Okay so tomorrow I am getting a 46 gallon tank. I am thinking of getting one male betta and a few female bettas. I would also like to get some guppies, 2 goldfish, dogo loach, a couple gourami, and mystery snails. Do you think this would be okay for them all to live together in one tank? I will getting plenty of plants and decorations for them to hide in. Any suggestions would be great! Also what type of algea eater would you all suggest?
WOW, that sounds very exciting! Welcome to the forum. I personally would not reccomend keeping females and males together. You could have an accidental spawn and a lot of fin nipping/damage if you do keep them together. You could keep one gorgeous male betta or a good amount of dainty, spunky female bettas. Hmmm... goldfish... what kind were you thinking about? Because I think 2 goldfish need 10 gallons apiece of you're share of the 46 gallons. Hmmm... Guppies I think would be fine with females bettas, but if you go for a male betta: most guppies have decent sized, brightly colored fins. To a betta, this looks like... another betta! But females can live together in a sorority if set up properly. :) I think cory cats are algae eaters, they are adorable. Good luck! :)
Oh really, I was reading that guppies would be fine, I will have to do more research. I also was reading the a male would be fine as long as he was in a large tank and with non aggressive fish. I was thinking about the calico ryukin goldfish, I may only get one goldfish?
believe goldfish need colder temperature than bettas, and think gouramis and bettas can be a problem since they're closely related, some people have done fine with guppies, some not so much, not sure about loaches, snails are generally fine though, lol
I ruled out the goldfish after doing more research but I am still seeing that the dwarf gouramis and the betta should do well and the same with the guppies. I have seen some who have had issues and others that have not. Do you think with the tank being on the bigger side that it would be okay?
Gouramis and bettas both breathe from the air and are top-dwellers, so generally it isnt a good idea to keep them together. If the bettas are all female (no males and females together - ever.) it could work, however. Guppies should be okay with female bettas.
There will always be risk when keeping betta fish with other fish and the individual personality of the fish will also determine compatibility. A larger tank will help, with lots of places to hide, but still, you must understand there will always be a risk. A friend of mine had a 20g with 6 guppies and a male betta, there were plenty of places to hide, but the guppies were still really aggressive towards the betta and in the end, after shredding his fins, the betta was moved to a different, solitary tank. I would worry about gouramis to since they will reside at the top of the tank with the bettas and like bettas can be territorial. It seems that people have had the most luck with otos and cories, peaceful little ground dwellers. ^^
I love Dojo Loaches! I deffinatly would not do gouramis they are in the same family as bettas and won't get along.And the snails would be fine I have 2 golden mystery snails(in two different tanks cause I don't want snail babies) and my HMPK Diego LOVES his snaill buddy it's cute he likes to stare at him while he eats his algae wafer lol.
Hello! Welcome! It is great that you have such a large tank. I would start with 1 male betta (groups of females can be troublesome!) and other tankmates. No mixing genders for the bettas. I don't recommend gourami's with bettas and dojo loaches are coldwater. Here Is what I suggest for stocking:
1 male betta
6-7 harlequin rasboras OR neon tetras Or guppies
1 BN pleco OR 5 otocinclus
7-8 corydoras OR 10-15 pygmy corydoras
5 amano shrimp
8 ghost shrimp
10 plus regular dwarf shrimp
No goldfish either, they are coldwater, not tropical. Also, you need sand if you want corydoras.
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
New here! New 46 gallon tank!
