Betta Fish Forum banner

Betta splendens Compatibility

38K views 51 replies 17 participants last post by  TropicalFlow3 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
i just decided to make a little sheet that had, commonly sold, easy to care for and cheap compatible fish for bettas
if anyone has any corrections on this, please comment and ill edit it

Some Betta fish will NOT tolerate tank mates and will go on a killing frenzy when introduced to other fish, so if you do decide to keep your Betta with other fish. Make sure that you have a backup plan incase It doesn't work. And make sure that you add the Betta last, because this will prevent some aggresion. If you add it first then the Betta will claim its territory and then when you introduce the new fish the Betta will think that the new fish are in his territory and kill the fish

generally compatible fish for bettas

----Name of fish-------minimum tank size------minimum group number
Ember tetras--------10 gallons----------six
Habrosus cories--------10 gallons----------six
hastatus cories------10 gallons-------------six
Von-rio tetras-------------15 gallons---------ideally 7 or more
Pristilla tetras------------10 gallons-----------six
Head and light tetras----10-------------------six
Cherry barbs----------15 gallons----------------six
Neon tetras-------------10 gallons------------ Six
Neons tetras can be a bit nippy when kept in small numbers so you would need atleast 6 to house them properly with a Betta
galaxy rasboras------------10 gallons-----------Six
panda and pygmy cories------10 gallons-----------Six
most other cories-----------15-20 gallons -----Six
harlequin rasbora -----------10 gallons---------Six
non fancy female guppies------10 gallons ------- Three
endlers livebearers------------10gallons---------Three
zebra danios-----------------3.5 foot tank-------Six
Bristle nose plecos------------2.5 foot tank-------One
Bushy nose plecos-------------2.5 foot tank------One
non colorful platies------------10 gallons---------Three
glo fish----------------------3.5 foot tank--------Six
rummy nose tetras------------15 gallons-----------Six
glo light tetras----------------10 gallons----------Six
cardinal tetras----------------15 gallons----------Six
X ray tetras-------------------10 gallons----------Six
"feeder guppies"---------------10 gallons-----------Three
Khuli loaches------------------2 foot tank--------Six
Scissor tail rasboras-------------10 gallons----------Six
Otos---------------------------10 gallons---------3 - 4
Bloodfin tetras-------------------15 gallons-------- Six
Rasbora Brigittae-----------------5 gallons----------Six
Black neon tetras------------------15 gallons-------six
Yoyo loaches

Shrimp that are compatible with bettas

Ghost shrimp---------------------2.5 gallons --------one
Amano shrimp-------------------2.5 gallons----------one
Cherry shrimp-------------------2.5 gallons---------one
and a little note about shrimp, they are a hit and miss, some bettas are fine with shrimp and some aren't but all of my bettas have been fine with shrimp that are over 1 inch. I would suggest that a well planted tank with lots of cover should be used when having small ghost shrimp or cherry shrimp

Snails that are compatible with bettas

Apple snails------------------10 gallons-----------one
Ramshorn snails------------5 gallons---------one
Malaysian trumpet snails---2.5 gallons--------one
Pond snails--------------------2.5 gallons---------one
Nerite snails------------------5 gallons----------one
Snails are a hit and miss too with bettas some will tolerate them but some will chop their feelers off


sometimes compatible fish with bettas

---Name of fish------------Minimum tank size------minimum group number

male, and female Fancy guppies----------10 gallons-----------three
Sparkling gouramis------------------------10 gallons----------one
bright and colorful platies----------------10 gallons-----------three
Black widow tetras----------------------20 gallons------------Eight to not be as nippy
sword tails----------------------------2 ft. Tank------------Three
Mollies-------------------------------25 gallons ----------3
Lyre tail guppies-----------------------10 gallons-------------Three

Fish that are rarely compatible with bettas

Including information regarding minimum group and tank size for this part of the list would most likely encourage people to further on and try the compatibilities which I wouldn't recommend.

Serpae tetras
other bettas
SA cichlids
NW cichlids
Dwarf gouramis
Tiger barbs
Honey gouramis
Angel fish
Honey gouramis
Boesemani rainbows
Red tailed sharks
Any type of crayfish with claws over half an inch


Hope this helped!
 
See less See more
#4 ·
Can we get this stickied? It'll *hopefully* avoid cluttering of the forum with the same questions over and over.
 
#7 ·
well..... I'll be honest here.

I have previously owned that acount but with password, and email loss I have rarely been able to acess it. the only way is with my sisters computer due to it being remembered on there.

I made this account for easier use
 
#11 ·
This is a pretty great list! I agree; it should be stickied. I would just like to point out a few things. You recommend both endler's and feeder guppies in a 5 gal tank. Generally, it's better to try betta with tankmates in a 10 gal or larger. Even though these fish can be peaceful in the event of a squabble a 5 gal tank doesn't provide enough room to get away. My other problem is with the "gold gourami" recommendation. Gold gourami are actually a color morph of the blue gourami (Trichopodus trichopterus), sometimes called three-spot gourami. These fish aren't recommended in anything under 36" (90cm) as they commonly grow to 5" (12.5cm) and would not be suitable for even a 20 gal long tank. I have also seen multiple sites recommend against keeping these with betta as they will grow large enough to see a betta as food. Three-spot Gourami - Seriously Fish
 
#12 ·
Do you think a betta could get along with a dwarf orange crayfish in a 20 gallon tank?
 
#21 ·
Good job, Mo! :D Why isn't this stickied?
 
#23 ·
Thanks Mo! I agree that this should be stickied.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Also a nice fish i found that does good with bettas are dojo loaches Dojo Loach, Weather Loach, Chinese Weatherfish, Oriental Weatherfish, Japanese Weatherfish, Dojo, Amur, Gold Dojo Loach, Misgurnus anguillicaudatus
Dojo loach-------30gal tank--- and atleast 2 but 3 or more is better
I realy like them with sorority tanks
They are really neat, but dojo loach (also called weather loach) are actually a poor tankmate for betta. They will grow around a foot long, need 50+ gal tanks, and don't thrive in tropical tanks. Keeping them at temperatures above 75F will shorten their lifespan. Not to mention a fully-grown dojo could easily eat a betta. DojoLoach (M. anguillicaudatus) at Loachesonline.com and WeatherLoach (M. anguillicaudatus) at SeriouslyFish.com

If you want a serpentine loach to be kept with betta, try going for a loach of the Pangio genus. Just make sure they are kept in groups of 6 or more and have lots of hiding spaces.
 
#27 ·
I have owned dojo loaches for 5+ years and not one has ever got near a foot long, top i have seen is 6 inches and he has been liveing in a 35gal tank for about 4 and a half years, and never once tryed to eat anyfish. Some of the fish i have had them with were fry from guppies, swordtailes.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top