Tropical Fish Forums

[CAllain]

We have 2 bettas in community tanks (not both the same tank!!!) and they've never had a problem with the other fish. The main worry I had when we moved one of the bettas into my tank was actually that his fins may get nipped, but I've not had a problem with this so far. The only problem I have experienced is he doesn't manage to get much of the food as he's rather slow, and the rasboras are super fast, but if his stomach is as small as merboy states I assume this isn't a problem.

One thing I have heard (not from experience) is that it's not a great idea to put bettas with other long finned fish, as they may mistake them for other bettas and start attacking them. So far the other fish in our community tanks are all short finned, so we haven't had this problem.

[merboy]

Just a small update: Clyde my betta is doing perfectly fine in his 5 gallon unfiltered tank. he is spreading his beautiful fins and started building a bubble nest. He couldn't build a bubble nest in his old 30 gallon filtered community tank due to water current and he never spread his fins and tail like this.I also gave him a lot of elodeas and water sprite plants which are known to help absorb amonia.

On a different note. I was watching this progam on National Geographic or Animal Planet ( I don't remember) About how Betta fighting has become a national sport in Thailand. That's right, they place two males together untill one of them ultimately kills the other.Sick huh?
The point is that it is very hard to stop and outlaw this sport since people can catch Betta fish in the wild too easily. Why?because they live in small shallow ponds with no water current .In other words, Bettas's natural habitat are indeed small areas with still water. They showed images of bettas living in the wild like this.It's just something to keep in mind.

[ghostmonk]

I've just done up a 3 gallon tank with heater and filter, and I intend to buy a betta, what tank mates would you recommend or should I keep him on his own?

[Suzie Q]

[Dolphin Dip]

28 pages was a little excessive for me to read [especially in class =p ]

my experiences have gone something like this....
I've READ that bettas can live up to 20 years if properly cared for. however that lifespan is shortened to 3-4 years when left in a cramped enviroment.
Bettas can tolerate those enviroments only because bettas have an extremely advanced gill system. this system allows them to breathe air and extract the most possible o2 from the water.

whether or not your betta should go into a community tank hinges o the particular betta. bettas are known for their aggressive tendencies towards other bettas and similar lookig fish [ex: fancy guppy]. I have one betta in a 2g and a male female pair in my 40g planted. before I had this pair together I tried the female out with another betta and he was way too aggressive towards her and the tankmates. once I put the 1/2moon betta in with her all the fish became much more relaxed. guppys came out of hiding, the female's colors came back, and the half moons colors improved dramatically in just 24 hours.

this tank is over filtered with a 75g biowheel on a 40g breeder. but with lush vegitantion and driftwood the bettas have learned where the calm areas are and tend to gravitate towards them.

sorry for the essay. <3

[Dolphin Dip]

[Pacific302]

I've found there's really no consensus anywhere about whether bettas should go in a community tank. I am setting up my 20 gal tank again after a 4 year break and I plan on keeping a few trios platies and 2 cory cats, plus one betta. I guess we'll have to see how my particular betta fares with the others. If he misbehaves he may earn a tank of his own.

[BarebackDreamer]

I bought Riddle a couple months ago, and at first he was in a two gallon bowl. And every time I moved the slightest, he'd get so excited and dance around with his face against the glass. And I felt guilty, because you can't really play with a fish like a fish can. So I gave my black moor to a friend, partly because it tried eating a danio, and because it was messy and I didn't like him much anymore, being the sixth moor I've had. And I transfered Riddle into the 20 gallon long community. He... doesn't really seem to care if he's in a bowl or a tank. But he loves the current from the filter and the bubbles from the airstone. He occasionally nips at the blackskirts, and after two days my male danio had a bitten off tail fin, but it's grown back no problem and everyone's happy. It was so funny when Riddle flared and slowly went toward a cory, then just kind of deflated and was like, "Oh." and swam away.

Tank stock:

Two black skirts
One painted skirt
Three corydoras aeneus
One albino of the above
Mated pair of zebra danios
One black mystery snail
One yellow apple snail

I'm planning on getting some more danios and converting it to a planted tank. At the moment it's aquarium rock, plastic/ceramic ornaments, and a giant baby tears plant. Going to look for some driftwood and better or more natural looking substrate, and more plants. Keeping the main centerpiece, though even though it's plastic. Looks natural, and the cories have had it for nine years. I'm also going to get some shrimp, and I'll be keeping a few fry from the cory spawn.

Got a bit off topic there. But anyway, it really depends on the betta in question. I've had some that I realise now would have been happier in a community, and some that loved their two gallon bowl. Although, Riddle's absolutely beautiful now that he's in the bigger tank.

[Arjuna]

The simple answer is yes and no, it just depends on your fish and community tank setup.

[HottieFreak82]

I have had trouble in the past with bettas. I've tried small areas and mid-sized, no filter and filtered, but currently have my male betta in my community 55 gal. tank ( about 3 months now ) . He's doing great, sometimes relaxing in a bottom area of the tank behind an ornament, swimming back and forth mid-level along the back of my tank and eating at the surface most always. He seems to be enjoying life.
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* No T.V. ~ Just watchin' my Tanks! *