Male Betta And Dwarf Cichlids?

[Flute]

Hi guys,

Just a quick question: Has anyone successfully kept male betta with some sort of dwarf cichlid?

The reason I ask is because I bought 2 tiny Apistogrammoides pucallpaensis which are too tiny for my larger community tank. I've divided off my 60 ltr and plan to have the cichlids in one side and my male Tyr on the other side. They're only going to be in there until they grow out a little- my female betta in the 202ltr have been showing far too much interest in them for my liking.

Tyr is going to be coming with me to uni in a couple of weeks, so I started to wonder if my other very mellowed and calm betta Seaweed could go in there with them without the divider. It'd be nice for all the fish to be able to have the run of the whole tank rather than just 30 ltrs of it.

There's one of the little mites They're not brightly coloured and mainly stick to the bottom levels of the tank.
Anyone think this could work if I provided enough hiding spaces for both species? Or am I risking aggression from either side?

Cheers!

 

[stubert]

I put a male betta in a tank with a krib, bettas fins got chewed

 

[Flute]

Aye, that's what I suspected. Tank shall just have to stay divided then. Ah well- Was worth asking about anyway

Cheers!

 

[kizno1]

Kribs are alot more aggressive than apisto. Bethk keeps hers with male and female no problem but that is in a 100L+ tank. Ive kept them with female bettas no problem. The best way to find out will be give it a go you cant tell all fish are different they could work out great or they could batter each other but you dont know till you try. If you do give it a go just make sure you have the divider and net to hand incase anything goes wrong.

 

[Tolak]

I'd be more worried about the apistos than the betta. Provide enough cover on the bottom for the apistos & it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[Flute]

Thinking about it, it could be worth giving it a go. But Seaweed's tail has only just started to grow back. I've seen the tiny apistos try and take on my massive albino corydora. The corys don't fight back but I'd be worried about Seaweed reacting. Being much larger than them too I'm sure he could do a fair bit of damage. Being so laid back it would surprise me if he did go for them though.

Tolak, I'll get some more slate then and put more caves together, and then I think I'll try it on my next day off, and as you said kizno1, keep the net and divider handy

Cheers again guys.

 

[kizno1]

Remember albino corys are bottom dwellers so in the apistos eyes they will be more of a threat. Like i said some times i works sometimes it doesnt the only way to find out is to try.

 

[Flute]

Then I shall give it a go Will only be temporary for a few months anyway I would imagine. If that really, it depends on how fast the apistos grow.

 

[kizno1]

Then I shall give it a go Will only be temporary for a few months anyway I would imagine. If that really, it depends on how fast the apistos grow.

They tend to grow quite fast when small an ones the females get to about 1" and the males 2" they seem to slow down.

 

[Flute]

Yarrr I figured it wouldn't take long for them to grow. Although to be honest, these guys are a really small species of dwarf cichlid. Trying to measure them, and I think they're almost at their max size anyway. If they're going to stay this small, I may very well just keep them in there in stead of risking them in my big community- my female betta though it was great fun to hunt them >.<

Going to try the male and the apistos together tomorrow. Fingers crossed it'll go ok

 

[OldMan47]

Sorry to need to interject this way folks. A Betta splendens is often a victim in a community setting but I have yet to see them be an aggressor in anything but a tank containing other bettas. If you are keeping nippy fish or territorial fish in a tank, a betta in that tank will become a victim of the other fish. If you keep a single betta in a peaceful tank setting the betta and his tank mates will do fine together. Right now I have a 4+ year old male veiltail in my 45 gallon endler breeding tank and he is little more than a pretty presence in the tank. I had hoped he would help control the endler fry population in the tank but he is not a good enough predator to even do that job well. He is just a nice easy going member of the tank's population.

 

[Flute]

Just wanted to say that I opted not to try it in the end. I didn't want to cause unnecessary stress to either species, especially as my male is already recovering from damaged fins.

Thanks for the input though guys

 

[Rafael Dilone]

I have kept Male Betta's with German Blue Rams and they got along well. I have not tried keeping them with other Dwarf Cichlids though.

 

[BethK]

My 1 male and 7 females live happily with my male and female apistogramma. Just gotta ensure that there is alot of cover, hiding places and block line of sights.

Apistos are bottom dwellers, occasionally heading to the middle section. Aslong as you haven't cramped them in a 50ltr, I would advise 90ltr plus if you're going to have them in a community, more space, less tiffs.