Tank Mates?

[louis_23]

is there any fish that bettas actually like to live with? i notice alot of pet shops will put neons with bettas but they seem to just sit in the back ground while all the neons are swiming around going crazy lol what would happen if you put a female betta with a male would they just have babeys all the time?

 

[Honeythorn]

Some people have had success with keeping tankmates. But neons are usually a bad idea as they are very quick shoaling fish and this stresses the betta, they are also well known for biting the bettas fins .

Corydoras are a better choice for tankmates, they are more peaceful and won't bother the betta.

Shrimp and snails are also usually fine, but with very small shrimp you have to be careful the fish doesn't eat them.

DO NOT keep a male and female together in the same tank permanently. Ever. They only come together when they are breeding, any other time they usually end up fighting eachother.

They can kill eachother just as two males will if the fight gets bad, or die from the stress of fighting or any injuries they get from it. It's a REALLY bad idea unless you wish to breed them ( and that takes a lot of research and equipment and water changes ect )

All in all it's easier to keep a male by himself if you're just starting to keep bettas. Tankmates aren't nessescary . A 5 gallon tank on his own with lots of plants and the usual equipment and he'd be fine like that.

 

[pippoodle]

i'm experimenting with keeping rice fish -Oryzias Javanicus (they have lovely blue eyes) with my betta at the moment
the rice fish are a peaceful fish anyway and the betta ignores them most of the time
he will flare at them only at feeding time when they try and come near his pellets
they grow to max 1 and half inches and like to be in groups of 6+ (have 3 at the moment increasing numbers to 6 at weekend) ,
i also have pygmy and reticulated corys with my betta
i myself wouldn't add fish tank mates with your betta unless you have at least a 25-30 litre tank as corys also prefer to be kept in larger groups
I also added the tank mates before the betta

ADDING coconut cave and Indian almond leaves weekend and a couple more plants

google pic of rice fish

Betta tank rena 30 - can just see the rice fish in there

 

[Night61]

i know a lot of it has two do with gender of the fish. males tend to be harder to keep with tank mates, either they a attack other fish, or b are attacked by other fish. tetras and guppies are usually a no no with bettas, tetras because the will nip at the tail. guppies because males confuse them with other male fish. (although i had sucessfully kept and endler guppy with one of my males without a problem.)i would assume its mainly the fancy tail guppies who are at risk of being hurt.
female bettas are a little tiny bit more laid back then there mail counterparts, they can be kept in a community tank, with no harm from other fish. i actually have three females in a tank right now with prissila and flame tetras and guppies and neither have been harmed. the females however have also been with the guppies since they were little before they colored up, so that may be part of the reason they havn't harmed the guppies.
honestly if you want to put a betta in a community i would go with a female, males need to be watched closely, and you never know if you get the crazy one in the lot. i have tried all sorts of fish with my jasper and he hates all of them but his snails. my friday however hates snails but liked his guppy companion. my other male storm has shared his tank with catfish and snails with no problem. see no one male is exactly the same.

in the end i think it comes down to trial and error with males with what you keep with them, some just don't want company, others share there home with no problems,
females maybe a little better, but then again there is no guarantee there either.
i am not sure if i helped but best of luck

 

[Honeythorn]

I agree females are a little more sociable. They like to be kept in groups and I have 8 pygmy cories an apple snail and a lonely endler in with my 4 girls. That's in a 12 gallon tank.

The bigger the tank, the easier it should technically be to have tankmates. If you get a 10 gallon for a male, then some pygmy cories would work fine.

Pippoodle those rice fish are really pretty! They remind me of my Lampeye Killifish with their little blue eyes.

That's a thought, I wonder if Lampeyes and female bettas would work? I'll never know I guess as I don't have a big enough second tank for a school of lampeyes ( I have some in the 30 gal though ^^ )

 

[pippoodle]

Pippoodle those rice fish are really pretty! They remind me of my Lampeye Killifish with their little blue eyes.

They aren't skitty neither they just swim around the tank not dart around fast like neons - i think thats another reason why they get on well with Scar - especially when he turns and flares at them they just swim away - in a sort of dopey - ok mate - way lol
He hasn't even attempted to chase them ---- yet - only the flare warning as i say if they go for his pellets - hopefully that will stop as i'm starting to hand feed him

keeping an eye just in case

 

[newfishy]

my female bettas get along with gold tetras, platys and my assortment of corys. my male bettas live alone in 5 gallons. I am terrified to put anything with them for fear of the betta getting hurt or the betta hurting the tank mate.

 

[griddlebone]

i have a few glofish in a 5 gal with my male betta and hes fine with them, but hes a pretty mellow boy. nothing really bothers him, i can never get him to flare, and he gets all pale when i show him a female, he just looks at her and loses his color, rofl as soon as i move her hes normal again. but ive had no trouble with glowfish with my bettas.