disasterfullife said:
I tried putting the betta in with the swords, the first few mins went fine. After awhile though the swords began snipping at the betta's fins and I had seen enough, I got him out of there and he is back in his old tank.
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Thank you very much for the help, but I did have one question, I was told my by LFS guy that having too clean of water will kill my betta.
In my opinion one of the reasons for dixaisy's success with keeping swords and bettas is the size of the tank. Territorialism is an issue, and a few swords just can't cover a whole 60 gallon tank. Also, if the swords are in a community tank with a variety of other fish, in my experience they will more readily accept newcomers.
My guess is that the two swords in the 10g had developed the sense that entire territory was theirs. It's possible that they might grow accustomed to a new betta, but I think you did the right thing by removing him. If you do add a new species of fish I'd make sure first that there were a good amount of hiding places and things to break up sight lines, and turn the light off at first. In time (assuming they're compatible) they'll develop a tolerance to the new species.
In terms of the other point about bettas, this is, again in my opinion, not correct. I agree with turbotiber and dixaisy. Bettas will do better with clean, fresh water, particularly as their long fins are just as prone to fin rot (if not more so) that other fish. Bettas are very tough and hardy, and they do breathe air, meaning they can tolerate poor water conditions. But, just because they can tolerate it doesn't mean that they will thrive or live happily.
You might consider buying a 10 gallon tank (around 10 US dollars), a small filter, and some dividers, and putting three bettas in, each with their own section. This provides them effectively with 10 gallons of water and will prevent them from fighting, though they will get some stimulation from their neighbors.