Betta In A 16 Gal Tank?

[Lisa67]

I've never had an interest in Bettas because I thought they had to be kept alone in tiny bowls. I really didn't see the point. Then I came across a website that said they can be put in a tank (with other fish, no less). Yet, other sites say bettas will never be comfortable in a tank.

I have a 16gal tank which currently has 4 mollies in it. I'd love to add a betta if possible. Also, I see there are Betta Splendens and non-splendens. What is the difference between them?

 

[Dieses Madchen]

non splendens are your wild type bettas. Adding a betta to a community is really variant on the Betta. I have a betta that I wouldn't dare put in a tank with other fish, as he is very aggressive, but I also have a 10 gallon tank with 2 albino cories, a betta, and 5 harlequin rasboras, and they live in harmony. If you choose to add a betta to your tank, I would advise having a back up tank for said betta, in the event that he is not comfortable in the environment. I also found that adding bettas to a community is harder than adding a community to a betta tank if that makes sense. I had the 10gallon tank set up with the betta for a while, and I a introduced fish to HIS community. When I introduced a betta to a community with fish, he freaked......i don't know if it makes a difference, but it did in my case. Mollies are very docile fish, so I do not think they would bother the betta. You could try it and see. Some people have success with bettas as community fish, others don't. Like I said already, it really depends on the personality of the betta.

 

[Hunterprey]

+1 I heard of some people keeping them with platies n worked. I kept mine with swordtails, most of my male Bettas get on fine with them except for one. I also tried them with balloon mollies, all my male bettas tried to kill them. I "think" mollies might work though. I have spare tanks so can afford to try.

Female Bettas are not as aggressive as males and should get along fine with mollies. Plus you can keep a few of them together. Four being minimum to spread the aggression or just keep one. There are some very colourful female bettas out there.

I had 4 female Bettas that lived peacefully with 3 Balloon Mollies

 

[Lisa67]

Thank You! So, how do I determine if a betta is male or female? I assumed the males would be more colorful. Also, I should have mentioned one of the mollies is a "sailfin". I don't believe its fin gets nearly as long and flowy as a betta, but would it trigger aggression? I'm also pretty new to mollies. Up until recently I've mainly had cichlid tanks.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Thank You! So, how do I determine if a betta is male or female? I assumed the males would be more colorful. Also, I should have mentioned one of the mollies is a "sailfin". I don't believe its fin gets nearly as long and flowy as a betta, but would it trigger aggression? I'm also pretty new to mollies. Up until recently I've mainly had cichlid tanks.

Its my knowledge that you dont want to put a betta in a tank with fish that also have long finnage as this may promote nipping. I dont know if this is the case with sailfin mollies. I have never had mollies. Female betta tend to have shorter fins and are not at vibrant at males. Althought there are some very striking female bettas. The main difference is the length of their fins.

+1 I heard of some people keeping them with platies n worked. I kept mine with swordtails, most of my male Bettas get on fine with them except for one. I also tried them with balloon mollies, all my male bettas tried to kill them. I "think" mollies might work though. I have spare tanks so can afford to try.

Female Bettas are not as aggressive as males and should get along fine with mollies. Plus you can keep a few of them together. Four being minimum to spread the aggression or just keep one. There are some very colourful female bettas out there.

I had 4 female Bettas that lived peacefully with 3 Balloon Mollies

I didn't have success with a betta in my livebearer tank. It wasnt the fault of the platys and swordtails though. The betta was attacking them! I had to move him out. He is a rather aggressive boy. He is in an unfiltered 1 gallon tank with only gravel. He doesnt like plants or filters....he is a strange one indeed.

 

[Hunterprey]

Female Bettas have shorter fins(except for plakats where males also have short fins), female have that ovipocitor (white dot) next to theyre anal fin. and theyre beard (when they flair) doesnt extend as long as males. I dont think sailfin's gonna be an issue, my Balloon mollies were Lyretail.

Heres a video of my female Bettas with mollies and guppies. They come in different colours, I prefer the red ones.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Female Bettas have shorter fins(except for plakats where males also have short fins), female have that ovipocitor (white dot) next to theyre anal fin. and theyre beard (when they flair) doesnt extend as long as males. I dont think sailfin's gonna be an issue, my Balloon mollies were Lyretail.

Heres a video of my female Bettas with mollies and guppies. They come in different colours, I prefer the red ones.

what a pretty tank

here is a vid of my male playing tag with my albino cories lol

 

[Hunterprey]

@ Dieses Madchen

Yeah males can have different temperament. One of the males I've tried will chase all 3 of them at once. The other two I've tried just ignores them. I guess being in a 50gallon and a good amount of floating plants helped with the aggression.

I think Lisa will be better off with females to be safe. And Thanks, lovely male fighter you get there

 

[Dieses Madchen]

@ Dieses Madchen

Yeah males can have different temperament. One of the males I've tried will chase all 3 of them at once. The other two I've tried just ignores them. I guess being in a 50gallon and a good amount of floating plants helped with the aggression.

I think Lisa will be better off with females to be safe.

As one who has never owned female bettas, i will not dispute you on that

 

[Lisa67]

OK, a female it will be. The next question is about "top floating plants". I haven't had much luck with live plants. I really can't stand the look of the plastic ones. What do most of you use? I have silk plants in my frontosa tank but they are definately not floating.

 

[Hunterprey]

Cant help with live plants, but i usually just buy tall silk plants, remove them from theyre base stand and attach them to a suction cup, works for me. Most of them float since its the base that make them sink. They do appreciate caves too as a place to rest, I used coconut caves before.

 

[Hmongol]

One of my crowntail betta lived with 7 red eye tetra and 10 neon tetra along with some cories for almost a month than one day I saw that one of the crown tail was nipped. I'd like to say it was a culprit and not him cutting it up on edges of decors. So you'll never know, one day they could be fine another day they will nipp.