First Betta...

[Booboo puppy]

6 gallon tank with filter system
No heater...the room temperature stays around 70°.
Smooth stones on the bottom
Silk plants

Plan to get one male betta -- the ones at Petco actually looked pretty healthy. What other fish can go with the male betta? I'd like 3 corys and maybe a couple of other small fish.

 

[LuBear]

you could try bettas with other fishes AS I HAVE DONE BEFORE. But it's really up to the bettas personality. Now, I have to admit that I'm a newb and I dont know what a cory is... but I will go research on it soon, as long as it doesn't have a fancy tail like a betta or a guppy, it should be fine.

 

[Synirr]

Yep, a betta ought to do well with some cories in a 6 gallon, though you might want to get one of the smaller species of cory... or maybe even some otos

You really ought to invest in a heather though, since 70 degrees is a little on the cool side.

 

[LuBear]

ah.... I c what a cory looks like. I think it'll be fine as long as the cory doesn't start nipping at the bettas fins because it looks like flakes. My zebra danios and tiger barbs will killing my betta and he lost half of his tail.

 

[Kiarra]

I have successfully kept Albino Cory Catfish with my Bettas, both male and female, in the past, and everyone got along perfectly fine.

There's not a whole lot of fish that would fit in that size of tank that could go along well with a Betta. I'd say your best bet would be the Cories, and maybe an African Dwarf Frog or two if they suit your fancy.

 

[eudielynn]

Whatever you try with them be prepared to make changes in a hurry. I bought two ADF's for one of my betta tanks and the betta attacked them in less than 3 minutes. Luckily I could put them in the community tank with my other ADF's. He also killed and ate the ghost shrimp I put in with him. Some bettas won't live with anything else.

 

[trigger109]

You can put most comunity fish in with bettas as long as they are not "fin nippers".
Cory's are fine. With mine I have got 3X Cory's, 2X gourami, 6X Neons, 6X Harliquins, 1X Fire belly Newt and a Red tail shark. They all get on Fine!!!

 

[AlexsDaddy]

Um, neons are fin nippers. You do know that fire belly newts secret toxins that can kill your fish right? They also need cooler temps then all the fish in your tank plus some land area to rest on every now and then. http/exoticpets.about.com/cs/salamanders...belliednewt.htm

 

[BettaMomma]

You can put most comunity fish in with bettas as long as they are not "fin nippers".
Cory's are fine. With mine I have got 3X Cory's, 2X gourami, 6X Neons, 6X Harliquins, 1X Fire belly Newt and a Red tail shark. They all get on Fine!!!

I'd say you got mighty lucky.
Gouramis, neons and sharks *should* have all gone after your betta.
You got really lucky.

That's not the norm - I'd never recommend putting any of those fish with a betta - for the sake of either fish.

 

[Kiarra]

My male Bettas are absolutely certain that my pair of Gouramis are female Bettas. I would never risk it with all but a couple of them. My Gouramis live with my female Bettas, and are treated like one of the bunch. There's not a bite mark on them. But I'd never put them with the majority of my male Bettas...they would NOT stand a chance.

Neons are known fin nippers, and there are SO MANY Bettas coming out of pet stores as rescues (even just those reported on this forum!) that were nipped half to death by Neons.

Red tail sharks are another poor companion for a Betta. Male Bettas are so slow that they are easy targets for any kind of aggressive fish.

As for the newt...I have a pair of them, and they'd be simply miserable if I put them in a tropical tank. They are not tropical critters. They do not appreciate anything heated. And they MUST have a chance to get out of the water and just stay on dry land.

 

[Booboo puppy]

I'll probably add a heater to the set up. Think I'll only put corys in with the Betta. Would a cave be okay? The corys in my large tank seem to like theirs a lot. Since there won't be very many fish in the tank, maybe a decorative cave won't take up too much room?

 

[Kiarra]

The Cories and the Betta would love the cave. Just make sure there are no holes small enough for anybody to get stuck.