wow! i guess i'm lucky! i have had my gorgeous betta in with both gouramis, platies and cories and they all get along fine! just about a year together and no real problem. he does like baby mickey mouse platies though... :evil_lol:
Betta in community tank
- Thread starter DSR
- Start date
How big is that johanni? You're going to have real problems with him and your current stock. Mbuna do not do well in community tanks, they are too aggressive. Also you mentioned adding CO2 to your tank so I'm assuming you have plants. Mbuna also love the taste of plants 
You might want to rehome him before he goes crazy and starts killing other fish.
You might want to rehome him before he goes crazy and starts killing other fish.
Yep. I agree. I am ticked off about it as well. When i found him I was buying more plants from a store that I like quite a bit from a clerk that I thought knew her stuff ... certainly more than me. She knew I had a community tank because she made fun of me for having such a strange variety of fish. I had never seen nor heard of Johanni before but was struck by its appearance. I asked if he would be alright in my tank... oh, yes, they are very peaceful and would do well in that setup.
So i take him home (he was only $4.95). I then googled him to find out some more information (my oldest really likes to know where they are all from,e tc). It was only then that I realized that she was completely wrong on pretty much all accounts. Very frustrating. Right now he is fine, but I know that won't last long at all. especially not in the 29 gallons we have. he has already started eating plants. he will be rehomed soon; i don't want him or the other fish to be stressed.
From now on I will do my own research and will not rely on the petstore worker.
So i take him home (he was only $4.95). I then googled him to find out some more information (my oldest really likes to know where they are all from,e tc). It was only then that I realized that she was completely wrong on pretty much all accounts. Very frustrating. Right now he is fine, but I know that won't last long at all. especially not in the 29 gallons we have. he has already started eating plants. he will be rehomed soon; i don't want him or the other fish to be stressed.
From now on I will do my own research and will not rely on the petstore worker.
Yeah, you need a much bigger tank. Going by the 1" rule, you're overstocked, but a lot of your fish need territories and space to avoid aggression problems. Your MBuna needs to find its way back to the fish store or to another tank. It will grow and it WILL kill all of the fish in the tank.
I have kept betas in all my old community tanks with tetra's and lots of different fish with no problems.
I would put one in my current salty tank, but I don't think HE would like it.
Most of the information on beta's beating everybody up is not correct in my experience. The seem to get along with just about everyone but their own kind. Kinda like some people I know!
I would put one in my current salty tank, but I don't think HE would like it.
Most of the information on beta's beating everybody up is not correct in my experience. The seem to get along with just about everyone but their own kind. Kinda like some people I know!
Sadly I am too late. I had planned on taking him back to the pet store tonight when I got home from work and letting the sales clerk know I was very unhappy and why. However, my wife just called and said that he is laying on his side at the top of the water barely moving. will see what happened when I get home, but no other fish are showing any signs of distress so I think he got beat up and probably killed. He wasn't showing any signs of abnormal behavior this AM when I left. Sad.
I have had several bettas with my Gourami's. I had a betta in with the Gourami for over a year without any problems. The gourami would chase the pristella tetras, but wouldn't even look at the betta.
echoofformless
Peat Advocate & Defender Of Snails
I'm only going to say that bettas and gouramis often get along just fine depending on individual temperament. But you really have to know what you're doing, and I wouldn't ever recommend so many in one tank.
I would also add that danios are nippy and annoying to bettas.
I would just leave well enough alone.
My best advice? Get the betta his or her own five gallon tank. Use very gentle filtration and some peat or indian almond leaves. Plant it heavily. Happiest bettas ever.
I would also add that danios are nippy and annoying to bettas.
I would just leave well enough alone.
My best advice? Get the betta his or her own five gallon tank. Use very gentle filtration and some peat or indian almond leaves. Plant it heavily. Happiest bettas ever.
The 1" per gallon "rule" is essentially worthless... by that logic, we could keep an adult oscar in a 20 gallon.
What, the Johanni? It's difficult for me to believe that your community fish killed an Mbuna... sounds like a possible water quality issue to me. IMHO you should retest asap, given you've been dealing with a mini-cycle.
I couldn't agree more. Walmart sells Eclipse hex 5 gallon knock-off tanks for about $35. Filtration and lighting are included. I'm not saying bettas can't be kept in community tanks; they absolutely can. But given the stock list you're working with already, a new tank would be much easier.
