betas as community fish

[fluffy-sama]

I've been trying to do research on betas on the internet about what fish they can live with peacefully... some information I find says DO NOT put betas with other fish for any reason, other sites say that there are many breeds that betas get along with just fine.

I don't want to go get some fish and put them in there only to have Pedro (my beta) kill them, or to have him become horribly stressed out over them.

Is anyone out there informed on this matter?

[Cichlid lover]

bettas are fine with fish that do not look too much like them, some guppies are a bad choice, and actually I think you should be worried about him being killed, bettas are actually not that strong

[ktreffin]

Agreed. I have seen many community tanks that include a beta as a resident. I would say that tank mates would have to be chosen wisely though. As Chiclid lover mentioned avoid anything with the long flowing fins that the beta might think is a fighting partner. One the same note I would avoid anything that might harass the beta, fin nippers like barbs and such might present a problem.

It has been done, and can be successfully repeated but I would make sure to plan the tank out well. Hope this helps.

Ken

[joeshmoe]

i had a betta in my tank with platy mollies and he did fine.

[Lupin]

Bettas can be kept with anything placid enough to coexist with them except guppies and fin nippers.
Renowned fin nippers:
tiger barbs, black widow, Buenos Aires tetras, serpae tetras, etc.

The reason why guppies can't be mixed is that their colors and fancy tails offset the bettas and the bettas will assume them as one of their rivals.

[Jaysn]

One fish I can tell you not to have in a tank with a betta is bichir. I wanted to put my betta in with the big tank, and several minutes after I did the bichir started harrassing it, and one tried to bite him. Needless to say, he was rescued and put back into his own tank.

[scottysgirl]

I have a betta that tries to kill everything, even in a large tank, whether it looks like him or not. The only fish he gets along with is my angelfish.

[cyradis4]

I would advise against putting bettas in tanks with strong current. I had one in with Angels and Mollies and a pleco for a while. But he kept getting blown about hte 55 gallon tank by the currents.

I've also seen Bettas kept with Discus.

Personally, my prefered setup for a betta is a 5 gallon bow front acurlic with a filter and 5 or so schooling tetras, like Rummy nose. Truely spectacular.

Amanda.

[FDStation152]

They might do rather well with discus now that I think about it. Discus definitely aren't the fin-nipping variety of fish and in all likelihood wouldn't bother the betta. And the betta probably wouldn't bother the discus either for the basic reasons that A. discus don't resemble rival bettas and B. discus are a whole lot bigger and I don't think the betta would try to attack it. The also like the same light water circulation as opposed to stronger currents.

[Melissa]

well i have my betta in a community tank and he loves it. The only thing you want to watch out for is fin nippers. Dont put him with fish that nip fins.