are bettas compatible with anything?

[jeremy1]

i have a female betta and was wondering if she could live in my 10g community tank.its current occupants are 3 harlequin rasboras 3 serpae tetras 1 black neon 1 danio of some sort 1 columbian tetra a mystery snail and 1 otocinclus.the reason i am asking is b/c ive heard that evn though bettas cant cohabitate due to aggression they are not really aggressive towards other species. thanks for any and all replies!!!!!

[joe_jaskot]

Bettas can live in a community tank. You can keep multiple females, but usually only one male unless the tank is very large.

[BlondeFishGal]

Hi Jeremy:

In a planted community tank (90 gallons) I have one male betta and a few female bettas. Everyone plays nice. He is always building a bubble nest for the ladies.... Classy guy :)

Even in that large of a tank, I only have one male.

So in your 10 gallon tank, if you only have one female, sure, she'll be just fine with other fish. It is really the males that fight over territory. Often to the death or at least to enough damage done that death ends up happening.

If you ever get to a betta show, or a fish show and observe the betta fish competing, you will see the smart people who put pieces of card board or paper between the bowls/containers housing their male fish. Why? Because if not done, the males will flare and bang themselves against the sides of the bowls to "fight" with the male next to him. Ends up destroying the fins of these magnificent fish and they don't place in the show. They look ratty at the time of judging.

To all other fish, bettas are peaceful. You just have to make sure that they get enough food. They are easily 'pushed aside' by boisterous fish and are not aggressive eaters. So you have to cater a bit to them. Plus, in terms of water temps, they like it on the high side, around 80 degrees, so you have to watch what fish you keep with them.


Hope that helps :)

[jeremy1]

ok thanks for the info!!! one thing though what about water current? most all bettas ive seen are of course in the un-filtered stagnant vase or bowl.

[BlondeFishGal]

ok thanks for the info!!! one thing though what about water current? most all bettas ive seen are of course in the un-filtered stagnant vase or bowl.

Well, that's b/c in the wild, that's really how they live. In little puddles. Bettas are labyrinth fish, meaning they have a special organ (labyrinth) that allows them to take in oxygen from the air. In fact, if you breed them, you need to take a little extra care with the fry as they grow out, to ensure the labyrinth organ grows well. I have never bred them but my fish club (NJAS) has the top IBC (International Betta Club) breeder, Rich Martucci and I have been to lots of shows with him. He 'only' has about 150 - 200 jars of bettas at any given time. LOL

In my 90, I have two AC 110 on it, but I also keep the water level REALLY high b/c it is a planted tank and I don't want the CO2 to easily escape. That has nothing to do with keeping bettas, but my point is there is movement in the tank, but not a lot of surface movement. You'll notice that bettas tend to stay up at the top. I have floating plants or plants with some big leaves near the top, and I will frequently see the male betta kinda resting on the leaves. I thought he was dead a few times, but after speaking with guys in my club, I found out that was normal.

I also tend to keep juvies in either containers or much smaller tanks, to ensure they get enough food, then move them into the show tank when they are adult size. Without a doubt, they are a fabulous shot of color, and folks who get into breeding them end up getting fascinated by the genetics and color strains. It's really quite something when you talk to betta breeders.

Food wise, their diet is high protein. I've fed mine black worms about twice a week and flake and brine shrimp the other days, and they grow like crazy.

If you ever get into showing them, btw, they need to be kept in the small bowls. Other wise, their fins will get a bit torn from swimming so much in a big tank.

LOL, probably WAY too much info! Sorry! ;)

[fischfan13]

Are the inputs of your AC 110's covered with pre-filters?
I would assume that such a slow moving fish as a Betta with such long fins would get sucked up into that intake very easily.

[BlondeFishGal]

Are the inputs of your AC 110's covered with pre-filters?
I would assume that such a slow moving fish as a Betta with such long fins would get sucked up into that intake very easily.

No, I don't use pre-filters in my planted tanks at all. You have to understand that my planted tanks are very heavily planted tanks, so there is continual leaf loss or just plants, like my vals, that sway in the water and kinda get sucked up a bit. That serves almost as a natural pre-filter. If I add a true pre-filter, it just about stops the water current 'cause the leaves just stick to it. I also use extenders for the intakes on my AC 's b/c my 90 is 2 feet deep. And my 90 is really my smallest 'real' tank. So my tanks are deep, thus the need for extentions on all intakes. I have to stand on a chair to actually be able to plant plants in my substrate, b/c the tanks are that deep.

The bettas never go that deep that the intakes are a problem. Never go near the filter intakes at all. They are really mostly surface swimmers. Maybe mine go 8 inches down, and that's it. They are not explorers. My male is very content to stay at te surface and either lay around, or work on building his bubble nest for his next lady love.

[mshill90]

I have a 72 bowfront that planted..

It's got a multitute of different fish in it.

It's got african calvus (2), odessa barbs, silver flying foxes, golden barbs, cardinal tetras, neon tetras, an angel fish (had 2, but one killed too many fish, so it was removed), upside down catfish, algae eaters, oto cat, zebra snails, mystery snails, and you guessed it Bettas! I've got 4 females, and a male.. but I plan on adding a few more females.

I've never had any issues keeping them together. Like previously stated, the plants cover the overflows on the HOBs.. and my Bettas actually enjoy swimming in the current. Go figure.

I feed them flake food, and keep my tank at 82F.