# Betta with Zebrafish?



## Kaley2013 (Jul 23, 2012)

Advised by the people at Petco, I bought 6 zebra danios and put them in a filtered and heated 10g with my male deltatail, Saturn. The first day, they were zipping around everywhere and Saturn was just swimming around in a circle across the back of the tank. I thought it would just take them some time. Saturn ate just fine last night even with the danios in there. (I am netting him and holding him in the water while he eats, and he doesn't eat the danios' flake food.) I am at school right now so I don't know how they are doing. Do you think this is an okay setup? Or should I return the danios and get something more docile, such as tetras? I honestly want to keep my danios if possible, they're growing on me. Thanks.


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## popcorndeer (Feb 4, 2013)

i dont think that you shoud put tetars in whith a betta


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## GailC (Feb 13, 2013)

I'm not sure if danios will nip fins or not but their hyperactivity could bother some betta. You'll just have to watch and see how they interact with each other. If he seems stressed or they nip at him, they will need to go.

Many tetras are fin nippers so you will need to research the different kinds. I've kept neons with bettas and never had any issues but that was always in a bigger tank.


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

Give it a few days before you decide anything as see how he does then.

I wouldn't put tetras in with a betta either, they are notoriously nippy fish. But I have seen many people do it without problems.

Personally, if this were me, I would return the danios if they didn't work out a d look for a bottom dwelling species, a school of dwarf cories would be awesome, plus they spend a lot of time at all levels, but aren't too active.


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## Kaley2013 (Jul 23, 2012)

aemaki09 said:


> Give it a few days before you decide anything as see how he does then.
> 
> I wouldn't put tetras in with a betta either, they are notoriously nippy fish. But I have seen many people do it without problems.
> 
> Personally, if this were me, I would return the danios if they didn't work out a d look for a bottom dwelling species, a school of dwarf cories would be awesome, plus they spend a lot of time at all levels, but aren't too active.


Thanks for the reply. I would love some cories, but I only have access to a Petco and one LFS. Petco only has Panda Cories, will those work? http://www.petco.com/product/104838/Panda-Cory.aspx

I can call the LFS when I get home and see if they have any dwarf cories, but I doubt it. They don't have a wide selection; they focus more on small animals nowadays.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Personally, I think zebra danios really need a 3ft long tank. They are extremely active swimmers and six of them are going to be quite cramped in a 10 gallon tank.

Seriouslyfish.com is putting their minimum base tank requirements as 60x30 cm. 

I also believe danios can be fin nippers. My brother had danios in the past, and they were always causing trouble amongst the other fish. 

It's a shame that more nano friendly fish are not widely available. Certain microdevario and microrasbora species can be excellent tankmates for bettas, yet they are hardly found anywhere. Even green neon tetras might be a better choice as they are smaller than their more common counterpart, but the difficulty is in finding them locally!

http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/paracheirodon-simulans/


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

Kaley2013 said:


> Thanks for the reply. I would love some cories, but I only have access to a Petco and one LFS. Petco only has Panda Cories, will those work? http://www.petco.com/product/104838/Panda-Cory.aspx
> 
> I can call the LFS when I get home and see if they have any dwarf cories, but I doubt it. They don't have a wide selection; they focus more on small animals nowadays.


Yeah pandas would definitely work! Any Cory would be okay, you just would have been able to do a larger school of the dwarfs. I think 5 pandas would be a good number in a 10. You could do more but I wouldn't try it.

Pandas are actually my dream type of Cory! But they are so hard to find around here that when someone does have them available they end up rediculously overpriced.


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## Crowntails (Feb 12, 2013)

Danios need at least a 20 gallon long tank due to how active they are. Panda cories are very nice. A school of 5 would be nice.


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## Kaley2013 (Jul 23, 2012)

Okay, so if I'm getting the panda cories, what should I do with my danios? Can I return them to Petco? I don't think I have my receipt.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Without a reciept it might be hard. If they won't take them (call ahead first to find out) then try finding a good home for them on Craiglist or something. 

I second the panda cories, but make sure you have a sand substrate, not pebbles. They are smaller than normal cories and have such delicate barbels that pebbles can cause problems, especially larger or sharper ones.


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## Kaley2013 (Jul 23, 2012)

Petco sells pandas for $7 each.. I can't afford all 5 right now. Should I get them in pairs over a few weeks or just wait? Also, the danios have calmed down a lot today, they aren't as much ADHD, but Saturn still seems stressed to me, though he doesn't have stress stripes or anything. He is just swimming in a circle across the back for the tank.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I would buy them in a three, then a pair, if you can afford that.  That way you won't cause too large a spike, but you won't have super-stressed fish. Do be careful when transporting pandas - when they are stressed, they release a toxin into the water, which builds up quickly in the confines of a plastic bag. Try to keep the bag as dark and still as possible, and start acclimatising them the second they get home. 

Yeah...your betta may adjust to the zebras eventually, but it still isn't ideal for any of them. I think you've made the right decision in considering rehoming/returning them.


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## Kaley2013 (Jul 23, 2012)

It's gonna be really hard to rehome my danios. I live in a small hicktown in southwest Kentucky. Nobody around here keeps fish. I don't know what to do with them, because if I can't take them back to Petco, they may have nowhere else to go. What should I do?


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## soady (Nov 26, 2012)

popcorndeer said:


> i dont think that you shoud put tetars in whith a betta


I have 6 neon tetras with my bettas. The male chases them sometimes but it is *impossible* for him to catch them. I think tetras are good tank mates for a betta because they stay low and the betta stays near the surface.

When I feed my betta I crush some flakes with his food so they fall down for tetras to eat. They will eat everything that is falling down if you crush it nicely and don't put too much.

I have an 8gal tank with male and female divided with a piece of wood and a safe net through which tetras can go through. They prefer to stay with the male even though he chases them occasionally.

Just wanted to share my experience.


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## Kwomais (Dec 31, 2012)

Kaley2013 said:


> It's gonna be really hard to rehome my danios. I live in a small hicktown in southwest Kentucky. Nobody around here keeps fish. I don't know what to do with them, because if I can't take them back to Petco, they may have nowhere else to go. What should I do?


If they store clerk says "no", ask to speak with the manager, and see if they will accept the danios as a return for store credit or as a trade towards the cost of the cories. Any sales manager worth their salt will accept one of these offers because it means that you will return as a customer and likely refer others to them.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

If they won't let you, however, it will be a matter of making life as comfortable for your current fish as possible - adding lots of tall plants to give your betta shelter, giving him a cave to hide in, making the tank interesting for the danios to zoom through...or getting a bigger tank! 

In future, make sure you research _before_ you make the purchase so you aren't faced with this kind of situation again.


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## trilobite (May 18, 2011)

I had golden barbs and rummy noses with mine with no problem. They all kept to their own business


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Barbs are always a risk with a betta as they can be pretty nippy. Definitely not a combination I'd recommend, especially in the tank size that the OP has.


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