Bettas compatable with?

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goldene

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Bettas and other fish

Hi :) can any of you give me advice on what fish live happily with Bettas ~male or female ~I know you cannot keep 2 males together but females you can.
 
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you'd actually be surprised at your options here. most people unfamiliar with bettas will automatically assume that their fighting fish reputation prevents them from coexisting with other fish.

just to give you an idea, my two bettas live happily (in separate tanks albeit) with lamp eye tetras, zebra danios, neon tetras, otocinclus, african dwarf frogs, black mollies and albino corydoras.

generally speaking, bettas can peacefully live with most non-aggressive fish and fish lacking similar pectoral fins, i.e. no gouramis.

[edited to say that my two are males... i'm sure having only females opens up a few options.]
 
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hi,
male bettas can live together with the fish the other poster listed plus they can also do fine with white cloud mountian minnows and in some cases(gotta be careful here) even guppies. good luck,
mt_marcy!
 
Hi :) Thanks all for your replys, aquariumfishguy I have a 4ft tank 48x12x15 since I have recently put my goldfish in a larger tank or a 1 and a half ft 18x10x10 that I normally use for a hospital/quarantine tank.
 
This is one of those things that you don't really know until you try. I'd try putting in the betta after you add any other fish to hopefully minimize any territorial instincts by the betta, and then watch the betta closely. If you see signs of aggression, remove the other fish and try again with something else.

Of course, any fish with a reputation for fin nipping is a bad choice...

You might also want to consider a pair of male bettas in a divided tank, judging by the dimensions of your tank.
 
When I put my betta into my 10 gallon with white clouds and cories he was the jerk of the tank. Though he never nipped or attacked anyone outright, he would do an occasional chase around the tank to show everyone who was boss. There was a lot of flairing but nothing physical. He evn decided that one particular spotted cory was the one he would pick on the most.

So unless you see actually physical attacks, aggression is fine. Just make sure to have plenty of plants (either real or silk) and make sure there is a nice calm spot away from the filter for him to hide when he needs a rest from swimming.
 
Ok thanks
 
I even had a Betta in a 55 gal with four Bala sharks, four giant danios, one Pleco, and three clown loaches.
They lived peacefullly for several years. As long as everyone stayed out of the Bettas corner of the tank.;)
 
Thanks again all of you, It seems that there is a good selection of fish to choose from, I will take a list of the names you recommended and look for them in the aquatics, I will keep you posted to what I get later on.
 
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