# "Companion" for a female betta



## cjschmelzer909 (Jul 14, 2012)

I've had a female VT for about a month now, and just moved her from a 2 gallon tank to a 5.5 gallon tank. I would really like to get her just one tank mate, if that's at all possible... I know you can keep female bettas together, but I heard that the rule of thumb is to keep them in odd numbers, e.g. 3 in a tank, 5 in a tank, etc. What other types of fish are okay to keep with bettas?

EDIT: Maybe I should give some details on my tank if that'll help...

5.5 gallons, heater kept at around 76-80 degrees, no filter (although I plan on getting a sponge filter as soon as I can), no live plants.


----------



## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Not much. Sororities are only possible in tanks 10 gallon and up. You can't have any fish mates under 10 gallons, sorry.  Only shrimps and snails. For a 5 gallon, a Nerite Snail is great for algae. No Mystery or Apples. Red Cherries and Ghosts are great shrimp for a tankmate. This tankmates can be eaten easily so... Remember, Bettas don't get lonely. They prefer to be by themselves.


----------



## cjschmelzer909 (Jul 14, 2012)

LebronTheBetta said:


> Not much. Sororities are only possible in tanks 10 gallon and up. You can't have any fish mates under 10 gallons, sorry.  Only shrimps and snails. For a 5 gallon, a Nerite Snail is great for algae. No Mystery or Apples. Red Cherries and Ghosts are great shrimp for a tankmate. This tankmates can be eaten easily so... Remember, Bettas don't get lonely. They prefer to be by themselves.


I'm fine with snails and shrimp! Is it possible to have snails in a tank with a gravel substrate? I've been looking at videos on youtube and it seems all the ones I've seen have sand substrates with their snails.

Yeah, I realize bettas like to be loners... But I'd just like to have a little tiny community in this 5 gallon tank


----------



## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Yeah, it's fine. Just remember that Snails produce a lot of ammonia. Sometimes even more than Bettas. >.0


----------



## cjschmelzer909 (Jul 14, 2012)

LebronTheBetta said:


> Yeah, it's fine. Just remember that Snails produce a lot of ammonia. Sometimes even more than Bettas. >.0


Would this require me to do water changes more often, before I invest in a filter? How are shrimp when it comes to ammonia?


----------



## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Maybe. Shrimp hardly produce any ammonia. Remember if you buy a tank mate, they may harbor disease. Shrimp may have parasites in their brains, (Ew... I know) and Snails might have babies.


----------



## cjschmelzer909 (Jul 14, 2012)

LebronTheBetta said:


> Maybe. Shrimp hardly produce any ammonia. Remember if you buy a tank mate, they may harbor disease. Shrimp may have parasites in their brains, (Ew... I know) and Snails might have babies.


Ah, I see. How often does it happen that those diseases are transferred to the betta though?


----------



## shellieca (Jul 12, 2012)

A Mystery snail rule of thumb is 2.5g per snail. I have them with my Bettas, the 1st few days they were picked on but things settled after that. I love the Mystery snails they're fun to watch. They won't lay eggs unless you have a male & female, one of the few snails that must have a male & female.


----------



## Destinystar (May 26, 2012)

Hi...Yes you would have to do more changes with a snail in your tank and I would wait till you got a filter to get one if your going to. Do you have a top on your tank ? Bettas are known jumpers and a snail could climb out without a lid. Be sure and read about water changes for your 5 gallon, do a search at top of the forum. Enjoy your Betta they are awesome fish !


----------



## Foofykitty (Aug 11, 2012)

I have a female and have been thinking of getting a larger tank and some more females, so just wondering why you say you can't have them in less than a 10 gallon? And while I'm picking your brain, how many do you recommend having together?


----------



## lillyandquigly (Nov 24, 2011)

I've heard it should be for a ten gal. like four or five, and the main rule is no to have less then four mfemale I think, if I am wrong someone please correct me, because it spreads out the aggression


----------



## lvandert (Feb 23, 2012)

+1 You need 4+ girls and for them you will need tons of plants and caves to escape aggression. To have 4+ girls you need a 10+ gallon aquarium. It just doesn't work with the smaller tanks because the ammonia will build up so fast you'd be doing daily water changes, filter or no filter.


----------



## shellieca (Jul 12, 2012)

Foofykitty said:


> I have a female and have been thinking of getting a larger tank and some more females, so just wondering why you say you can't have them in less than a 10 gallon? And while I'm picking your brain, how many do you recommend having together?


They need to have room to get away from each other so the tank needs to have space, plenty of plants & hidey holes. You can have more than one female but there will be aggression towards each other especially in the beginning when they're establishing a hierarchy. If the tank isn't big enough the aggression will be worse. A rule of thumb, which has flaws, is that you need a minimum of a gallon per inch of fish BUT that rule doesn't take into consideration bio load of the fish, aggression of the fish, width, etc. I have 3 female Bettas in a 46g, soon to add a 4th & soon after that a 5th. As it stands right now, Rosie will periodically chase Violet & because of the size of my tank, the plants & deco's, Violet can easily escape, stay out of her sight & feel safe. I also have 2 males in individual 10g tanks & let me tell you it has made a HUGE difference in their behavior, they were previously in 1g tanks because of my lack of knowledge & experience. I won't keep another Betta in anything less than a 10g long term ever again. I love watching my boys swimming around, being able to really stretch & strut themselves, I feel better & I know they are happier & healthier. But thats me, many people disagree.


----------



## randy84 (Aug 11, 2012)

I put a snail in with my fry to help keep the tank clean and now i have 2 or 3 lol but the fry are doing great


----------



## KukaaKatchou (Sep 19, 2010)

My Otos and my betta get along well


----------



## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Foofykitty said:


> I have a female and have been thinking of getting a larger tank and some more females, so just wondering why you say you can't have them in less than a 10 gallon? And while I'm picking your brain, how many do you recommend having together?


They need space to get away from each other. They claim their own teritories and in less than a 10 gallon they are more likely to kill each other if they dont have space.

Minimum of 4 females. The bigger the tank, the better.
You need to quarantine the females for 2 weeks or more to ensure nobody has illnesses. The tank should be cycled completely, and be heated to about 80 degrees. 

Some females are more agressive than others and are not suited for sorority life. Sororities are very hard to manage and start, and they can end in disaster if you dont quite know what youre doing. They are not for new fish keepers.
Please read about sororities here  http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=29402


----------

