What can I put with my betta

[thewateroflife]

I am new here and have been reading lots and am trying to figure out what is best as a tank mate for a betta. I am ashamed to say we had a betta and he lived in a tiny bowl for a long time. He recently passed away. His fins kind of all congealed together with black stuff on the ends not sure what that was. Anyway my daughter is heartbroken over the lose. So we said we would get another one but I have been reading and learned we did it all wrong so now I would like to do it right well at least try. So we have a 10 gallon with heater and sponge filter and light. So far no fish. I know it has to cycle and will make every effort to make sure its good before adding fish. But my kids would like to have more than one fish. I have been trying to find what else will go with a betta and everything I read contradicts the next thing. So help me please. I dont want a frog. SO what else would work in 10 gallons. And is a male or female betta better to have with other tank mates. Thanks for any help

[White Mage]

You COULD do a sorority in that, maybe 3-5 female bettas? Just make sure it's heavily planted along with a few little caves to hide. o:

I know shrimp and snails are generally compatible with bettas. I also read somewhere that frogs are ok... but don't take my word for it.


Also, if you wanna speed up the cycle process, you could buy like your first betta, and also buy a small bottle of Tetra SafeStart and put the whole bottle in there. It instantly cycled my sister's tank after a couple of days!

[cliffordsmom]

You could split the tank and have two (maybe three) males.
I had a split five gallon until recently.

Dividers are really easy and inexpensive to make yourself.

There are plenty of other guides online on how to make them. For the one divider that I made, I probably spent like $4 on material.
Also, be SURE to put in the divider before your gravel/sand. Bettas are tricky little fish and like to get around them sometimes! :)

[thewateroflife]

So you think its safe to put say 4 female bettas in one 10 gallon tank? What would be required for this to work? I thought they would fight. But this sounds like a neat idea.

[aemaki09]

4-6 female bettas would work perfectly.
Just make sure you have it heavily decorated or else you might have some fights.
Look at the betta compatibility or betta care section and look at "betta sororities" it's a sticky so at the top of the section of one of these
pages

You could also have a small school of non-nippy tetras, rasboras, corydoras, and a few other species, as long as they are peaceful and not too colorful it'll work.

[Bombalurina]

I love sororities and am a huge advocate of them, but if this is your first time doing things properly, I wouldn't recommend it. They are a little trickier than a single betta. :) I would suggest a nice male with a school of little panda cories. :)

Cories are very cute fish and you can see them 'blink'. Their darker colours and swimming habits mean that they won't bother your betta and he shouldn't bother them. Given a sand substrate and a few hiding spots, they will be very happy.

[thewateroflife]

Ok so I was thinking I would do 1 betta with 5 Pygmy Cory and a few shrimp. Should it be a male or female betta?

[Bombalurina]

That sounds like a beautiful combination. :) Make sure you have a sand substrate as gravel isn't so good for the tiny little barbels on the pygmy cories. Shrimp love sand too, and java moss - it makes a great hiding spot for them and helps them survive if the betta gets greedy. :)

Make sure the tank is fully cycled too, as cories and shrimp won't like a cycling tank.

As for betta gender, either would work just fine. It depends on the temperament of the individual betta.

[broncosfan84]

I recently started a sorority tank with 6 female I bought from Chard56. The females are 3 months old and getting along great. Chard56 told me that it worked better with young fish, but older are harder to keep together.
Thanks again CHARD56 for the beautiful fish. They are doing great!!!!