What Fish Would You Keep With A Betta?

[!Gina]

I have a 7-8 gal tank, fully cycled and ready for a betta.
I'm in the process of ordering a betta online, due to limited supplies at my local pet store. I've done further reading using 'fishprofiles.com' which some of you may have heard of and basically alot of the species they recommend to keep with betta's are conflicting..

for example; the dwarf puffer, their website says you can keep bettas and puffers together & yet under the dwarf puffer section it says you cannot.

I'm confused, i need a small fish suitable for 7-8 gal tank that'll be compitable with my male crowntail betta.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Betta*b*Happy!]

Please don't put a purrer in with a betta.

Puffers are aggressive. Head on over to the oddballs area and you'll find out!

As for tank mates, do a quick search.

To start you off here are a few to get you going.

Cories, otos, ADF's, shrimp, trumpet snails.

Some people have had success with platies and mollies.

These are a no:

Guppies, tetras, ACF's, Other longfinned brightly coloured fish.

 

[The-Wolf]

I have a 40ltr tank with 1 male betta and 6 pygmy cories corydoras pygmaeus
at one point I also had 8 glowlight rasboras Trigonostigma hengeli in there too,
but I felt this was overstocked and moved the rasboras.

 

[!Gina]

Thank you, i'll be sure to look those up. Does it matter what type of corie? etc.
I know some species will grow bigger than others and ideally i'dd like to keep them in my smaller tank, not my 30gal.

Thanks

 

[ral]

Tried cories and betta's in the same tank. A betta and 6 cory's in a 10g got along fine. A betta and 4 cory's in a 5g resulted in the betta injuring one of the Cory's who subsequently died.

In both cases, the cory's were panda's.

Bronzes might be a better choice since they grow large and hence harder to bully.

 

[emma12321]

Bronze corys can get up to 3.5 inches long and since they should be kept in groups of 3 + the tank is too small. Look out for the dwarf varieties , pygmaeus, hastatus and habrosus which grow 1.5 inchs max

Emma

 

[WILDER]

Corys all the way.

 

[splashluff]

I second getting a few dwarf cories and/or an ADF! Dwarf cories are wonderful little tank-cleaners, and most Bettas are completely passive with them because they're blandly-colored and stick to the bottom.

 

[lljdma06]

Corys all the way.

Is it me, or would a 7-8g be better served by dividing it and housing another betta? Cories like to be in groups of 3 or more, and I'm just concerned that Pygmeus, though small enough, may be too bullied in such a small space, while others may be too big for the tank. Mine have done well with my bettas, but they have 15g to hide in if they're problems. I personally prefer them in schools of 5 or more. But I guess one that's a bit more husky, like C. habrosus, might be better. Maybe a group of 5 would be ok. I would feel better endorsing this, however, if the tank was planted, as plants would be able to help with the increased bioload. It would be a pretty tank either way.

 

[newfishies]

i have kept several dwarf cories in a 5 gal with my betta, no problems!

 

[bettaBetta]

I've only kept otos with betta. There is no perfect tankmate for all betta. Otos for instance are very peacful but somtimes (usually if you don't supplement their feeding) they may attack fish trying to find anything to eat and eat scales and fins. Puffers are deffinately out of the questions. African dwarf frogs don't live in the same condiions in betta and can spead disease and are very hard to treat, shrimp are happily eated, snails often too, cories are the same as otos in behaviopr issues, tetra bite and are often eaten, so on and so forth, guppies and other livebearers are attacked by betta because they are mistaken for other betta. Mollies like brackish water and betta do not, platy are somtimes too colorful as well.The best options are well fed otos, cories and calm, dull colored platys, and white cloud minnows.

 

[osteoporoosi]

8 gallons sounds too small for a school of corys. Shrimps or a school of Rasbora maculata could work with a non-aggressive male betta.

 

[RandomWiktor]

I'd say either divide the tank and have two bettas, or have one very happy betta alone. Even very tiny fish like ottos and dwarf corys usually get around 2 inches long. Since you shouldn't have less than 3 or so, your tank would allready by stocked in just them alone, without the betta. Seems to me that the risk of fighting, extra waste, etc. would not be worth it. Besides, bettas are a solitary species, and strongly prefer having no other fish in their environment.
I would say if you get anything though, ottos are the surest shot, as they stay pretty darn small, are dull colored, and fast enough to escape an angry, charging betta.

 

[jollysue]

I know lots of people keep otos in small spaces, but really 7-8 usg is small. They are a social fish and are happier with more of their own kind. I have 10+ in a 100 usg and they are a delight to behold. Same with regular size cories. Less than 5 in a tribe is considered abusive by cory aficionados--unless he was the last one in the tank for sale. It is stressful for them to be in too small numbers. Pygmies might work. Remember the 1" per usg rule and try to keep cories at a five tribe minimum.

I'm not sure why ADF (African Dwarf Frogs) were ruled out . I can't remember, but either Wuv or Synirr keep ADF with betta. I have 3 ADF and other than maintaining a constant temperature--which your betta will appreciate too--I don't know the problem

I have Malasian Trumpet Snails in almost all my tanks and love the little guys. Even more useful and colorful is an Apple Snail. If the tank is planted, be sure to get the variety that does not eat plants. If the tank isn't planted, it doesn't matter. Apples have a flap/shield that they can protect and cover their soft side with. So even with a very aggressive betta, the snail is undaunted. Apple keepers laugh at betta. HA! (My Apple just layed a clutch of eggs. I'm gona be a Mama. My second desired breeding. First was the Trumpets. Next is an attempt at reproducing Scarlet dario dario. )

Good hunting, Gina