I am new to this and am setting up a 20 gallon tall aquarium...what kinds of aquatic life can a betta be tanked with?
NEWBIE QUESTION! What can a betta fish be tanked with?
- Thread starter jason puniak
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This is very true. But, even a pugnacious betta is usually ok in a larger setup. My current male is a jerk, but I don't think he'd be nearly as rude in a 20 as he is in his 5, especially if he was the last to be added.
I have had good luck with corys, black neon tetras, small plecos, and platys.
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Betta can be kept with, Neon tetras or cardinal tetras, harlequin rasboras, platies, cories, black neon tetras just to name a few. But like the other posters added, some betta can be jerks.
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if you want mates for your betta i think its best to stock them first to avoid territorial aggression. I have a betta in a 10gallon planted, he seemed very friendly (never flares, doesnt mind being observed) so I thought about adding an oto or three to do work on the algae growth. I asked around and found very differing opinions. finally asked the lfs guy (who has always had good advice imo) he suggested feeder shrimp. I bought ten and introduced them to the tank at 3pm by 8Am the next morning he had ate all of them and the ones that he did not eat were mangled and slowly dying at the bottom. So be very careful...they are called fighting fish for a reason.
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Hi!
Firstly, kudos to you for setting up a 20 gallon for a male betta!
I can't tell if that long, pokey plant in the back is part of the background or in the tank itself, but if it's in the tank you might want to take it out as it's common for male bettas to tear their fins on sharp plastic plants. I would try to stick with really soft plastic, silk, or live plants. 
Is that your betta in the top right corner? If you've already added him, it *can* make it more difficult to add tank mates, but not impossible as long as the betta isn't aggressive. It's all on the fish.
I've kept several male bettas in community tanks ranging from 5 gallon-55 gallons, and here's what I've learned.
-All cories seem to be okay, EXCEPT for bronze cories. I've had 3 males who had no problems with peppered or pandas, chase and constantly harass bronze cories. I don't know if it's because they are more active, or something, but it's always been the bronzes who've my males had issues with. Be sure to get at least 4, pref 6 cories and supplement their diet with shrimp pellets.
-Avoid tiger barbs, serpae tetras, and other common fin nippers. These fish love to nip on bettas long, beautiful tails
-Male guppies (maybe even female guppies), and any other fish with long tails/fins that look similar to a bettas. Your male betta will think there's another betta in his tank.
-Danios, minnows, and any other hyper active zippy fish. Bettas don't like fast, zippy fish, they stress them out.
-African dwarf frogs- Typically people say they are perfect with bettas, but in my experience, bettas are gluttons when it comes to frozen bloodworms. Even if you tweezer feed worm by worm, bettas seem to learn quickly where the food is and will snatch it away before the frog even sees it.
-Other labrynth fish- Such as gouramis and paradise fish
-Any fish that is too big for a 20 gallon. Mollies, rainbows, most catfish besides cories, most plecos, etc.
Fish that are *typically* safe choices, along with recommended numbers to get.
-Corydoras (get 4-6+) (excluding bronze in my experience)
-Tetras (get 6+)
-Harlequin rasboras and other rasboras (get 6+)
-Platies (I'd get at least 3-4)
-Cherry barbs (I'd get at least 4)
Since you've already added your betta it looks like, I would add fish that are the least obtrusive to his territory, such as corydoras catfish, to judge how he acts. My male betta that was in a 10 gallon would flare readily at snails and anything he saw move, but when I had to add some tetras, rasboras, kuhli loaches, cories (just a temporary emergency 2 hour situation), he did fine.
Yours may act different though, it's always best to have a back up plan in case he wants to be alone. I'd also recommend feeding him an hour before adding new fish (full fish seem to be less aggressive), and even adding more plants/decor before adding more fish. I've also taken the plastic cup they come in and scooped up the betta out of the tank, re arranged the decor, turned off lights, added new fish, then add him right back in the tank as well.
Good luck!
Firstly, kudos to you for setting up a 20 gallon for a male betta!
I can't tell if that long, pokey plant in the back is part of the background or in the tank itself, but if it's in the tank you might want to take it out as it's common for male bettas to tear their fins on sharp plastic plants. I would try to stick with really soft plastic, silk, or live plants. Is that your betta in the top right corner? If you've already added him, it *can* make it more difficult to add tank mates, but not impossible as long as the betta isn't aggressive. It's all on the fish.
I've kept several male bettas in community tanks ranging from 5 gallon-55 gallons, and here's what I've learned.
-All cories seem to be okay, EXCEPT for bronze cories. I've had 3 males who had no problems with peppered or pandas, chase and constantly harass bronze cories. I don't know if it's because they are more active, or something, but it's always been the bronzes who've my males had issues with. Be sure to get at least 4, pref 6 cories and supplement their diet with shrimp pellets.
-Avoid tiger barbs, serpae tetras, and other common fin nippers. These fish love to nip on bettas long, beautiful tails
-Male guppies (maybe even female guppies), and any other fish with long tails/fins that look similar to a bettas. Your male betta will think there's another betta in his tank.
-Danios, minnows, and any other hyper active zippy fish. Bettas don't like fast, zippy fish, they stress them out.
-African dwarf frogs- Typically people say they are perfect with bettas, but in my experience, bettas are gluttons when it comes to frozen bloodworms. Even if you tweezer feed worm by worm, bettas seem to learn quickly where the food is and will snatch it away before the frog even sees it.
-Other labrynth fish- Such as gouramis and paradise fish
-Any fish that is too big for a 20 gallon. Mollies, rainbows, most catfish besides cories, most plecos, etc.
Fish that are *typically* safe choices, along with recommended numbers to get.
-Corydoras (get 4-6+) (excluding bronze in my experience)
-Tetras (get 6+)
-Harlequin rasboras and other rasboras (get 6+)
-Platies (I'd get at least 3-4)
-Cherry barbs (I'd get at least 4)
Since you've already added your betta it looks like, I would add fish that are the least obtrusive to his territory, such as corydoras catfish, to judge how he acts. My male betta that was in a 10 gallon would flare readily at snails and anything he saw move, but when I had to add some tetras, rasboras, kuhli loaches, cories (just a temporary emergency 2 hour situation), he did fine.
Yours may act different though, it's always best to have a back up plan in case he wants to be alone. I'd also recommend feeding him an hour before adding new fish (full fish seem to be less aggressive), and even adding more plants/decor before adding more fish. I've also taken the plastic cup they come in and scooped up the betta out of the tank, re arranged the decor, turned off lights, added new fish, then add him right back in the tank as well.
Good luck!
I've kept bettas with a wide variety of species, from dwarf neons to discus to zigzag eels.
Mark
Mark