Fish mate for my HM male in a 10g

[txbettaowner]

I have my handsome red and blue HM male in a 10 gallon tank. I think he gets lonely and bored so I want to put some other fish in with him to keep him entertained. What type of fish and how many do you suggest? I was thinking guppies but can I put male guppies with a male betta or should I find just females? I don't want to add a snail because of my cats. Just curious. I don't want any expensive fish either in case one of them dies or gets killed. I have a fish that is inexpensive to replace unlike the Betta females and males.

[eatmice2010]

Guppies are not good for bettas because of there bright colors make the betta feel threatened. You really can't put a lot of fish in a 10g, Maybe 1 or 2 SMALL fish and some shrimp. If you want to do a schooling then you will need to upgrade to a 20 as a minimum, but also with a 20g you have more options as betta tank mates.
For the 10g i would stick with maybe a cory or 1-3 tetras of some sort, or shrimp, OR you could devide the 10g and have two bettas. Also dont get any tail nippers and no (semi-aggressive and aggressive fish)

[inveritas]

Take a look at the tetra family - most of them are they're inexpensive, peaceful and don't nip.

[txbettaowner]

I bought 2 African Dwarf Frogs and put them in the tank instead. Thank you for the advice. I like the frogs better I think.

[eemmais]

Tetras would be good. I have flour glowlight tetras in a ten gallon with my betta. Just don't choose more active tetras like neons or cardinals.

[shawnee]

teras seem like a good idea

[Jiirim]

Originally Posted by eatmice2010

Guppies are not good for bettas because of there bright colors make the betta feel threatened.

I disagree with this. My HM betta lives with three guppies and he's just fine. (He even 'hugs' them in his fins now and again and they sleep together)

OP:
The betta needs to be less temperamental and there must be a lot of coverage in the tank for if any of the fish are chased. My betta practically never flares and is so chilled out I sometimes call him my little pot smoker.

I put my betta into a baggie and floated him in the tank for a little bit to get used to his new mates. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

[eatmice2010]

Originally Posted by Jiirim

I disagree with this. My HM betta lives with three guppies and he's just fine. (He even 'hugs' them in his fins now and again and they sleep together)

Yes but not every betta has a good temperament like yours, Im only including bettas reactions most of the time, not the rare cases were the betta is overly nice and comfortable with other fish. I have some rare cases to like my betta likes my (white)gold fish but hated a ( green and brown)baby bulls-eye snake-head fish that he used to live with.

[Jiirim]

Originally Posted by eatmice2010

Yes but not every betta has a good temperament like yours, Im only including bettas reactions most of the time, not the rare cases were the betta is overly nice and comfortable with other fish. I have some rare cases to like my betta likes my (white)gold fish but hated a ( green and brown)baby bulls-eye snake-head fish that he used to live with.

I know you were trying to make a point, but when you said "Guppies are not good for bettas" instead of saying something like "Guppies aren't good for the majority of bettas but can still be housed with them under ____ conditions" it automatically gave off that guppies can never live with them and that isn't true. Who knows, maybe this betta is really chilled out and it could work?
In my opinion, even if it's a slim possibility that it could work, we don't know the aggressive levels or personality of this owner's fish, so we can assume that saying "no these wont do" is invalid.

[eatmice2010]

Ya i said they arent good i never said dont use them.