# Which Fish?



## Blazer23 (Apr 21, 2011)

I was at petsmart yesterday and I asked what kind of fish can live with male bettas, she said that they can't live with any. Is this true, she even said that a male can't live with snail? If this is not true list all fish that can live with a MALE BETTA


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## Cassandra90 (Aug 16, 2010)

I have a male betta that is in a 10 gallon with a mystery snail, ghost shrimp and 5 albino cory cats.

I have housed neon tetras before with males. 
I know some people have house guppies but that is a bit risky. 
Your best luck is with neons, shrimps such as cherry shrimp, ghost shrimp, snails, and cory cats.


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## Blazer23 (Apr 21, 2011)

Aren't tetras fin nippers?


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## Cassandra90 (Aug 16, 2010)

Some are. But alot of members have had success with neon tetras. As long as they are kept in a group of 6 it reduces the chance of fin nipping. Including myself. I did try glowlight tetras but it was a constant battle of fin nipping from the betta and the glowlight so I had to remove them.


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## Blazer23 (Apr 21, 2011)

What fish can live with a MALE betta in a 2.5 gallon tank w/ filter


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## Cassandra90 (Aug 16, 2010)

A 2.5 gallon is kinda small to add another fish due to the bioload. If you absolutley want another tank mate, go for some ghost shrimp maybe 2 or 3, they do not have much bio load. Or one snail, but they have a large bioload, which means more water changes.

But if you were able to upgrade to a 10 gallon you could get other fish.


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## Blazer23 (Apr 21, 2011)

But i have a filter running 24/7


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## Cassandra90 (Aug 16, 2010)

It is just such a small capacity to contain more than one fish. It is usually a gallon to an inch of fish and bettas can get to be 2.5 to 3 inches long. So a 2.5 is the right size for a male betta.


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## Tisia (Mar 15, 2011)

most smaller fish need groups and lots of swimming space, even if you were doing daily 100% water changes to deal with the bio load, you'd still have some miserable fish if you tried to cram them in there


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## Blazer23 (Apr 21, 2011)

what about a cory they wont even notice each other


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## Cassandra90 (Aug 16, 2010)

Cory cats need to be in a group of 4 or more.


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## bettafish15 (Oct 3, 2010)

Simply put, you can only have shrimp or snails in that tank. Cories are very social and get VERY stressed when not in groups of 4 or more, and that small of a space would be just cruel to them. Stick with shrimp or snails.


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Why not upgrade to a ten gal? Theyre 12$ aat Walmart, but I would spend 30$ to get hood, tank, filter. I'm assuming you have a heater, but you still need a 50 W for a ten gallon. If u go with the 10, you could have:
1) snails
2) neon or cardinal tetras( 5+)
3) shrimp
4) Cory catfish
5) guppies (hit and miss)

All these fish cannot be housed together in a ten gallon. I would go with one of the species and the betta. Introduce the betta last. Make sure you cycle it. (if u choose to invest in one) Good Luck!


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## DarkMoon17 (Apr 16, 2011)

As others have said before, your tank is too small for companion fish. The only compatible fish for bettas are schooling fish. If you keep them in groups of less than 5 members they will become aggressive and attack your betta. You can get ghost shrimp (which are also social and should be in groups of at least 3) or 1 snail. The thing that keeps your tank clean is not the filter, it is the beneficial bacteria that live in the filter. If you have too much bioload in the tank they will not be able to keep up and toxins like nitrite, nitrate and ammonia will grow uncontrollably killing or stressing your fish.

If you choose to upgrade the tank possible tanks mates are (3-4) platies (some people have success with them?), (5+) neon or cardinal tetras, (5+) docile rasboras like H. rasbora or dwarf rasbora, (4+) oto catfish (only if there is algae in the tank), (4+) cory cats, (4-5) guppies (not always compatible), there are a few others but they aren't 100% compatible. I've kept bettas with all sorts of other fish though. Feel free to PM me for a full list and the benefits/risks of certain fish companions.


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Agree with previous poster. The filter mainly filters out poo. This is called mechanical filtration. If you have activated carbon in the filter, it will filter out poisons, this is chemical filtration. Considered the most important type of filtration is biological filtration. This is where cycling comes in. There are two types of bacteria: the first kind turns ammonia to nitrIte, the second turns nitrIte into nitrAte, which isn't nearly as toxic as ammonia and nitrIte. Cycling is the process in which these types of bacteria build up to the extent where they can neutralize ammonia and nitrIte. There are many ways to cycle a tank. The two main ways are fishless cycling, and fish-in cycling. Research this more. It isn't as complicated as it sounds, and you can probably cycle it with mr betta in, as bettas are more hardy than other fish. So this is why a larger tank is easier to maintain. The three purposes of a filter are again; mechanical, chemical, and biological filtration. The Highest concentrations of these bacteria are in the filter and gravel. If the bioload is too high, the bacteria can't keep up.good Luck!


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## Blazer23 (Apr 21, 2011)

Neil D said:


> Why not upgrade to a ten gal? Theyre 12$ aat Walmart, but I would spend 30$ to get hood, tank, filter. I'm assuming you have a heater, but you still need a 50 W for a ten gallon. If u go with the 10, you could have:
> 1) snails
> 2) neon or cardinal tetras( 5+)
> 3) shrimp
> ...


I saw it, i can afford but i just dont have the space for it:-(


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Oh. On ur dresser? Book shelf?


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## Arashi Takamine (Mar 3, 2011)

If your that adament about getting tankmates you gotta provide for them. If you can't provide a space for all of them to be happy then just keep the betta by himself.


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Yeah. Arashi is right. Bettas can be so cool by themselves. Mine flares, bites, jumps and always comes up to me when I'm near his cage. Gotta love em.


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## Blazer23 (Apr 21, 2011)

OK I just didn't know gosh!


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Yeah, so dont do it again, punk!!! JK. it's all right, we like answering questions and helping out other newbies and not so newbies. We've all been there. Good Luck!


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