Betta Tankmate

[Bigd5482]

So I feel bad for my guy being all alone in his 5 gal tank I'm thinking of adding some cherry shrimp which I heard can go decent but wanted to know if there is any other fish or such I may be able to add in with my betta in his tank that he won't destroy? I was switching fish around and put 2 black neons in their while getting my other tank together and the little bugger ripped the tail fin apart of the one neon in under 5 mins so I'm not sure if that means no fish for oscar since he's a mean little bugger or if there is something I could add.

 

[rrfreak]

Guppies would probably be okay, but some bettas are EXTREMELY TERRITORIAL so you may want to watch the tank right when you put in the guppies. If the betta does nothing it sould be fine for them to live their!! (8)+-<

 

[Honeythorn]

NO. Do not put guppies in a 5 gallon with a betta. The long tails of a male guppy will be like a red rag to a bull. You will most likely end up with a tankfull of finless or dying guppies. Since he doesn't like tetras it's a safe bet he's not a passive fish. Some bettas are and you can get away with certain well chosen tankmates, but in your case I'd steer clear of them.

Also 5 gallons is really too small to add anything significant fishwise. You might want to try nerite snails, or one of the larger types of small shrimp, such as Ghost shrimp or maybe some adult Amanos. Cherries are pretty small and may get picked at or eaten outright.

Companions aren't a nessescity for lone males, they don't make very good community fish most of the time and since you clearly have an agressive one, it's probably best to keep him alone.

Adding live companions to a tank already containing a betta is a bit of a risk. They are territorial and dislike their space "invaded" by things you put in there.

 

[Bigd5482]

Yeah i already knew guppies would certainly not work because of their coloring. Was surprised though that he went for the black neon they really don't have that bright of coloring but I guess he just wants to be a loner. I'll try some ghost shrimp or amano or a few snails just to add character to the tank. He's a cool fish though so if he wants to be alone all is well

 

[mfcclc]

Snails or shrimp are about your only options, have kept both with my males and females successfully x

 

[richgroup]

I certainly would not put guppies in with your Bettas. I've had loaches and cory cats in with mine...but just like people, every Betta has their own unique personality, so it really depends on the fish...and it sounds like yours may be just fine alone.

 

[LovelyLizzie]

so i read on another site that i can put my female swordtail fish with them
is this true?

 

[Amunet]

It really depends on the betta and how large the tank is.
In a 5 gallon tank, I personally wouldn't put in any other fish w/ the betta.
But even in a larger tank, the betta could just be very aggressive towards anything put in to the tank with them. Fish, snails, whatever.
They are perfectly fine on their own and do not get lonely.
I would try ghost shrimp first. They're cheap so if he decides to pick at them/eat them, you won't be out much money.

 

[saltynay]

With my betta I stocked 2 endler males, 3 guppy females, cherry shrimp, CRS, tiger shrimp, Guppy/endler fry, pond snails, ramshorns snails, assassin snails, MTS and DTS. All in a 5 gallon and the only aggression was between two of my guppy females towards each other but nothing else at all. The betta has now moved and will e stocked with some khuli loaches, corydoras and red cherry shrimp.

 

[pippoodle]

rice fish and corys mix well with bettas as do shrimps and snails - IME

 

[Gemmylou]

I have guppies in with my betta and they are fine

 

[azulfire24]

With my betta I stocked 2 endler males, 3 guppy females, cherry shrimp, CRS, tiger shrimp, Guppy/endler fry, pond snails, ramshorns snails, assassin snails, MTS and DTS. All in a 5 gallon and the only aggression was between two of my guppy females towards each other but nothing else at all. The betta has now moved and will e stocked with some khuli loaches, corydoras and red cherry shrimp.

thats alot of fish for a 5 gal bio load, what are your readings at, mite i ask?

 

[heygetsmart]

Hmm. I truly do believe that it DOES have to do with the tank size, and just the personality of the betta.
I know that in my 29GAL planted guppy tank, my blue male veiltail doesn't have a problem with the guppies.
They co-exist peacefully [ [:

 

[saltynay]

thats alot of fish for a 5 gal bio load, what are your readings at, mite i ask?

0 of course or else the shrimp would be dead they are my early warning sign if I get a dead shrimp I know something is likely to be wrong with water quality as they are hyper sensitive to such things. The filtration is my moss wall diy filter which is the largest internal filter I think you could possibly fit in such a tank.
<a href="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=277044&hl=" target="_blank">http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=277044&hl=</a>

Now that I have my other tank I am using that same filter to run two tanks so as to avoid the tedious job of cycling or cloning.

 

[ellena]

I think the dwarf frogs can be kept with bettas-they're my fave out of all the options