Bettas In Community Tanks

[Squishee]

Hi there,

I'm new to the world of fish. I recently bought my first tank from ebay, a 10 gallon one, made by fluval. It came with an airpump, heater, filter, gravel, ornaments, fake plants etc. It has been set up and cycling since 27th May and I'm just waiting til my room is finished getting decorated before I get my fishies as it'd be too stressful to move them. It is sitting at 26C.

I have my heart set on getting a pretty male betta and some other pretty little fishies as I think it'd look great in my new room and as I work in a petshop, I'm my interest has grown in them. I know that you've got to be careful with male bettas in a community tank though.

Most sites I've read have said that they should, theoretically get on with platys and swordtails, would you agree? I liked the look of plecs (specifically the clown pleco that only grows to 4"), but is my tank a little too small for that? I suppose I could get some pygmy corys instead (although I personally don't think they're very pretty lol)

If they're all compatible, how many platys, swordtails and corys would I be looking at getting to go along with my betta? I don't want to overstock! Do you have any other suggestions as to what you can keep with a betta, bearing in mind I want quite a bright, pretty tank? I know guppies and tetras aren't recommended.

Thanks!

 

[lordofthesea]

platys and corys are fine swordtails are not. they get very big, are fast swimmers and can be aggressive. avoid guppies aswell. they are mistaken for bettas by real bettas and get beaten up.

 

[bauhaus]

Corydoras would be fine with a Betta!!!

 

[Bebobb]

Corries will be fine, but try to avoid any fish that get fin nippy, like tetras. Some platy would be nice. You could have a harem of them (1 male to 2 female) and when the female drop the fry the betta could have a large snack. I hope you don't think that is too cruel, but I would do it. Avoid the guppies and mollies. The guppies and betta would fight, though you could drop the betta and have a live bearer tank, but then you would have a lot of fry. And I thought about a swordtail, single male, to add to my tank, in signature, but I decided against it because I thought he would get cramped since he can swim so fast and gets to 5 inches.

EDIT: Had tto fix some spelling.

 

[saltynay]

If you get non fancy tail guppies with the especially long flowing tails then your betta is unlikely to bother them. Endlers are another good tank mate, khuli loaches, African dwarf frogs and atyid shrimp

 

[tropic_john]

A male betta, 3 glass catfish and 2 platys maybe? Possibly a snail or 2?

 

[saltynay]

3 glass catfish

Glass catfish need a 20gallon tank and large schools are preferred and they grow to 6" which isn't great in a 10 gallon

 

[The Gourami]

Well to be honest i keep

3 female betta
1 male betta
9 neons
1 sword
1 plec

and a few other tetra in a 60 gallon tank, and they all get along ok.

However i must stress it is not really advisable to keep male and female betta together.

 

[Squishee]

OK thanks guys.

What about white cloud minnows? I read they can tolerate lower temperatures, so does that mean that 26C is too high for them?