Some Suggestions When Choosing Betta Tankmates
Those who want to keep bettas often wonder what sort of betta tankmates can be chosen to liven up the tank and give it a little variety.
There are quite a few that are compatible with bettas, but there are also many that are not as suitable for a betta community tank.
Because of how aggressive male bettas are, they cannot be kept in tanks with other male bettas or even female bettas.
But that doesn't mean they need to be kept alone.
Female bettas, on the other hand, are shy and peaceful and suitable for the community tank with fish that are not too small (because they might eat them).
Whether female or male, bettas can be kept with small and peaceful fish such as tetras and barbs, excepting of course the serpae tetra and tiger barb, which can be on the aggressive side and may nip the betta's long flowing fins.
There are an immensely wide variety of species available under both tetra and barb groups.
Barbs are from Asia, and a number of barb species may be found with bettas in the wild.
Tetras, on the other hand, are from South America and Africa, and may require slightly different water characteristics and maintenance-just something to think about.
Other excellent betta tankmates include the livebearers-guppies, platies and mollies-which, as their name suggests, give birth to live babies instead of producing eggs.
Like tetras, these lively little fish come from South America as well.
It's often been said that platies and mollies do best with a little salt in the water, as befits fish that live in areas where seawater penetrates to a certain extent, so that is something to think about if and when selecting fish for a community tank.
However, they have been raised in purely freshwater habitats without problems.
If you are considering breeding your livebearers, though, you might not want to keep them with bettas, which may eat the babies.
There are plenty of other fish that are also excellent for the community tank, such as the little Corydoras catfish that just sit on the bottom nearly all the time, to the various Danio species that hang out under the water surface.
Now here are some fish to be avoided: cichlids except for the "certified peaceful" ones like angelfish, discus and South American dwarfs; catfish except for Corydoras and Plecostomus (sucker catfish) and similar species; other members of the betta and gourami family; and in general any fish whose mouth is large enough to eat a betta!
There are quite a few that are compatible with bettas, but there are also many that are not as suitable for a betta community tank.
Because of how aggressive male bettas are, they cannot be kept in tanks with other male bettas or even female bettas.
But that doesn't mean they need to be kept alone.
Female bettas, on the other hand, are shy and peaceful and suitable for the community tank with fish that are not too small (because they might eat them).
Whether female or male, bettas can be kept with small and peaceful fish such as tetras and barbs, excepting of course the serpae tetra and tiger barb, which can be on the aggressive side and may nip the betta's long flowing fins.
There are an immensely wide variety of species available under both tetra and barb groups.
Barbs are from Asia, and a number of barb species may be found with bettas in the wild.
Tetras, on the other hand, are from South America and Africa, and may require slightly different water characteristics and maintenance-just something to think about.
Other excellent betta tankmates include the livebearers-guppies, platies and mollies-which, as their name suggests, give birth to live babies instead of producing eggs.
Like tetras, these lively little fish come from South America as well.
It's often been said that platies and mollies do best with a little salt in the water, as befits fish that live in areas where seawater penetrates to a certain extent, so that is something to think about if and when selecting fish for a community tank.
However, they have been raised in purely freshwater habitats without problems.
If you are considering breeding your livebearers, though, you might not want to keep them with bettas, which may eat the babies.
There are plenty of other fish that are also excellent for the community tank, such as the little Corydoras catfish that just sit on the bottom nearly all the time, to the various Danio species that hang out under the water surface.
Now here are some fish to be avoided: cichlids except for the "certified peaceful" ones like angelfish, discus and South American dwarfs; catfish except for Corydoras and Plecostomus (sucker catfish) and similar species; other members of the betta and gourami family; and in general any fish whose mouth is large enough to eat a betta!
