Male betta in 50 gal tank

[Jazgator]

Can someone tell me if it would be OK to put a Beta in my 50 galon tank with kissing gouramies, silver shark, blue and gold gouramies, red fin shark and a giant dannio?

[sunset]

I dont know about compatibility with those fish, but I have heard that bettas like little to no water current, and smaller areas. Hopefully someone else will be able to help you more.

[Dangerdoll]

I don't know the compatibility too much but you should know that the betta will most likely stay in top corner lot of the time. Not sure if it's due to the tank being so big, but this has been my experience with them in bigger tanks...

[cdawson]

Bettas do NOT mix with anything colourful like gouramis. unless you have a lot of plants with broken lines of sight and such. Bright colours of other fish will provoke natural instincts in both the betta and gouramis. I've seen them together before but on in 100g plus.

[ChilDawg]

One WILL kill the other according to my Betta books. Gouramies and Bettas are a little too closely related, and those pectoral fins may just give that fact away to one of the relatives.

Plus, the three types of gouramies concern me. AFM ran an article recently in which a guy had a tank with four types of gouramies, and, if memory serves, only the golds made it. I'm thinking that the Betta wouldn't survive against a Gold Gourami without a lot of prayer and maybe a tank divider.

[Pisces]

I have kept a male betta in a 55g community tank before with no problems.
You have to keep in mind the temperment of the tankmates because bettas are quite peaceful on their own.
Some people think that a male betta is so aggressive that it will go after any fish it sees but that's not the case, they are only aggressive to other male bettas or anything that "looks" like a male betta. Your main concern is if any other fish in the tank will pick on the betta because aggressive fish will nip the betta's fins to shreds or just bully it to no end.
Bettas do prefer very calm water where they can make their bubble nests and it may prefer to hover in a corner. My betta would always seem to get stuck in the current of the water pouring out of the filter and he'd have to fight like mad to get out of it. They aren't the swiftest of swimmers, but they do add a very nice splash of color and beauty to a tank.

I do agree that they are probably too closely related to gouramis to be kept together. Also paradise fish and fancy guppies should be avoided as tankmates because the flowing fins and body types are too similar in appearance to another male betta.

As for any other colorful fish being a problem, I haven't experienced that myself. I believe fish are supposed to be pretty much color-blind aren't they?

[Tonje]

I had a very beautiful betta in my 69 litres tank. A week after I got him, I got a pair of moonlight gouramis (Trichogaster microlepis), and put them in the same tank. He flared at them and tried to keep his territory, but in the end that territory was some hidden places above my filter or between some plants. I brought the gouramis back to the shop after a week (and that's a really good thing, as these gouramis grow too big to go in my tank), but then it was too late. The betta died, maybe because he was exhausted. He had no chance against two big gouramis.
I don't think I'll try a betta in a community tank another time. I'd rather set up a small tank especially for the betta.

[ChilDawg]

I think that that's a good idea. My second Betta fought with Cories and the like...and they got stressed. I wouldn't be surprised if your Betta was stressed to death.

[wetmanNY]

Floating plants and maybe a bit of natural corkbark give a betta security.

Pisces, most fish see colors brilliantly, except fish that have secondarily lost the ability. Otherwise all those bright colors would be wasted. Mammals generally are colorblind. So, though there's some patterning, the color range is limited: black-gray-white-brown to tan and cream, with some rusty rufous coloring. Primates are the exception. Those colorful baboon butts that Mother hurried you past at the Zoo...

Just think of all the fish spawning colors and the quite specific messages they're sending!

[PumaWard]

I have 2 male bettas and 3 female bettas in my 75gallon tank with 3 pearl gourami with no problems... I think that the best way to find out is to try putting them in and then watch them carefully for deviant behavior and ripped fins.

The blue and gold gourami may pose the biggest problem, so just watch everyone carefully because no fish behaves the same way.

[mickey]

I personally wouldn,t chance the betta in the same tank as the gouramis.

[dethjam316]

personal experience:

i used to have a community tank with a roommate last year...blue gouramis were one component. my roommate's gf bought him a betta as a present and plopped it into the tank, and immediately, my big blue male gourami harassed the heck out of it and started nipping. despite my worries, he decided it would be ok left in there. the next morning the betta had no fins to speak of. very sad situation.

i would strongly discourage that situation.

[ChilDawg]

Even if it does work for individuals, it is not recommended that you include Bettas in a community tank with other Anabantoids. YMMV on keeping a Betta in a tank, but why chance it being overly aggressive and destroying the resident Gouramies or vice versa?