# kind of odd question



## ebettalover963 (Jun 2, 2012)

this is a really wierd question but i'll get it out. can bettas live with cichilids (or oscars) in the same tank?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Considering an oscar can hit 18" and has quite the temper, I'd say no.
I personally wouldn't try any cichilds with a betta, though perhaps a smaller species of apisto might be okay.


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## NeoViking (Aug 17, 2012)

From my experience with cichlids its best to steer on the side of caution.
I avoid small fish like tetras and fish with long flowing tails with mine because I know for certain that someone in my tank would destroy them.
I have a large tank in my living room specially for my dwarf cichlids (rams, keyholes, firemouthes, kribensis)
My dwarf cichlids are certainly friendlier than oscars and malawis, but cichlids will be cichlids and I still have to be careful who goes in the tank with them.
I stick to fish about their own size with no fancy tails just to be safe.

I'd say avoid cichlids like the plague with your betta, the odds are it probably wont end well.
Instead maybe think about small fish like neon tetra and harlequin


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## Pilot00 (Jul 24, 2012)

Anything smaller than the oscars mouth is oscar food. I found out the hard way. I unintentionally fed mine with a shoal of silver dollars. One survived by virtue of outgrowing the oscars mouth. 

This became a routine at some point in time for me:
Every day i would wake up and find the oscar with a tail wagging out of its mouth. Slapped the glass, panicked oscar let the still alive dollar out. Going to school, return and guess what: missing dollar....

The only thing that somehow escaped their mouth was a rainbow shark but i guess he/she was too fast for them. Nature is fickle mistress though when they died my sino would pick on the corpse till i get it out...


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## Destinystar (May 26, 2012)

Oh wow where did you get silver dollars ? Are they fresh water or salt water ?


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## Pilot00 (Jul 24, 2012)

Perseusmom said:


> Oh wow where did you get silver dollars ? Are they fresh water or salt water ?


LFS, they are fresh water, but that was a bad inexperienced call. A) I shouldnt have put them with the oscars b) I shouldnt have put them with angel fish c) The number i had require a larger aquarium.

The only thing i did right is that i had no real plants in the tank. Which was a wrong in iteself since the oscar redecoed the place. Still, the lone survivor lived for 6+ years methinks.


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