# Betta Imbellis tankmates



## evan47 (Sep 23, 2014)

i have just bought a king betta imbellis male (said to be a plakat hybrid).
i have him housed in a well planted 30 litre cube tank. filtered, heated and lit.
there are 3 straight vallisneria, a good sized (for a small tank) water wisteria, a bunch of dwarf hair grass, a small java fern on a pebble, moss on wood and about a third of the surface is covered with water lettuce (there are also some water wisteria plantlets starting to show too).
the tank has been cycled and the betta is settling in well.
he is taking food, constantly explores the tank and built a bubble nest during his first night in there.
he also seems to have eaten some of the baby pond snails that sneaked in with my plants so it looks that he will keep them under control for me.
seeing as the tank looks a little empty with just the single betta i was wondering what would be a suitable tank mate for him?
i have read that the betta imbellis is known as the peaceful betta i was hoping that he will be a little more tolerant of company than a betta splendens so does anyone know of suitable tank mates for this species?
i was hoping that a miniature frog, maybe a pair, a bristle nose plec, sulawesi snail, neon tetra or galaxy rasbora would be ok.
the tanks ph is 6.5, slightly hard water. total ammonia .25 (as low as it ever shows on the api test in both my tanks and from the tap). nitrite 0, nitrates 0-5, (less than tap water level).
got to be honest here, the mini frogs are looking tempting but i do not want to end up with dead or injured frogs and a fat betta!:lol:


----------



## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I find the label 'peaceful betta' a bit of a misnomer when it comes to Betta imbellis. They still can be an aggressive fish, it really depends on the individual, and if your male is a hybrid I wouldn't look at him in the same light as I would a pure Betta imbellis, as you may find his parentage may not even include any imbellis at all (there are a lot of hybrids sold as pure that are used for breeding). 

30L is quite a small space to work with. It is too small for a bristlenose, and I usually advise a minimum of 40L for schooling fish (this is just a personal opinion I know others on this forum disagree). ADFs may be okay tankmates but being that I have never kept one, I can't really advise on their care requirements. I'm also not sure what water parameters the snails are suitable for. Would they do okay in softer water with a lower pH? 

No one can predict how a betta will react to other fish. It all comes down to the individual betta's temperament and aggression levels.


----------



## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

+1 LBF knows her wild-type Betta so I'd seriously listen. If you get tank mates wait until you've had him long enough to determine his personality. But tank mates are still iffy and you need a backup plan.

With the ADF you'd need a minimum of three for them to show their personalities. One or two will spend most of their time hiding as they are quite social and need the suppport to feel comfortable. I have six frogs and a Betta in a 40L tank; lots of plants and places for the ADF to sleep.


----------

