Male Betta With Tropical Fish

[bettaluv]

Hey guys ^^

I remember somebody asking "Can betta go in with platies?" and some said yes, and some said "no they will think its another betta and kill it"

but for some calmer personality betta, its possible. I currently own four betta, and my crowntail was barely moving. So I tried him in my platie tank. I knew fo sho the other ones woulden't have worked, but Burton has always been a "gentle" betta.. and I was concerned that he was too crammed in his vase. So there he was, put in my platie + mollie tank. He was a little freaked out, and I was concerned about the current, but sure enough, he started swimming around...

and swimming around...

until he had found a nice comfortable spot near the other fishes. And honestly, I was expecting them to come near him and him flaring and chasing them..
but he didn't. He simply looked at them and ignored them. And they even brushed up right next to him.. and still. no emotion.
he accepts the warm water, and is certainly doing way better in my 20g then he was in my.. vase.
So go on, ahead.. and criticize me on how stupid I was.. my dad did it already.

So for the rare few people who own "gentle" betta, go on, and try it.

 

[lilfishie]

it is possible with more gentle bettas, i recently had a female living with guppies with no problem although they are currently seperated as i am redecorating the tank

 

[Talius]

I had a male VT in with some guppies, before, but they kept nipping his fins so I had to remove him from that tank.

 

[chefrossco]

i keep a male VT with guppys and plattys - and never had any problems - the only thing i would steer clear of - is guppys with the same tail colour as the betta ! this is what i have found to be the ' red flag to the bull' ---- so to speak!

 

[bettaluv]

he is in with 5 platys and one mollie, and is currently doing great.

And for those who don't know, its possible to have more than one female in the same tank!

 

[Athena]

Yes, 3 or more females together normally work fine btw.

I have a female betta in a community tank - she's with a few platies, mollies, tetras and for some time there was a red tailed shark but he's now been rehomed due to him being a bully. But Phoenix, the betta, is absolutely fine and happy in there with the other fish and has been for months now.

On the other hand, my male Betta does NOT like company. Would you believe that he even flares when I put live food in there? LOL seriously - I put live shrimp in there once and he went crazy, flaring at them (eventually did what he was supposed to do and kill/eat them) and also with live baby brine shrimp he does the same.

When I first bought him I didn't have a separate tank for him and was told at the time he'd be fine with the other fish I had so he went straight into my largest community tank. Big mistake! He got into fights and ended up having ALL his beautiful fins stripped down to nothing. He almost died! So I had to put him in a small hospital tank and started treating with Melafix, quickly bought and set up a 1ft cube tank for him and he's been in that ever since and his fins grew back over several months.

So - sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. Having had a bad experience I don't think I would personally chance putting another male Betta into a community tank. I think the females seem to adapt to living with other fish better than the males, from what I've read.

Anyway, hopefully you've got a docile chappy in your tank so all should be well - but keep an eye on him (check his fins daily) and as soon as you see any signs of fin-nipping or harrassing going on, best put him into a tank on his own.

Regards - Athena