# which fish are good with a F/betta



## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

i have a 7 (or 10 gallon) tank and i have one female veiltail betta in it and i was wonder what other tropical fish would be compatible with her..and should i get a pleco or a snail or a catfish as my cleaner fish?


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

i need more rocks and other decoration but other then that its ready to go...i just dont know what other fish to put in there, and no im not leaving the whole tank to her, so please no one say that.


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

So the tank is cycled and heated?

Plecos get too big, 2-3 nerite snails or 2 mystery snails are good. Pygmy cory catfish are the only ones that can fit in there with her, (4-6) but you'll need sand. 7 gallon or 10? It matters, actually..


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

LebronTheBetta said:


> So the tank is cycled and heated?
> 
> Plecos get too big, 2-3 nerite snails or 2 mystery snails are good. Pygmy cory catfish are the only ones that can fit in there with her, (4-6) but you'll need sand. 7 gallon or 10? It matters, actually..


i was told its a 7gallon but its looks more like a 10gallon..and yes its heated and filtered...and why would i need sand, and what does the (4-6) mean?


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

What's the kit called? Hardly anyone sells 7G anymore. But, is it _cycled? _You know, no more ammonia & nitrite in the water? Process of making a colony of good bacteria? Filtered and cycled don't mean the same thing. And the 4-6 meant the number of cory catfish, but I'm not sure if they'll fit in the 10G.

You'll need sand for the catfish because gravel can hurt their barbels. Unless you have finer gravel.


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

i dont know the name of the kit, i got it from my uncle who got it like 15 yrs ago..and yes its cycled...and i cant get sand, and i dont want to have the bother of cleaning it


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

LebronTheBetta said:


> What's the kit called? Hardly anyone sells 7G anymore. But, is it _cycled? _You know, no more ammonia & nitrite in the water? Process of making a colony of good bacteria? Filtered and cycled don't mean the same thing. And the 4-6 meant the number of cory catfish, but I'm not sure if they'll fit in the 10G.
> 
> You'll need sand for the catfish because gravel can hurt their barbels. Unless you have finer gravel.



i dont know the name of the kit, i got it from my uncle who got it like 15 yrs ago..and yes its cycled...and i cant get sand, and i dont want to have the bother of cleaning it..and i can only get one cleaner type of fish, because i want to get 3-4 other fish, what fish would she be good with?


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Okay, then no sand... Your best option is 1 nerite or mystery snail. You could add female guppies or platies with her. Only 2 maximum though, 3 and then it's going to go through a mini-cycle. Any "cleaner" fish would need groups of 4 or more, sorry; snails or shrimp are best.


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## crowntaillove3 (Dec 26, 2012)

Would you want to get two platies? Most of them are great with bettas, but they aren't cleaner fish. They poop like crazy, actually. The minimum is 10 gallons, but I think you will be okay as long as you keep up with the water changes.

LOL I posted at the same time as LTB.


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

LebronTheBetta said:


> Okay, then no sand... Your best option is 1 nerite or mystery snail. You could add female guppies or platies with her. Only 2 maximum though, 3 and then it's going to go through a mini-cycle. Any "cleaner" fish would need groups of 4 or more, sorry; snails or shrimp are best.


why would i need 4 or more? i have 1 pleco in my 20gallon and hes just fine...and i think ill do the snail thing...why only 2, whats bad about a mini cycle? and any other fish besides guppys/platies ??


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

crowntaillove3 said:


> Would you want to get two platies? Most of them are great with bettas, but they aren't cleaner fish. They poop like crazy, actually. The minimum is 10 gallons, but I think you will be okay as long as you keep up with the water changes.
> 
> LOL I posted at the same time as LTB.


yes that it quite funny  and how often should i change the 7gallon with 2 platies and how much?


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

mybabyjets said:


> why would i need 4 or more? i have 1 pleco in my 20gallon and hes just fine...and i think ill do the snail thing...why only 2, whats bad about a mini cycle? and any other fish besides guppys/platies ??


It's because all other cleaner's need to be in a group to feel safe. (shoals) If they weren't in shoals, they'll be skittish and all those other bad things. They are all social fish. Is it a bristlenose or a clown? Plecos seem to go both ways. If a mini-cycle happens, an ammonia spike could happen which could possibly stress out your fish. 

And I don't think so. The choice is pretty limited in a small tank.


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

LebronTheBetta said:


> It's because all other cleaner's need to be in a group to feel safe. (shoals) If they weren't in shoals, they'll be skittish and all those other bad things. They are all social fish. Is it a bristlenose or a clown? Plecos seem to go both ways. If a mini-cycle happens, an ammonia spike could happen which could possibly stress out your fish.
> 
> And I don't think so. The choice is pretty limited in a small tank.


dont know what type of pleco, got him at walmart if that helps? and okay..i think ill get 3 guppys..but why do they have to be female guppys? i only have like males at my petsmart, petco, walmart..


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

another q...i feed my 2 bettas 2 times a day, all week, i dont fast them...is that bad, am i hurting them?? i give the full grown one 4-5 Aqueon pellets and the smaller one 3-4 pellets, and i do this 2 a day, but sometimes they wont eat at night..


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Male guppies with females would breed like crazy. I don;t know if multiple males can live together?? I know guppies are social. 

Are you open to having a female betta sorority? 

Cory species live in shoals containing thousands of individuals in the wild. They're remarkable. They like to be together. Pleco's are fine on their own.

eta- you're over feeding your bettas. They will be fine with the 4-5 aqueon OR the 3-4 other pellets once a day. Or you can feed them twice a day but way less food. Not fasting them once a week doesn't hurt them _per se_ but it's not allowing their bellies/systems to clear out.


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

Laki said:


> Male guppies with females would breed like crazy. I don;t know if multiple males can live together?? I know guppies are social.
> 
> Are you open to having a female betta sorority?
> 
> ...


i am open to female betta sorority in my new tank but its a 7gallon and i was told i cant with that..i could have 3 corys? or platies or guppys? and no i would only have 3males or 3 females, i would not have a male and female..and ill give my bettas 4pellets a day now, thank you for the info..


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

and i want to get life plants, which ones would work?


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

There are tonnes of low light plants that could work. Check the planted tanks section on care and types. I keep/grow anacharis, java fern, java moss, salvinia, hornwort, anubias, marimo moss, water wisteria and Asian ambulia. All of these plants are doing fine with a low watt 2700k light.


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

Laki said:


> There are tonnes of low light plants that could work. Check the planted tanks section on care and types. I keep/grow anacharis, java fern, java moss, salvinia, hornwort, anubias, marimo moss, water wisteria and Asian ambulia. All of these plants are doing fine with a low watt 2700k light.


should i even attempt a betta sorority in my 7gallon?


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## Janan (Mar 6, 2013)

You can go to AqAdvisor and put in the dimensions of your aquarium and it will calculate gallons for you. You can also put in the type of fish you want to put in there and it will calculate and advise you.


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

okay thanks


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## crowntaillove3 (Dec 26, 2012)

You can keep multiple males together. I wouldn't recommend keeping males and females in your tank, but you can keep three females or three males.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

I think you should specify that you mean guppies crowntaillove3!! lol Thanks for that tidbit though 

OP, if you want a sorority in a 7g that will be maximum stocked and you should only attempt it if you pack the tank with a lot of plants. Females are aggressive and need their space, you might get more bickering than you'd like.


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## crowntaillove3 (Dec 26, 2012)

I meant guppies, oops! I've kept them together for only about two months, but I've had no aggressiveness at all. At my local petco, someone bred guppies on accident and donated the fish to the store. They sold for $.50 for FOUR of them! That would probably be your best deal. Can't go wrong with 12.5 cents per fish, if you don't want to breed!


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

okay i have no idea where this convo went but okay...and yes i know not to keep a male and a female guppy together,...ive kept guppies before..all this tread was about was to see which fish would work with my female betta, and how i could setup a sorority if i wanted to go that route, so can we get back to that? What i would like to know, is how to keep live plants, which live plants to keep, how to go about creating a sorority and how many bettas i would need, and which fish i could keep and how many...


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

I don't think anybody has really changed the thread topic - everything is a learning experience. we simply curved the convo to guppies because _I_ asked if multiple males could be kept together and CTL3 answered that for me. 

I think we basically answered your questions though. About live plants, sororities and tank mates.


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## learis (Jun 1, 2013)

I'm in the same boat except my female betta is in a 5 gallon. I want people's input on what it means for a fish to be compatible with a betta.

I've had this betta in a bigger tank believe it or not with a red flame gourami. Now I know it's said they don't get along, but she honestly seemed to adore him! He was much bigger than her but he was very gentle. I feel like she sensed there was no way she could beat him in a fight but she saw how gentle he was and thus felt very safe around him. I could be wrong, but I just always saw her hanging out with him.

Unfortunately he was sickly (many dwarf gouramis are) and I ended up replacing him with a smaller honey gourami. Now this gourami was very gentle too, but she was combative towards him. I think it's because his size was very similar to hers. Therefore, her fight instincts kicked in.

I was thinking I could place a school of endler's livebearers in my 5 gallon with her and see how that does. They're a close cousin to the guppy except even smaller which is great!

My theory is that as long as a fish is significantly different in size to a betta, the betta will not be tempted to go into fight mode and might actually become friendly with the other fish if she doesn't view them as a threat. What do you think?


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

learis said:


> I'm in the same boat except my female betta is in a 5 gallon. I want people's input on what it means for a fish to be compatible with a betta.
> 
> I've had this betta in a bigger tank believe it or not with a red flame gourami. Now I know it's said they don't get along, but she honestly seemed to adore him! He was much bigger than her but he was very gentle. I feel like she sensed there was no way she could beat him in a fight but she saw how gentle he was and thus felt very safe around him. I could be wrong, but I just always saw her hanging out with him.
> 
> ...


i think this is a good theory..thank you for your help and ill just see where all this goes..


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

for anyone who wants to know..i decided to get 3male guppies and caledonia just loves them, she never fights with them, and she sometimes even plays with them


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

i also got 4 live plant bulbs going in the 7gallon tank, wish me luck  i think the plant name was Aponogeton..


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## crowntaillove3 (Dec 26, 2012)

Yay! Could you post pics of the new fish?


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

crowntaillove3 said:


> Yay! Could you post pics of the new fish?


oh yes i can..they will be up in like 1hour at the most


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

so i cant post pics, but i can do my best to explain them, black fire is well black with alittle pink near the head and black lips (hes my fav), and zebra is white and has yellow like stripes going down his body, and fire has a white head and then it goes to yellow and slowly gets darker near the end of his body and then he has this orange all around the end of his body...


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## Beckylovesbettas (Jun 30, 2013)

Laki said:


> Male guppies with females would breed like crazy. I don;t know if multiple males can live together?? I know guppies are social.
> 
> Are you open to having a female betta sorority?
> 
> ...


We have 7 male guppies together in a 5 gallon, they are brothers (my son brought home 1 male and 1 female guppy as gifts from his 2nd grade teacher), we now have 7 males and 12 females....separate tanks!! The mom and dad both recently passed on). No idea if non-related males can live together but these guys get along just fine.


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## Beckylovesbettas (Jun 30, 2013)

mybabyjets said:


> okay i have no idea where this convo went but okay...and yes i know not to keep a male and a female guppy together,...ive kept guppies before..all this tread was about was to see which fish would work with my female betta, and how i could setup a sorority if i wanted to go that route, so can we get back to that? What i would like to know, is how to keep live plants, which live plants to keep, how to go about creating a sorority and how many bettas i would need, and which fish i could keep and how many...


At least the topic stayed on fish, on a soapmaking board I frequent we would start talking about a specific soapmaking question and 15 posts later be talking about Puppies! :-D


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

Beckylovesbettas said:


> At least the topic stayed on fish, on a soapmaking board I frequent we would start talking about a specific soapmaking question and 15 posts later be talking about Puppies! :-D


haha yeah i know right  i have a q, how many guppies can i have in a 7gallon tank? its heated, filtered, cycled and 2live plants growing..i have the female betta and the 3male guppies..can i have anymore??


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## Beckylovesbettas (Jun 30, 2013)

mybabyjets said:


> haha yeah i know right  i have a q, how many guppies can i have in a 7gallon tank? its heated, filtered, cycled and 2live plants growing..i have the female betta and the 3male guppies..can i have anymore??


I'm no expert, not by a long shot, but going by the 1 inch rule you could probably have 1 or two more guppies, my males are smaller than the average pet store guppy, they seem to be a different type. My females would be overcrowded according to the 1 inch rule as they are each about 1 1/4 inches and we have 12 of them in a 10 gallon but they are all sisters and I didn't want to split them up. They seem to have tons of room but I wouldn't put anymore fish in either of my guppy tanks.


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

Beckylovesbettas said:


> I'm no expert, not by a long shot, but going by the 1 inch rule you could probably have 1 or two more guppies, my males are smaller than the average pet store guppy, they seem to be a different type. My females would be overcrowded according to the 1 inch rule as they are each about 1 1/4 inches and we have 12 of them in a 10 gallon but they are all sisters and I didn't want to split them up. They seem to have tons of room but I wouldn't put anymore fish in either of my guppy tanks.


thank you so much, ive been dying to get more guppys in there...or and i know this may seem crazy..put a male betta in that tank, because alot of people have had success with that, and alot of people fail, but if i fail..i have a tank for the male to go..again thank you


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## BittyB (Jun 19, 2013)

Why do you want to put a male into a tank with female betta and some guppies? That doesn't sound like much space to be attempting something, there doesnt sound to be hiding places either for fish to get away - youll just stress out the betta and can cause them to injure each other.


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## mybabyjets (Jun 4, 2013)

i didnt get a male


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## RobertTheFish (Jun 6, 2011)

mybabyjets said:


> why would i need 4 or more? i have 1 pleco in my 20gallon and hes just fine...and i think ill do the snail thing...why only 2, whats bad about a mini cycle? and any other fish besides guppys/platies ??


The pleco idea is out because they get to big for that tank, even 1 by itself will outgrow that.

As for the "4 or more" I think they're talking about cories. They are schoolers and don't like groups of less than 4.

Other fish? I've heard people list lots of them. I've seen rasboras on that list, for sure.

Stay away from danios and anything else that nips fins.

Basic guideline for cohabitation with bettas is this: 
1) Must fit in the tank you're using.
2) Must not nip fins.
3) Must swim faster than a betta (eventually the betta will have a go at it).
4) Must not grow big enough to eat a betta.


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