# Opinions on betta + guppies.



## puppyrjjkm (Aug 2, 2009)

What have been your experiences with this combination? Male betta and guppies.


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## bettamaniac (Jan 6, 2011)

what size tank are you planning on putting them in


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

I keep Bettas with my fancy tailed guppies without any issues....I have yet to have a Betta confuse species.....

However, when kept together in too small of a tank...you can have problems related to space....the natural hunting and territorial instinct of the Betta will kick in and they may kill the guppies...but this is with any species of fish added with the Betta in too small a tank or without the line of sight blocked and proper hiding places.

I add my Bettas to my guppy colony tank for conditioning-I want them to feed off the guppy fry, I also use guppy fry in my Betta grow out tanks on occasion to stimulate feeding on non-live foods.

I wouldn't add anymore than 3 males with a Betta in a 10gal tank or 1 male and 2 females per Betta in a 10g tank...provided that you have section created within the tank to break the line of sight with tall items like plants- to give the Betta the feeling of his own territory of sorts...to increases chance of success...... especially with really aggressive males....and even then anything can happen....

You also can have feeding issues more for the Betta than the guppies since they can move and feed/eat faster..... out competing the Betta for food and then you tend to overfed to try and get the Betta enough food....mixed species tanks can be a challenge....but fun none the less....


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## scootshoot (Oct 11, 2010)

14 gallon, 5 female sorority vs 4 feeder guppy. Non issue, they get along great. Early on I thought the smallest feeder would get eaten as the females would repeatedly chase it as food but she somehow survived the ordeal and has grown a bit since where she no longer looks like an easy meal.


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## puppyrjjkm (Aug 2, 2009)

Thanks guys. I don't really know which tank I would put them in probably my 50 gal community then eventually move them into a 29 gal with one male betta. I don't think I would have issues in that large of a tank. Thanks for your help


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

My new guy Lionel is doing great in my 10 gallon community with 5 male guppies (so far) but when I bought him he was already being kept with guppies so he's used to them. He will chase one every once in a while if they get too close but for the most part they're all happy.

However I want to stress it goes by the fish. Any of my other fish would be killing all the guppies by now, but this big guy has been in with guppies for months at the pet store so he's had a chance to get used to them and get his high jinks out.


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