Lana Bollers Posted July 20, 2008 Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 OKay my daughter wants her Betta in her room as well as some other fish, so I purchased a tank and I will give her the five gal tank, however can her Betta be housed with congo, black skirt, bandit tetra's and guppies? Will any of them nip at his fins? He is a beautiful fish and I want to keep him that way... Lana :smokey: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackMumba Posted July 20, 2008 Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 I would not recommend adding a betta to a community tank especially with Guppies... Guppies try to mate with anything and everything including Betta's... Betta's are territorial and get easily annoyed at the Guppies advances and will Rip your Guppies fins if givin the chance. Betta's are better left alone... in a smaller tank, they are much happier there then in a tank full of Guppies... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayfong Posted July 20, 2008 Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 It all depends on the betta, I had a crowntail that I had in with cherry barbs, rasbora hets and corydoras and he was fine. I've also had another betta that I had in with amano shrimp and otocinclus that did ok too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish_Frenzy Posted July 20, 2008 Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 Also, the black skirt will shred the bettas tail within hours if not minutes. A five gallon is too small for the congo and black skirts anyways. A betta in a five gallon is a perfect set up, if it is kept in the tank alone. Tammy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lana Bollers Posted July 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 Also, the black skirt will shred the bettas tail within hours if not minutes. A five gallon is too small for the congo and black skirts anyways. A betta in a five gallon is a perfect set up, if it is kept in the tank alone.Tammy We have two congo's, one black skirt, one bandit, and four guppies in the 5 gal, but I was going to put a couple in the 10gal I just purchased and my daughters betta and a couple of other fish in her room. The congos are young and maybe 2" for the largest one and the smallest one maybe an 1.25" or so... I did notice that the black skirt can be a jerk at times, he seems to be the boss of that tank for sure. Lana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FLIP Posted July 20, 2008 Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 IMO Congos should only be kept in 45g tanks or more theyre very active and grow larger than most tetras and must be kept in groups of 5 or more. A 5g tank is like putting a person in a 4ft by 4ft room when it comes to these fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted July 20, 2008 Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 I wouldn't add tetras in with a betta. Too high a chance they will nip the betta's fins. A 5g with the betta, a few plants and maybe some shrimp is nice. Thats how my Betta's tank is setup and it works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drydock Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 I have never had a good experience with a Betta in a community tank and it has always turned out bad for the Betta. I also have 4 Congos in my 72 Gallon community. They are probably the most active fish in the tank, where I would probably say the Betta will be on the other end of the scale. I would also put down money on the Black Skirt to give the Betta a 'trim'. Bettas are a pretty slow moving fish and will be at the mercy of everything in the tank that is faster than it when it makes its way from his hiding spot to the surface to breathe... It will also be at a disadvantage for food as well. Unfortunately, I pretty much have to agree with what everyone else is saying. I don't think what you are suggesting is a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lana Bollers Posted July 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 Okay dookie, so I guess he is a lonely boy forever... I think right now he is only in a 1 gal tank, if that... maybe a 1/2 gal... my son's is also in a smaller tank... I love the betta's they are so showy, just wish they could be with others, and I know or read somewhere that they can not even be kept with a female for long periods of time, as they will go after her.... maybe they need to take an anger management course...haha Okay so everything will stay as it is... Lana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 I agree with all of the above. Most small fish will probably nip at his fins, all the ones you named should be kept in schools, and no school should be less than 4-5. I would however not keep the betta in a small tank under 2 gallons. 5 Gallons are terrific tanks for bettas, all they really need is a low flow filter, and a heater. Very inexpensive. My male betta ate all the ghost shrimp I put in his tank, so if keeping shrimp, make sure to get lots of plants, real or fake, so that the shrimp have a place to hide from the betta. I also made the mistake of putting my male in a community tank, a few days later I found him and his fins were all torn. I decided to put him back into his old tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lana Bollers Posted July 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 I think I will put him in my daughters room, when we went to aquarium illusions the shrimp they had were salt water. Can those same shrimp be kept in fresh water? What can be housed with the betta safely? Any suggestions? I am getting rid of my tetra's. I will however keep the neon and the bandit tetra (I think that is what he is called) they are smaller and I think will be fine with the guppies at least. Lana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoiBoi07 Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 I could lend you a couple of convicts to help out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 http://bettafishworld.blogspot.com/2008/04...betta-fish.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 (edited) I think I will put him in my daughters room, when we went to aquarium illusions the shrimp they had were salt water. Can those same shrimp be kept in fresh water?What can be housed with the betta safely? Any suggestions? I am getting rid of my tetra's. I will however keep the neon and the bandit tetra (I think that is what he is called) they are smaller and I think will be fine with the guppies at least. Lana No salt water shrimp can not be kept in fresh water Edited July 25, 2008 by randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 Zebra snails are great tankmates for Bettas. Zebra snails(or spotted nerite snails work too) look cool, won't eat plants but are great algae eaters and will keep the glass clean. I keep amano shrimps with my betta in a 5g. If you want to try shrimp its best to try out some cheap Ghost shrimp first to see if they get eaten. IF they dont' you can move on to the expensive shrimps. Amanos are larger then some of the fancy shrmip so they tend to work best. I've also kept Cherry shrimps in my planted betta tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.