Adding a Beta to a regular tank?

[TrashmanTodd]

Hey All,
My wife just brang home a Beta from work and I hate seeing it in that little bowl.
The question is.......Is it true you can put a Beta in another tank with other fish as long as there is no other beta's in the tank.
I have three tanks,

1) 15 gal. w/ dwarf graumi's, tetras, algae eaters, and two frogs.
2) 30 gal. angles, graumi, and algae eaters.
3) 75 gal tall. Kissing fish, south american childreds, tetras, and a pleco.

Which tank (if any) would be best for the beta.

Tanks All:D
Todd

[GDominy]

I have kept beta's in many communities, but I see some problems keeping them in your tanks;

1.) The Dwarf Gourami's may be too aggressive and pick on the betta. Most species of tetra's are "ok" however nippier species may be a problem (Lemon tetra's are borderline, however glowlights, Neons and Cardinals should all be ok)

2.) Angelfish are a definate no-no with Betta's, they will definately have compatibility problems. As for the gourami, see point number 1.

3.) When you say "Kissing Fish" I am assuming you mean "Kissing Gourami's", if this is the case, see point number 1 again. Kissing Gourami's are kin dof 50/50 in how they behave with other fish of similar species, some work some don't, it depends on the individual fish. What kind of South American Cichlids are they? There are many different kinds of South American Cichlids, some would be ok, and others would not, you will need to be a bit more specific. As for the tetra's see point 1 again, the pleco should be ok though.

Personally, I don't think I would try to put your betta in any of these tanks (I really like your mix of fish, its just the betta may not do so well).

[goldfries]

GDominy, your point #1 is correct however is not 100% always the case.

i've had a Betta with like 4 pearl gouramis that are bigger than him and they lived fine together.

i'd suggest you try it in tanks #1 and #2 and observe the community for a while or maybe do alternate hourly or bi-hourly checkups. if all goes well you'll have a nice addition to one of the tank.

Tank #3 is really big and u mentioned SA Cichlids but didn't mention which type, the slow-moving betta could end up being bashed just in case he entered the wrong territory.

i tested a Betta in an oscar tank before, it took about 5 - 10 secs for the Oscar to sense, aim and attack the poor fella. i'll never ever do that again. :D

btw i think this post would be more helpful if you also stated the number of fish in the tank.

check out the other recent and earlier posts concerning fighter fish, i think many of your questions will be answered. it'll help you decide as well.

[TrashmanTodd]

Hey,
As for the S.A. Childids. I got then fromthe lft. The owner raised them himself. Anyways they are sort of greyish-brown, have electric blue eyes, and vertical black stripes. I don't the name but they are really cool looking fish.

Todd

[goldfries]

yes, their colors are nice.

but i like cichlids cos of their behavior as well. they do tend to get territorial and being fierce in guarding territory. so beware what you add.

[GDominy]

Originally posted by goldfries
GDominy, your point #1 is correct however is not 100% always the case.
.

Thats why I said "may" :D

[beviking]

As stated, you should know soon after putting him in the tank if he is o.k.. I have one in my community with a gold gourami, two honey gouramis, a few danios, and several sp. of tetras. There is an occasional nip here and there but there's enough room (55gal) for all. A LFS always has a male betta in the tank of dwarf gouramis. So he "may" be o.k. in your #1 tank. (Never mixed 'em with angels or cichlids cuz I ain't gots none :) )

[suziq]

I hate to discourage you and I know you will hear much to the contrary but this is just my experience.

Every time I have begun to feel sorry for my betta in a bowl, which is usually after a few months of having him, I have added him to my community tank. He seems fine, never harassed and no ripped fins for about a week or 2.. Then one day, he is dead, along with a few others such as cardinals, cories. Once, nearly my entire tank died. This has happened to me 3 times. The next time I decide to open my home to a betta, he is staying in a bowl.

i don't know if they carry disease or what but none of my tanks ever have problems until I add a betta.

[roper930]

I've kept a betta w/angels before. It really depends on the personality of each fish. What I tell everyone, try it and see what happens. Maybe it'll work, maybe not.

Good luck.

[goldfries]

on my side, i don't have problems when i put betta in the tank. they're usually adventurous but not trouble makers. however my recent bettas don't enjoy big tanks much, they just sit there like an idiot.

again, it all depends on their personality.

[Kit Walker]

I used to feel sorry for my betta and put him in my community, after a week his fins would be torn and eaten. I came up with a solution where I got hold of a pice of rectangular glass. I used this to corner off a section of my 75G SA cichlid tank. My betta loves his new triangular bowl. The glass will hold in place using substrate and a rock. I didn't seal it off, so that there is water flow in and out of the partition through the gaps thus benefits of the filtration system of the 75G. It is like a small tank within a tank.

[goldfries]

that's a really great i idea.

i guess having a square/rectangular partition reduces the size of the other major portion by a lot eh?

i'm sure it's nice though. ;)

[wiEngineer]

I have a flowing red beta in my 55g community tank. Other tankmates include clown loaches, a couple plecos, a gaggle of cories, a variety of tetras (neon, black/white skirt, flame, rummy-nose), a pair of mollies, and a couple scattered danios that refuse to die from the cycling days.

Herbert (the beta) gets along great with everyone and pretty much just does his own thing. When I put him in, he did spend two weeks hiding in the planted corner of the tank, but one day he just came out and hung out with everyone else and has been one of the troops ever since.

[Serrateeth_2002]

Doesn't it matters on the bettas personality,lively betta,lethargic bettas.Partly on the fishes you add with.

[wiEngineer]

Always. Like a lot of things in this hobby, there's always a certain amount of luck in play when working out the equation.

[goldfries]

Originally posted by TrashmanTodd
Hey All,
My wife just brang home a Beta from work and I hate seeing it in that little bowl.
The question is.......Is it true you can put a Beta in another tank with other fish as long as there is no other beta's in the tank.
I have three tanks,

1) 15 gal. w/ dwarf graumi's, tetras, algae eaters, and two frogs.
2) 30 gal. angles, graumi, and algae eaters.
3) 75 gal tall. Kissing fish, south american childreds, tetras, and a pleco.

Which tank (if any) would be best for the beta.

Tanks All:D
Todd

hope you don't mind this.
brought, not brang.
betta, not beta
gourami, not graumi
angels, not angles
cichlids, not childreds
thanks, not tanks

[joe schmoe]

Originally posted by goldfries
thanks, not tanks

"Tanks" could have been intentional. Maybe he's from Jamaica. :D

[wiEngineer]

It's spelled "anal", not "picky".

:D

[TrashmanTodd]

Hey All,
I know my spelling and typing might not be the best, but it is kind of hard w/ a two year old climbing all over you and hitting keys at the same time.

So, I takes what I can gets:D

Todd

[Terry Quinn]

I have a Betta in with danio's and mollie and they are fine. My betta is active, so he does well, but I have noticed that the snub each other from time to time. The mollies and the Betta do. Usually they stand their ground and swim away. THey have been together for quite a while and I really enjoy watching them. The Betta still has all his fins, so all seems fine.

[O-man21]

I hav a betta with a angel(full grown), 4 congo tetras( full grown), and a clown loach, their all fine and happy.