard to count)
5 koi that are only around 3-4 inches long

i was thinking if it would be okay to add a few female betta fishes,like around 5 or so,or would they fight with the other fishes?

and was also wondering what would happen if i had a hiearchy of females (around 10 or so)and add a single male,will the male still bully and hurt all the female bettas? or wont do much due to the ratio of the females to the single male

id really appreciate any replies,thanks and i know the fishes in my pond arent exactly the standard common ones,but they seem to all be doing well together anyway

 

[stubert]

a pond?

female fighters should get on with most stuff tho only problems i ever have with them is with each other, not bad tho. Will depend on the individual fish aswell tho ofcourse

 

[5-star_plakat]

There is absolutely no need for fish compatibility concerns. I've raised several females in a single tank with a variety of tetras and guppies and they generally leave all other fish alone (as long as they're not small enough to eat).

 

[Killer Smile]

okay thanks but what about the question of will males still bully females even if there are more females?

 

[BethK]

Bettas and Angels shouldn't be housed together, nor male and female bettas.

If they are in a pond, what country do you live in?

Basically, I would say no on the Angel basis.

 

[Killer Smile]

@bethk
i live in the philippines,kinda warm here but its the rainy season so i guess the temprature aint that bad and why no to angels and bettas? what could possibly happen?

 

[BethK]

Both are territorial fish, bettas should be housed with calmer or less aggressive fish. There is a high chance that either species would, at worse, kill eachother.

Bettas need to be in 22-27c heated but I suppose your country is always hot lol

 

[kizno1]

I would be more worried about your current fish than adding new ones. The tank is no where near big enough for kois that get to 1M long an are coldwater so wont like to be with at the tamps of tropical fish plus ones they get bigger the swords and bettas might accidental get munched. Bettas and angels shouldnt be kept together because they will fish and the betta will come of worse. Plus bettas need higher temps of 26-30C if you rally want bettas i would get rid of all your stock and get a big group of wild bettas where male and females can live together and breed them in there. In a 4 by 4 by 4 foot pond i think you could have 5 wild males and 10 female wilds.

 

[Curiosity101]

I would be more worried about your current fish than adding new ones. The tank is no where near big enough for kois that get to 1M long an are coldwater so wont like to be with at the tamps of tropical fish plus ones they get bigger the swords and bettas might accidental get munched. Bettas and angels shouldnt be kept together because they will fish and the betta will come of worse. Plus bettas need higher temps of 26-30C if you rally want bettas i would get rid of all your stock and get a big group of wild bettas where male and females can live together and breed them in there. In a 4 by 4 by 4 foot pond i think you could have 5 wild males and 10 female wilds.

I agree long term that pond isn't suitable for the koi, and I personally think the koi may have a go at the other fish as they grow but the temp isn't really something that can be commented on as it's a tropical country and so the koi have no option other than to be kept in tropical temperatures.

 

[sampster5000]

I agree with what kizno1 said about being worried about your current fish. That is not enough space at all for what you have! Also, I would be afraid myself that the koi would eventually see the tiny betta fish as snacks. The last thing I can think of is that betta's get very stressed when there are multiple groups/schools of fish always swimming around them. You dont want them freaking out! It would be best to keep only betta fish or no betta fish. That's what I think.

 

[Killer Smile]

hmmm about the topic of water temp,i feel no need for any heaters cause as said above it always is hot here,lol we'd be lucky to even reach 26C,id be more worried trying to keep the pond cool rather than heating it up

and okay thanks for the tips,assuming i get rid of the koi,they're just small and not that expensive yet anyway,will it be better? or its really just not a good idea to put bettas in with other fish? oh and is there a difference between wild bettas and the ones they normally sell in fish stores? sorry,im not that well informed on this,the only bettas i've seen or ever had are the ones normally found in fish stores

 

[kizno1]

hmmm about the topic of water temp,i feel no need for any heaters cause as said above it always is hot here,lol we'd be lucky to even reach 26C,id be more worried trying to keep the pond cool rather than heating it up

and okay thanks for the tips,assuming i get rid of the koi,they're just small and not that expensive yet anyway,will it be better? or its really just not a good idea to put bettas in with other fish? oh and is there a difference between wild bettas and the ones they normally sell in fish stores? sorry,im not that well informed on this,the only bettas i've seen or ever had are the ones normally found in fish stores

To get bettas i would say all your stock needs to go. None of them will go well with bettas. Wild bettas arnt as aggressive and are short fined and IMO look alot nicer.
hers a few fairly common nice types
betta imbellis
http/betta.ketviet.com/imgs/collection/Nature/2007_0406April6FishPix0039.jpg

betta mandor
http/betta.ketviet.com/imgs/Post/mandor.jpg

betta raja
http/betta.ketviet.com/imgs/Post/raja.jpg

betta smaragdina
http/www.bettaterritory.nl/Coppergenetics-Bettamahachai.jpg

and my personal fav Betta macrostoma
http/farm2.static.flickr.com/1045/557147468_0f8d1c3a10.jpg

 

[Killer Smile]

oh wow,those are really pretty fish,they arent as agressive? does that mean the males dont kill each other like how the usual bettas do?

 

[kizno1]

The males might fight a little in the breeding season but they wont fight till death and will oftern jut size eachother up and the smaller one swim of. If there is a fight then there should be enough room to escape eachother. The reason betta splendens are so aggressive is because in places like Thailand they breed them for fighting so thats why they attack other fish there isnt anything like them in the wild.