Bettas In A Community Tank?

[ATM]

I have 8 neon tetras and 2 platys and was wondering if a betta would be good to add to these or would the tetras nip the fins and since I want a male betta would he get stressed because of the attacking the other fish because they maybe kinda look like another male betta?

 

[xoedusk]

I wasn't able to keep my betta with platies. Betta ate part of the platy's tail fin. Ouch.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Tetras would nip betta, Betta would eat tetras (if small enough) and either the betta would kill platy or the platy would kill betta, most likely betta thinking its something bright and betta getting angry and defensive. The only thing I would keep with bettas are plecos, corydoras and WCMM

 

[DarkEntity]

I have 3 Bettas in a community tank with Neons and Penguins and the tetras dont bother the Betta and the Bettas dont bother the tetra. I think its more luck that a def no no tbh

 

[Tommy Gunnz]

The problem with betta fish is that they actually tend (I repeat, TEND) to preffer smaller tanks and can actually be stress by living in a huge (relatively) body of water. They are also going to be more aggressive to other fish that have large fins and will nip/fight with them. Your platties may fall into this catagory.

I really do not think that your neon tetras would be a super huge problem for a betta, but I also agree that a definate answer to if a betta would be ok in your tank would be hard to come by. I have heard some pretty big horror stories about keeping male betta fish with females as well, so it is absolutely true that it could, or could not work out. If you are intent on having a betta fish, maybe you could try it out and if it didnt work, find a nice 3 to 5 gallon tank for him to live alone in. It would be the best comprimise I could think of.

 

[dwarfgourami]

There are two problesm commonly associated with male bettas:

their long flowing fin can prove a temptation to fin-nipping fish- your neons may or may not fall into this category

they are highly territorial and may attack any fish they mistake for another male betta- your platies may fall into this category because of their size and bright colours

Hard to tell. Unpredictable. If you go for it, I would have a spare betta tank on standby so you can whip him out quick at the first sign of trouble.

 

[jeffm1000]

Can you point me to some research that has shown Bettas can be stressed by a huge body of water? I have a betta in a 30 gallon community tank and would like to know if it's not good for the fish.

The problem with betta fish is that they actually tend (I repeat, TEND) to preffer smaller tanks and can actually be stress by living in a huge (relatively) body of water. They are also going to be more aggressive to other fish that have large fins and will nip/fight with them. Your platties may fall into this catagory.

I really do not think that your neon tetras would be a super huge problem for a betta, but I also agree that a definate answer to if a betta would be ok in your tank would be hard to come by. I have heard some pretty big horror stories about keeping male betta fish with females as well, so it is absolutely true that it could, or could not work out. If you are intent on having a betta fish, maybe you could try it out and if it didnt work, find a nice 3 to 5 gallon tank for him to live alone in. It would be the best comprimise I could think of.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Can you point me to some research that has shown Bettas can be stressed by a huge body of water? I have a betta in a 30 gallon community tank and would like to know if it's not good for the fish.

There are plenty of accounts if you look, but again, it depends on the individual. The basis is, being highly terratorial, having a large amount of territory to defend plus a lot of finnage means stressed and tired individual.

 

[tetraman]

I also have 8 neon tetras and 2 platies, among other fish, and I was told that they would nip a betta.

 

[Kiwigirl]

I have a betta and neons, I gave temp accomadation to a couple of platys while my friend cycled their tank neither the platys or the neons bother the betta and vise versa. They are in a 17g tank.

In saying that my betta is a female not a male. I have my male in a 3g tank on his own.

 

[Lynden]

My little brother has a male Betta in a ten gallon, along with a few other fish. He is only 6 years old, so I supervised. We tried Neon Tetras, but the Betta killed them all

I would reccomend getting a 5 gallon tank for the Betta. Make sure to have something he can interact with, or else he'll get bored and begin blowing bubbles

-Lynden

 

[xoedusk]

I would reccomend getting a 5 gallon tank for the Betta. Make sure to have something he can interact with, or else he'll get bored and begin blowing bubbles

Bettas blow bubbles to keep his future girlfriend's eggs safe. It's a bubble nest. It's not because he's bored.