Frends For A Betta

[fishbguy]

i have a 16 gallon tank and i am thinking about putting a pair of bettas in it. what other tank mates can put in it that come from the same geographical area? any suggestions are fine, i'm not picky when it comes to fish.
Andrew

 

[stang1]

You can't keep a male and female Betta together as they'll attack each other. You could keep just females or just one male.
The trouble with keeping one male fighter is that you may struggle to find suitable tankmates as they can be an agressive fish. You could keep some ottos or some cories but not much else I'm afraid.
If you really want to keep a male then you could set up a little 5 Gallon tank and keep him on his own, that way you could use your 16 Gallon as a community tank.

 

[kahdjh]

my male betta is in a 30 gallon tank with my black lace angel, 6 platty's, 2 fancy tetras, an huge algea eater a catfish and a snail....

 

[fishboy619]

depending on the tank size, cories, ottos, shrimps, ADF's, rasboras, black neon tetra (least fussy of all tetras ive found) and a few other species of fish will happily live with a betta.
all depends on the size of the tank, and the personality of the betta.

 

[wegotcrabs]

my betta lives with 2 fiddler crabs and a red crab and one neon tetra in a 5gallon tank. They all are doing fine so far... but I agree save your 16 gallon for some community fishies.

 

[Picoreefer4966]

I agree with both Stang (partially) and Fishboy. A male and female betta should never be put together except for the purposes of breeding. Even when breeding you need to keep close watch as the male will likely severly injure if not kill the female. A single male Betta can be kept in a community tank with many different species of fish. There are a couple of factors to consider. The first being the Betta's personality. An overly agressive male will tend to pick on other fish. For the most part....the average male Betta will keep to himself and mind his own providing he has enough space and maybe a few tall plants to escape to. The other factor would be the types of fish you put in with the Betta. Larger Tetras aren't a good idea, nor are most fish in the cichlid family....Rams, kribs, angels. They are likely to fin nip the Betta. Most of the fish that fishboy mentioned would be great. Rummynose, Platies, and swords can work also.
You can keep multiple females in the same tank rather than a male. But, you want to keep at least 5 - 6 or the alpha female will likely fight with the others. A larger school would reduce agressiveness (LOL is that a word?) toward eachother. HTH

 

[mommyof2bettas]

As stang1 told you, females and males can't be kept together. They will fight. You could keep all females (6 or more) and that will be a sorority tank, or you could split it and keep malesin different sections. Otos, cory, apple snails, ADFs, can be kept with bettas. Some things to avoid are:
guppies, neons, other nippy fish, any kind of fry that can fit in its mouth, other bettas (unless you're keeping a sorority), and any fish with a flshy tail.

 

[stang1]

I know people have had sucess keeping a Betta with other fish and fair play to them if all has gone well. I wouldn't keep mine in a community but that's just personal preference.
If you do decide to keep one in a community tank then make sure you have another tank for back up in case it doesn't work out.

 

[na9la]

some tankmates are
-platies
-guppies
-snails
-cories
thats all i can think of right now

--- 1 fact

- careful some bettas dont like being with other species but by themslves

- dont keep female and male together
NEVER DO THAT

im done

 

[RandomWiktor]

I'd be cautious about guppies. Male bettas should not be kept with male guppies as most find the long, flowing fins and bright colors to be a little too similar to another betta. Small, placid, dull-colored bottom feeders are the best choice, since bettas are most likely to be aggressive towards fish that share their swimming space near the middle and surface of the water. However, some dull-colored, peaceful community fish would probably be OK depending on the betta's disposition.
Honestly, because males can be such a crapshoot temperament-wise, I'd say it could be safer to do a very well planted sorority tank with 5 or 6 females and some bottom feeders. But everyone's opinions and experience varies. Just remember, bettas are solitary and territorial by nature, so always have a small back-up tank in case fighting breaks out so that the betta can be removed promptly.

 

[zoekin8yg]

Whoever it was with the crabs, they are sooooo going nip the fins of the betta!

 

[t.ropical_m.istx3]

don't keep a pair together - as it's been saidd. bad idea.

 

[Zeoth]

My opinion: Keeping Betta's in a community tank is too risky

 

[gingerfraggle]

Ive got one Betta in a community tank who moped when I put him in a new tank on his own, soon as he was put back in the community tank he perked up again. (I have a spare tank just incase he ever gets agressive or nipped )

My other Betta is more agressive and he's in with two otos. Depends on the individual Bettas temperament

 

[1ncubu5]

I have 5 blue tetras in with my betta, no problems at all for the betta or the tetras. He's been making bigger bubble nests than ever since I introduced the tetras