Female compatibility with other fish

[WDW Donna]

Sorry for all the questions lately, but I want to set this tank up right.
If I have a 10gal tank with a divider (I have to separate two females) can I put fish in each side with the single female. If so what are good choices. I have always wanted some Mickey Mouse Platys, will they work? How many fish can I put into a 5.5gal?
I am still trying to decides which size to get. Space is a bit of an issue so if I can stick to a 5gal great, but I might be able to squeeze a 10gal into the house somewhere.

[GreenTea]

The general rule is 1 gallon of water per inch of fish. So even if your female betta is only 1 inch long, that only leaves room for 1 full grown platy on each side, which will probably cause a problem with aggression from either fish. Platys do better in groups and won't be happy like that. I'd recommend getting some type of snail, moss balls, or possibly shrimp as tank mates, but not more fish. All of those types of tank mates help keep your tank clean too =]

[WDW Donna]

Shrimp sound interesting. Could I do one female each side and one shrimp each side of a 5gallon?

[GreenTea]

Yeah you could have a couple shrimp. They have almost no bioload and are quite small. Be warned that some bettas eat them though. I've never kept shrimp but there are threads in this section on them so I'm sure you can find lots of info.

[WDW Donna]

I just found a couple of threads on ghost shrimp. Seems to be about 50/50 chance of the betta eating the shrimp.

[Micho]

I've seen a Betta eat a ghost shrimp and choked on it to death. I rather not take that chance. . Why not try a sorority? All you'll have to do is get more female Bettas, pick up live plants. . It's up to you though, I do not recommend shrimp if you do not provide the cover for them, they're quite social too so you'll need more than 1 somewhere around 3. .

Maybe a small snail on both side? A Nerite snail since they cannot reproduce. . I do not recommend snails that grow big since they poop lots.

[WDW Donna]

To do a sorority I would need the 10gal tank and I am not sure I have the space for it. I think I will stick to what I know best and get a couple of small tanks like our male is in eventhough I had my heart set on a divided 5gal.

[Pitluvs]

Usually the rule is at least 4 females in a 10g tank for sororities. It spaces out the aggression. One female and one Platy will allow the female to pick on the Platy constantly. Also its best to add tank mates to a 10g only, anything under that is a no no. I kinda see it this way... females require the same as males. Each needs about 2g of space for territory reasons, so a divided 5g would be big enough for 2 only. You could still do this in your 5g, I have Twitch and Freddy in mine :) Then you need one heater and one filter, less plugs.

[WDW Donna]

Thanks for the info. I would love to have a large tank with many different species of fish, but for now I will enjoy my two new betta. They can have a mini sorority in a divided 5gal tank!

[GreenTea]

Way to be responsible with it ;]

I've never tried shrimp because they are so cute and I know my fatty bettas would eat them, but lots of people keep them successfully. Pics if you can get them!