Tank mate for male betta?

[Barry Tetra]

I want to get some friends for him

 

[Essjay]

Bettas are not community fish, they are best kept alone. They do not need friends. If you want something else in the tank, nerite snails work well, but no fish.

 

[xlinkinparkx]

What's your setup?
I've never had trouble with betas and oto's mixed in 20Gs with plants and spaces to hide.

 

[Barry Tetra]

15 Gs tank with gravel and filler no plants

 

[Essjay]

You might get away with one of the dwarf cories; being monochrome and peaceful they should escape the attention of a betta and won't attack him. Otos really need a bigger tank simply because they need to be in a group of at least 6 and a small tank is unlikely to be able to grow enough algae to feed that many.
Dwarf cories are Corydoras pygmaeus, C. habrosus and C. hastatus and they need to be in a group of at least 10.

But you will need decor of some sort; if you don't have real plants, silk are a good alternative. They are better than plastic plants as those tens to have sharp edges which can damage a betta's fins. If you had tall ones, the leaves would float on the surface as bettas and cories prefer cover over their heads.

 

[Byron]

I agree with essjay. Male bettas are not community fish and will always do best alone, but they do need floating plants. This alone can make them "lonely" as it is stressful.

 

[Barry Tetra]

Thanks for replying. Another question, do you think 2.5 gallons tank is too small For betta? What is the smallest tank size for betta?

 

[Essjay]

2.5 gallons is the absolute minimum for a betta. 5 gallons is better but 2.5 is doable.

 

[Retired Viking]

When I had Betta I usually kept him in a 5 gallon and sometimes a 10 gallon tank alone. They do not get along with most fish and get stressed trying to defend their territory whenever a fish swims to close.I heard Betta like moss balls and I would have some live plants too.

 

[Metalhead88]

Get some plants as tankmates.