# What Fish Are Compatible With Male Bettas?



## noahk11

I just upgraded my bettas tank to a 2.5 gallon from a small 1 gallon. My new tank has a filter, lighting, and gravel. The problem is the tank is looking empty with my betta just hanging out at the top. I'm looking for some tank mates that dont require "special care" meaning heating or special frozen foods. I talked to my local petsmart they said my only choice was another male betta and a few female bettas. Wich i know is wrong because a male betta and another male betta cannot be in the same tank. If i do females i dont want to worry about eating babys or anything. So im hoping this community can help me out. More information about my tank is in my signature. Thanks in advance!


----------



## Micho

You can't have anything in a 2.5 gallon besides your Betta, you could try some shrimps but they'll usually end up as a tasty snack for your Betta. 

So yeah, he'll just live alone for the time being.


----------



## hedgehog

As Micho said you can't do any fishy friends in a 2.5 gallon tank. You really shouldn't listen to the people at the petstore. You can't keep male and female bettas together especially in small tanks. 

If you think that the tank is too bare my suggestion is try adding live plants. I planted a little jungle in my betta's 2.5 gallon tank and now he's more active and the tank just looks nicer in general.


----------



## fishy friend2

Fishy friend is my username
And you cant really have anything but maybe some shrimp, as mico stated


----------



## noahk11

*Aw*

Well thats a disappointment i was really looking forward to putting some more friends in there. Heres some pictures of my tank so you can see more of its size. As i said i just upgraded so it does look bare right now ill go to the pet store tomorrow.










Please let me know if there are small fish like guppies that are compatible. I really want some tank-mates for my fish.

Also i know this dosn't fit in this catagory but my filter instructions say to keep the water level no more than 1 below the base of the filter. But my betta gets blow away by it if he goes in front of it. But if the water level is lower and the water pours out of the filter instead of blowing out it moves the water less.


----------



## Micho

Oh, I forgot to say, welcome to the forums!

Also, I'm sorry if I come as harsh but no other fish in that tank please, even small fishes. Zero, nada, no. Only your Betta can live in that tank right now, when you upgrade your tank to something like 10g then you can have a community tank with other fish, but right now it's basically impossible. Even a snail is a bad idea. . .

As for the filter, baffle it. Here's a guide on how to baffle your filter, also just another question do you have a heater?


----------



## noahk11

I had a snail in there with him before but my friend took it seemed fine but that was for like 2 weeks in a 3 gallon tank.


----------



## Bombalurina

Sorry, but there really aren't any other fish that would be happy in a 2.5. It's not just a case of size - you have to take into account other things like
- the other fish's activity level (for instance, neon tetras aren't big but they are active, and need a decent tank to swim around in)
- the bioload (a 2.5 isn't the most stable body of water in terms of the cycle, and you really don't want to overload the filter)
- the betta needing his own space. In a 2.5 he should happily explore every level of it and really enjoy the space as his own, and he probably wouldn't appreciate tankmates. 

I really wouldn't consider any tankmates for him in less than a ten gallon. Then you could have:
- 6 pygmy cories 
- 3 endlers livebearers
- 6 ember tetras or microrasboras
These are either/or options, though; you wouldn't want them all. 

In the 2.5 I reckon shrimp would be feasible. The trick to keeping bettas and shrimp together is to give the shrimp heaps of cover. Java moss (impossible to kill) is great for that, and can just lie across the bottom like a blanket if you like. Eventually they will get used to each other, and should be happy.  I have red cherry shrimp in my male's 5 gallon and my 16 gallon sorority, and the shrimp are happy and breeding. It took a while in the 5, but eventually my male ignored them and they got more confident.


----------



## Micho

Depends on what kind of snail, generally snails have a high bioload since they poop a lot. 

But really, no other fish. -____-; Small guppies are worst because of their long fins, they'll either rip your Bettas fins to shreds or your Betta will rip their fins to shreds. Unless you can get a bigger tank like a 10 gallon tank then you'll be able to keep other fish with your Betta but anything under 5 gallons I would not recommend any tank mates.


----------



## hedgehog

2.5 gallons is really just too small for any tank mates to hide from bettas and allow them to create their own territory. Often in bigger tanks you can avoid problems since the tank mates will have room to escape from the betta if there are agression issues but in a 2.5 gallon no matter how big it seems there really isn't enough space to hide from the betta. 

As for the filter you really should keep the water level where the instructions tell you to or else the filter may break or malfunction. On the betta care or betta tank section there should be a sticky about baffling filters. All you need is some aquarium sponge and a rubber band.


----------



## noahk11

And as far as baffleing my filter goes its not one that hangs over the side of the tank so i would have a water bottle sticking out in the middle of my tank


----------



## Micho

Try a sponge and rubber band technique? If that does work you can always take a piece of sponge and shove it into the outflow or better yet, piece of cloth wrap it around the outflow it on with a rubber band, that's what I did with my Fluval Spec filter.


----------



## Okami

My betta is in a 5 gallon with a filter similar to yours, heres what you do, Take some aquarium floss and cut it to size and gently plug the part where the water is pooring onto the Filter pad, then cut a bit and stuff into the drain port I think on yours its running to the dront of the tank? But that will slow the water down while still being well filtered.


----------



## noahk11

We are just getting of topic now but thats ok  conversations switch topics. And as far as the sponge goes would one that you use for cleaning table tops work? (We have a pack of new ones) and if that wont work, what kind of cloth. Oh i also just changed my avatar to a picture of my fish (sorry its from the back but it was the only one in focus)


----------



## Micho

No! Not the cleaning table top types, those have chemicals in it I believe, kitchen sponges are not allowed, try going back to your LPS tomorrow and getting aquarium sponge or spongey filter media to work with.

As for cloth this is a bit iffy, I'm using cloth that's for wiping the floor when it gets wet, it hasn't been touched by soap before. So be careful what kind of cloth you use.


----------



## noahk11

Ill do that (go to the store) for now ill just leave the filter off. Ill go to the store and get some aquarium sponge and plants.


----------



## noahk11

And LOL i looked on my sponge package it said "Not for aquarium use"


----------



## noahk11

Would this kind of cloth work? i found it in my pantry.









It says on the packaging: "Ideal for diapering (tee hee), burping, changing, nursing, plus: household dusting & car washing" it doesn't have any chemicals on it im pretty sure considering it is ment to be used for baby care purposes.


----------



## Micho

Yeah that would work, cut a piece off that can wrap around your filter output, then tie a rubber band onto it. That should lessen the flow and not disturb your Betta.


----------



## Okami

So in a 10 gallon or larger I know Rosebaras are compatable with bettas, and the occasional tetra, what else?


----------



## noahk11

@Okami ive been told by some people that guppies are good but NOT ones with "flashy" tales that may cause a betta to think it is another betta and fight. And ill let you guys know how the cloth works out.


----------



## Micho

Dwarf cories, or any relatively small sized cories, small shoal of otos. Maybe some african dwarf frogs, you could do some snails, shrimps (if they get cover). 

The bigger the tank the more choices you have when it comes to tankmates.


----------



## Okami

I know about guppies. What about Danios (glo fish), and Khuli Loaches? I want to keep my Betta's tank (when its bigger) with species found in a Blackwater pool


----------



## Micho

Okami said:


> I know about guppies. What about Danios (glo fish), and Khuli Loaches? I want to keep my Betta's tank (when its bigger) with species found in a Blackwater pool


Well generally speaking 10g do not have the base footprint that is recommended for kuhli loaches, so no. Glofish is no also, they like to be in shoals of 8 - 10, each fish gets to about 2" long, so you'd pretty much fully stocked if you add eight Glofish in. Glofish are genitically mutated Zebra Danios, you could try 8 Glofish and one Betta and you're fully stocked (100%). 

You can do it though, I would recommend lots of live plants to help with ammonia and a good filter (probably double your tank size, a filter for a 20g tank).


----------



## Okami

so when and if i upgrade my blackwater pool tank ill probably go with a 20 gallon long


----------



## hedgehog

Cory catfish work in a ten gallon either 6 pygmys or 4 of a larger species. You can't keep less than 4 cories in a tank though.


----------



## Okami

hedgehog said:


> Cory catfish work in a ten gallon either 6 pygmys or 4 of a larger species. You can't keep less than 4 cories in a tank though.


 I know about corys  I have 8 in my 50 gallon Amazon tank


----------



## Micho

If it's 20 gallon long, you can do a variety of fish, for bottom dwellers; kuhli loaches, cories, otos, etc. Middle; almost any type of tetra, platies, guppies (no flashy/long tails type), mollies, etc. Top; Your betta.

You could also start a sorority with your 20g if you prefer that over a community tank.


----------



## Okami

ide perfer a community, from my research species found in the wild with Bettas are Roseboras, Loaches, Sharks like Bala Sharks but im not getting those with a Betta X.X and Groramis again not sticking those with a betta either lol


----------



## Micho

Haha bala sharks are generally not good community fishes, gouramis they're not ideal either. . .

You have a huge variety for a 20g tank, doesn't have to be just a blackwater tank.


----------



## noahk11

I got it to work but it was a pain in the butt. I know it works because my betta went in front of it when i finished and wasn't blown away!


----------



## Okami

noahk11 said:


> I got it to work but it was a pain in the butt. I know it works because my betta went in front of it when i finished and wasn't blown away!


congrats! Hes going to love it better


----------

