Betta Kept With Puffer ?

[Lee-Taylor]

Hi everyone im new to the site. Just wondering if its possible to 1. Get a full fresh water puffer and 2. Would it be possible to keep a puffer in the same tank as a japanese fighter male ??? Thanks oh and one other thing because the gitl at pets at hone wasnt very helpful and said she didnt know alot could i keep african butterfly fish with my japanese fighter ?? Thanks.

 

[Chad]

There are a few full freshwater puffers so getting one is possible. However, they cannot be kept with betta. The long flowing fins of a betta is a frequent target of puffer attacks and it wouldn't be long before the betta dies of disease or stress. For the most part puffers are best kept either by themselves, with other compatible puffers, or with certain drab bottom dwelling fish. 

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

Worse plan ever. Please don't...for the betta's sake.

 

[Wildbetta]

Bettas and puffers OR bettas and african butterfly fish = big problems and is not a wise stocking decision.  Bettas and puffers do not work out for the reasons explained above in addition to the fact that some FW puffers are really small and the betta might attack it.  Bettas and african butterfly fish both occupy the same part of the water column which would lead to conflicts with space.  Either one could seriously injure the other which makes it a bad stocking idea.

 

[Lee-Taylor]

Thanks for letting me know i wont be doing it i was just wondering thats all as when i asked the girl in pets at home she seemed quite baffled and said she wast too sure. Do any of you know anything about keeping badi bafi or killi fish or even knife fish with the fighter ??

 

[Chad]

... when i asked the girl in pets at home she seemed quite baffled and said she wast too sure....

That is why we're here on this forum! Lots of experienced people who do know what to do.
 
Betta (we don't really call them fighters anymore) can be kept with most fish that do not look like they do (meaning no bright colors no flowing fins) or that do not occupy their area of the tank. I recommend not keeping them with other surface feeders (fish with their mouths facing up). Betta do great with cory though you need a large enough tank to have 5 cory. I've kept betta with smaller tetra species (no serpae or black skirt) like ember tetra. They also would be fine with a celestial pearl danio and other similar fish. 

 

[Lee-Taylor]

Thanks for that i just googled the celestial pearl danio as i hadbt heard of them and they look really nice i shall be investing in a school of these soon thanks very much again so much help from everyone i cant thanks you guys enough. Thanks again

 

[Meeresstille]

For the sake of all the fish who will be sharing the same tank, you need to have a second tank at hand in case things go wrong. Sometimes Bettas can become quite stressed having tank mates, and sometimes Bettas can become very territorial and aggressive towards the others, nipping at them and even killing them. Another difficulty I found with keeping Bettas in a community tank is keeping him from eating all the food, which leads to the others not getting enough, and him getting too much. An overfed Betta can get sick very quickly, bloating, constipation and dropsy are a big worry!