Betta In A Community Setting

[Cossie1111]

I am currently investigating community fish choices and I am wondering if a single male betta would get along in a community tank.

The fish in there with him would be something along the lines of:

1 dwarf gourami
6 peppered corys
6 harlequins

the tank is roughly 2.5 ft.

thanks.

P.S: I wasn't sure which betta forum to put this in so if it is in the wrong place - forgive me.

 

[seizethecupcake]

I've never kept bettas with anything but cories, but I believe you'll be told that they won't get on with gouramis. Though, I must say, I recently saw a store keeping a male CT betta in a tank filled with fancy male guppies and he seemed quite peaceful

 

[Baccus]

I have kept male fighters with guppies, the trick was to introduce them gradually to each other. Guppies can be vey nippy and curious about anything new in their tank and fighters can and will attack colourful male guppies mistaking them for rivals. So I kept one of my male fighters in a floating baby tank for a few days or so until I noticed he was no longer flaring at the guppies, just ignoring them and the guppies where ignoring him. That way when the fighter got released both him and the guppies continued to ignore each other. Mind you this was a well planted 4ft tank with timber, rocks and a partial false back wall that the fish always got behind, so the fish all had heaps of places to avoid each other. I think at times fighters get a bit bamboozled by overly active fish, as most figthers prefer sedately cruising their tank inspecting different things in their leisure like a prospective snobby home buyer.

Years ago I did keep a female fighter with some dwarf gouramis and I never saw any aggression but that might have been more a fluke than actually good stocking.

The peppered cory's should be fine with the fighter my different boys have always just ignored the cory's, just make sure the cory's aren't really small when they go in with the fighter as he might see them as a snack. Right now my lovely blue fighter is sharing a 4ft tank with a couple of adult bristle noses and a school of 15 sterbai cory's and 4 adult cherry shrimp ( I am positive that the fighter has been eating the baby cherry shrimp, and I have also seen him munching baby snails).

 

[seizethecupcake]

Baccus, you've inspired me to try to keep a betta in my community tank! If all goes awry, I have an empty tank.

 

[Baccus]

Glad that you are going to give it a go, it really annoys me when friends come around and see my fighter cruising around with other fish and them informing me that "you can't keep fighters with other fish" when I ask them why (knowing full well I have kept fighters with other fish heaps of times) they all state "because they are a fighting fish and will kill all of your other fish" and that is when I have to explain again that fighters fight other males and females if they aren't ready to breed, other wise they generally are a docile fish with other tank inhabitants, just always keep them with other cruisey none aggressive fish.

 

[seizethecupcake]

Well, I've done it. I was hesitant to select a random betta (though I desperately wanted a solid white HM) and plunk him into my large aquarium, so, against my better judgment, I went to a large store I previously complained about, which I shouldn't have done, and purchased the red CT they had in the guppy tank. (Please, no flaming...) He seems very docile and friendly. The employee accidentally scooped out a lyre-tail guppy at the same time, so I took him home as well. It's been a couple of hours and I've released them into the main tank and everything seems fine. I did a water change on my fishless spare tank, just in case, but I don't anticipate any problems. My friends, when I told them what I'd done, thought I was a lunatic for releasing "that monster" into my tank. That monster, whom I've named Luck, is currently cruising amongst my silk plants. I do have one question, though...how will I feed Luck when I feed the rest of my tank flake food. Will he take that?

 

[Baccus]

Luck will more than likely have a taste of the flakes, some fighters will eat them others turn their little noses up at flakes (flakes remember have been around a lot longer than any micro pellets). My current boy will eat a little bit of flakes but really enjoys his micro pellets. So he gets an option of both, as well as live food, such as defrosted blood worms, defrosted (and rinsed) brine shrimp and mozzie wrigglers not forgetting the baby cherry shrimp that he manages to find in the tank.

Good luck with luck and hope all continues to go well with him and any other tank mates.

 

[clgklg]

I second baccus...enviroment is very important. I too have my betta in the community and he has never had any of the 'common' betta diseases. Hes been in there for four years this August. The corys seem to annoy him every once in a great while when they get too energetic but all is well besides that. Baccus - I feed him flakes six days a week and then on the seventh day (when I change the water) I feed him frozen bloodworms or brine sometimes frozen sometimes live. What do you feed? Thanks

 

[lilfishie]

I have a pk male in a community tank with tetra cories swordtails and plecs

 

[Better is Betta]

Yes what works for some people doesn't mean it will work for you. A lot of trial by error and if you got the time just a lot of observation to see how they all interact with other.
Bev.