Tank Mates

[EV0LUTION]

I'm planning on adding some new fish to my tank and though why not add a beta! Heres my dilemma; I have one gourami one african chiclid and two hatchet fish in a 20 gal. tank is it safe for the beta or the other fish?

 

[groupiekilla06]

Gourami's and bettas are a bad idea as they are both surface dwellers and will fight over territory. Pretty sure the same thing goes with hatchetfish, since they are top dwellers too. Most african cichlids grow too big for a 20 gallon as it is but depending on the type of African Cichlid it would probably try to bite the betta.

Btw, most people don't mix cichlids in community aquariums because they grow too large and become too aggressive/territorial as they mature.

Bettas do well with bottom dwellers like a group of corydoras or small fast moving fish like Zebra Danios. No tetras as most of them will nip the betta's fins too.

 

[Fish_Stix]

I'm planning on adding some new fish to my tank and though why not add a beta! Heres my dilemma; I have one gourami one african chiclid and two hatchet fish in a 20 gal. tank is it safe for the beta or the other fish?

Unfortunately the bottom line is that it would not be the best of ideas to add a betta in with your gourami or chiclid. Zebra Danios are a . X-Ray tetras make good tankmates as well and being able to see their skeletal structure is an added bonus! Just be sure to include fish that your betta will not see as competition for food and/or territory and you will be find. Also if you want to be even more safe be sure not to include any fish that are as vibrant in color as your betta.

 

[CathyGo]

The hatchet fish are a schooling fish so I would add a few more of them. Maybe get a different tank for a betta? Betta's tend to get picked on a lot by other fish rather than the betta causing the problem. Betta's don't fight with a fish just because it's a surface dweller. Gourami are closely related to betta's and they will fight. Vibrant colors will also not trigger an attack unless your betta is especially aggressive. I had female bettas in with killies(brightly colored surface dwellers) with no issues. Even my female who fought with any other betta and would flare at me got along fine with them. Finding tankmates for bettas isn't quite as difficult as a lot of people on this site seem to think.

 

[Amunet]

I'm planning on adding some new fish to my tank and though why not add a beta! Heres my dilemma; I have one gourami one african chiclid and two hatchet fish in a 20 gal. tank is it safe for the beta or the other fish?

Unfortunately the bottom line is that it would not be the best of ideas to add a betta in with your gourami or chiclid. Zebra Danios are a . X-Ray tetras make good tankmates as well and being able to see their skeletal structure is an added bonus! Just be sure to include fish that your betta will not see as competition for food and/or territory and you will be find. Also if you want to be even more safe be sure not to include any fish that are as vibrant in color as your betta.

Offtopic a bit.. but Fish-Stix... you have 2 CAE's in a 10gal tank?
I'd suggest doing a search for CAE's here and reading the conversations about them. Most people who have experience with them will tell you that they get large and get VERY aggressive. I've never owned one so don't know first hand but just thought I'd pass along info I've read here about them.


Anywho.. the previous posters pretty much said it all. Gourami's and bettas just usually don't mix at all. And I thought african cichlids were usually pretty aggressive?
Still more than likely wouldn't be a good combo.

 

[Fish_Stix]

Thanks for the tip! I've done my research prior to adding them to my tank. Some people have negative experiences with them, others have nothing but positive. Thus far they show no inklings of aggressive behavior towards any other fish in my tank and when they reach a good size they will be relocated into another tank.

 

[Fish_Stix]

Vibrant colors will also not trigger an attack unless your betta is especially aggressive.

Agreed, but you won't know the exact disposition of your betta until he is confronted with another fish. Just be cautious on the kind of fish that you are adding in with your betta. By the way that last part was intended for EV0LUTION.