Bettas In Community Set Ups...

[jennybugs]

Just wondering what tank mates you betta fans have if you have your pride and joy in a community tank?

I've tried to research this topic via the internet and there are so many people who suggest one thing and others who contradict it

I'm clued up about peaceful fish, but just wondered what other peeps have had success with

 

[matty101]

Like was said a million times before, it all depends on your personal betta and how it was raised. If he was raised alone, then maybe introducing tankmates may upset him/her. If he/she was raised in a group and then seperated, then maybe tankmates are the way to go. Or at least try. Your betta may not like other fish in his territory and find it offensive and want to defend himself by nipping or scurrying around, chasing fish. The other fish in the tank may also stress him and thus, can lead to a bad relationship with your betta. I personally haven't had any luck with keeping bettas in community tanks. I tried bottom feeders, schools of fish, individual, and lots of other combinations, none working out to be a success. Either way, try to experiment and find out what your betta likes/dislikes and try to fit his needs nonetheless. Hope it helps! MATT

 

[Jaded12]

Like Matt said it all depends of the fish, I have personally tried bettas in community settings before and have always had different results, one male was perfectly happy in my 20 gallon with platies, WCMs and some cories, another male I had in a 10 gallon at one point with platies and he was so scared of other fish that he hid in his little hidey hole cave 24/7 and never even ate. So it really all depends, after my experiences IMO its best to just leave them on their own, or if you really want tank mates and your tanks large enough you could try a small plec (like a bulldog/rubber nose, or a clown, or a BN, no commons/sailfins they get WAY to big for anything smaller then like 75gallons) otto cats or cory cats also seem to work well with bettas.

 

[jennybugs]

That's cool. I thought as much but it's always interesting to hear other peoples thoughts on the subject. I have a betta happily living with black neons, diamond headed neons and WCMMs, altho he is very much king of all he surveys. Was just interested to see if anyone else had successes or not

 

[Bert]

Mine chases my tetras a little but for the most part he gets along with everyone. He seems much more active and happy having other fish with him.