# New to Bettas - What fish mingle best with Bettas?



## Dannyboy (Aug 13, 2009)

Hey guys, i'm new to this forum but i like bettas so decided to sign up :-D I recently purchased a 6.1 'Clear seal' fish tank and have cycled it for about 2 weeks. i have had a smaller fish tank in the past with different fish, but i think this time i am deffinately going to have a Betta. i purchased a heater (With gaurd ofc.) and an air pump (does 98Lt an hour but need to buy some tubing and an airstone), so they should arrive soon hopefully off Ebay. I also have a filter which was used in the cucling process. I was wondering though, i am going to buying a Betta soon, hopefully this or next week, but would i be able to have any small fish that would go well with the Betta? I will try and post some pictures of my tank later so you can see what i have so far.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Hello and welcome to the forum.


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## kelly528 (Aug 31, 2009)

Honestly, a lot of it boils down to personality-- bettas each have their own! For instance, I know my guy would definitely not appreciate tankmates, with the special exception of his pet snail . Basically the major determining factors are:

-Is there enough _space_ for a tankmate?
-Do they share the same water preferences?
-Will the creature nip at the betta's long fins?
-Bettas are slow swimmers... will the fish hog all the betta's food?
-Will the betta mistake the fish for another male betta and try to fight it?
-Is the creature small enough for the betta to eat?
-Will the betta pick at it?

How many litres is your tank?


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## Dannyboy (Aug 13, 2009)

Thanks for your help so far. Mine is a 6.1 Gallon tank (Glass). I currently have a small water snail, so would i be able to have him in the tank with the Betta, or would i have to remove him? Ill try and get pictures of the tank soon :-D


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## Dannyboy (Aug 13, 2009)

i've uploaded two pictures of my fish tank as an attachment (i currently have a black moor in there, but will probably move him to a different tank when i get my Betta). I also decided to post the links of the heater and air pump i purchased - Will these do?

Heater - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aquarium-Safe...QQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Fish?hash=item254679371f

Air pump - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Air-Flow-1-Aq...QQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Fish?hash=item19b0941d0c

Thanks in advance.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

You will have to move the black moor. As far as what you can put with the betta like it was said above it depends on the betta. I have had male and female bettas with Neons, Swordtails, Fancy Guppys, Playts, Corys, and Otos just to name the ones I can remember and have never had a problem with any of them. But a friend of mine had his betta with neons, playts, and glass fish and the betta attacked the neons. Another option for you is to get a divider and divide the tank in two and get two bettas.


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## JamieTron (May 16, 2009)

Well if your betta seems to be a gentlemen with other fish, I would suggest white clouds, they have worked in every community tank I had with a betta. They are great for leaving fins alone and just chasing each other. Also corydoras are great too and they feed at different levels of the tank for the most part so no competition. Plus coris are pretty fun to watch and they help clean up food your betta missed  Otos are great for cleaning some algae species and I have never heard of them bothering a betta. 

I had a siamese algae eater in with my betta, but it grew really fast and yet the betta was still a dominant fish I was afraid the siamese algae eater would get aggressive towards him as he was doing so towards my cori, so I removed him to my bigger community tank. I think otos would be best for your tank size just because of the algae eaters fast growth rate. 

I also have discovered that blue ram cichlids make good tank mates, but they seem to be pushovers so if your betta is aggressive they may not mesh well in your tank size.


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## PetsGalore (Oct 22, 2009)

I have Scissor Tail Rasbora's (6) with one of my bettas. They are still all getting use to each other and boundaries as its only been 3 days since I introduced them but they tend to stay in the group of 6 or 3 at once and my betta chases them for fun. No major fighting going on. I think there is a lil nipping but harmless as its early.

I find they are doing just fine otherwise.


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## Dannyoboy007 (Nov 9, 2009)

Thanks for the advice  my heater arrived yesterday, which ive placed In the tank. My air pump also arrived so Im heading to my lfs today to go
and get some tubing, an air stone and a non return valve. While I'm there I'll have a look what fish they have in stock, but I'll probably get my betta next week.


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## Dannyboy (Aug 13, 2009)

Change of plan ;-) I've decided to go and get the betta today, so i'm leaving my heater on to warm up the water. How long does it take to warm up?

Also, is there anything i should look out for when buying my Betta? Sorry about the questions


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## JamieTron (May 16, 2009)

Hey don't forget to leave the heater in the water for a bit before you turn it on (10 minutes should be good), the sudden change in temperature for it if you turn it one right away can crack the glass. ;-) anyways do you have a thermometer? It won't take overly long for your water to warm up to a suitable temperature if the water you put in the tank initially is room temperature already. Just keep testing it with your thermometer


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

As others have said, corydoras catfish do well with a betta. I have four bronze Corydoras and two glass shrimp in with my betta. The only problem I have is the betta trying to steal the sinking pellets from them. I float him while they're eating now. It really depends on the betta. 

Look for one that's lively. When I got my guy he was the most active and he came right up to the edge of the cup and looked at me. He's never been skittish, comes right up to me when I'm vacuuming his tank. They're truly awesome fish.


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## Grimmjow (Jul 22, 2009)

I wouldnt do an air stone for a betta, I tried one in my tank and mine wanted nothing to do with it and stayed on the other side of the tank, but maybe its just him. Also id say a snail is a good idea, especially if any sunlight hits your tank, another betta of mine would follow the snail around and watch it do its cleaning.


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## Dannyboy (Aug 13, 2009)

i guess all Bettas are different ;-) Cody actually seems to like his bubbles, he often hangs out by them :-D


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## MrChampagne (May 24, 2010)

Betta's are territorial and want to be the dominant fish. As long as another fish dosn't show signs of challenging the Betta's Status as King of the tank..they should get along fine. Once the Betta realizes the other fish is no threat to him he goes about his buisness..My Fantail Goldfish gets along well with my Veiltail Betta. They seem to be pals even. The betta just builds his bubble nest and shows off at himself at his own reflection in the tank...no sign of that torwards the Fantail Goldfish. The Betta and Goldfish are thriving together...despite the odds.. I think it's due to the Gold fish not wanting to be the most dominant.


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