Are various inverts betta compatible?

Tough to say if he will get along with anything you mentioned, I have a betta in my planted community now with a few different types of snails, shrimps and even fancy guppies with out any problems. I had another betta that killed a couple mystery snails and all the cherry shrimp in the tank with him. Another who killed cherry shrimp but ignored ghost shrimp.

Even my pretty hostile betta's have gotten along with some other fish, cories, and otto's have always been ignored.

I've read about bettas that will kill shrimp just to kill them, regardless of whether they were hungry or wanted to eat them. Another thing to consider is that bettas are prone to constipation, bloat, and dropsy. They dont really have an off-switch for when to stop eating. Giving him an all-you-can-eat buffet of shrimp may cause some health issues, so I would take care there. When you do introduce him, I would watch his belly. If he looks like he's eating too much I would try to separate him with a breeder net or something.

Yeah my betta that killed off my cherries in a couple hour period didnt have any interest in eating them the bodies were all over the tank he just killed them to kill them.

I am running a 10 gallon betta sorority right now (5 ladies in there), and my girls killed ghost shrimp in a second- I didn't even try cherry shrimp. Some of them they ate, some they just stalked & viciously shredded for the sake of shredding them, before I just got them all out of there. I also can't have snails in with them, or they stalk them OBSESSIVELY, & attack like psychos whenever they peek out. On the other hand, I have a super laid back male betta in another tank that lives with both mystery snails & shrimp, and doesn't bother anyone. It really could go either way with bettas.

When you say you know he is aggressive, how do you know this? Have you had him with other tank mates, and he attacked, or just generally flaring at his reflection & seems like an angry little man?

You could try it- I would try one or 2 ghost shrimp first with HEAVY cover. Adding them first, and letting them get to know the tank is a good idea. Just give them plenty of places to hide, if they need to. Same goes with any snails, in my opinion.

Have you thought of adding a small school of very active fish? I've never tried it, personally, but, I have heard of a few people who had even aggressive bettas paired with fast moving fish like danios being successful, as the betta could never get a hold of the fast fish, was distracted by too much movement at once, and eventually gave up trying. Again, you have a moderate risk going on, there, even with the fast fish. Otherwise, you could definitely make him a really beautiful tank with plants & aquascaping, decorations, interesting rocks, and etc. & just let him serve as the focal point of a really well planned out tank with a lot of interest through the greenery & set up. There are some really cool set-ups I have seen that were set up with rocks, driftwood and low maintenance aquatic mosses attached to them strategically to look like bonsai gardens- VERY cool. Again, just my opinion... but, there are plenty of ways to add interest, if he has to live alone.

Look at this one- definitely interesting on its own, and a lone betta would look great in there!
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dLSVgS5Ax...c/nIywEvXmmlw/s400/Bonsai_Gardenaquascape.jpg

Or maybe this?
http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/sf/2-1-aquarium2.jpg

As everyone else has said, it totally depends on the personality of the fish. I have a male dragonscale betta (Smaug is his name ) in my 125g community tank. He lives peacefully with angels, rams, snails, and even male and female guppies. I also KNOW this is a horrible mix and asking for trouble but it works for some odd reason. He will flare at someone occasionally but then if they turn towards him he swims away from them as fast as possible...he's a big pansy boy. BUT...I also know things could turn sour and I have a back-up plan for him. Either he could turn vicious, or the others could get tired of his attitude and turn on him.
In other words, it's a gamble. So if you do try tankmates, have a back up plan.

eraagne said:

I think the closest I've gotten to giving my fish a tankmate was a pond snail which he swallowed whole. I thought he would die but this was before I found out bettas have teeth in their throats. Also I tossed a few bulbs in his 5 gallon the other day and he stalked and attacked those. Even though they are just plants.

Click to expand...

Oh my... he is an angry little man, isn't he! I wouldn't subject anything slow moving to him- definitely not shrimp. When they feel comfortable with their tank, they come out to explore, and are easy picking- once he gets a taste for one, he will most likely hunt them all down. And, you already know how he feels about snails. Otos might work! They're pretty quick, and also alert enough to just dart off if he starts stalking. Do you have another tank they could go to if he goes relentless & won't let up on them? (that's what my girls are like.. but, there're 5 of them, so other creatures get stressed and quickly- they just live alone. They're happier that way, and everything else is safer, too.) I've never had barbs before. Are they quick and like to move around a lot like danios? I've always heard that barbs are fin nippers, but that might not be accurate, as I'm not familiar with them, really. Someone else would surely have more info, there.

Good luck with that guy! He sounds like the girls in my 10 gallon... get along fine with each other most of the time. I can't put anything else in there with them, though, or they go psychotic on it. (got some torn fins at the moment form a little squabble over the last piece of broccoli last weekend- but generally good friends.)

Please post pics of the tank when you get done- I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I'd love to see it!