Betta Fish Advice

[Tremor]

Last Friday I bought a betta fish male from a Wal-Mart in Iowa Falls while I was on a college visit. I ended up naming him Xavier and he is currently sitting in a 1 gallon tank loaned to me by a friend. I am planning in buying him a 5 gallon tank; which is suggested for them (NOT those vases or 1.5 gallon "betta tanks" sold commercially)

He LOVES his bloodworms and isn't a fan of flakes. Lol. Cheeky little fellow

The thing is, I want to get him a tank mate once I get my 5 gallon tank. I tested out his personality and he's so calm. I put a mirror in front of his tank because some use it as a form of exercise because most males flare up at their reflection. He seemed interested in it, kinda half heartedly danced around, and ended up swimming away to eat some bloodworms.

I love him, lol. He's pink, and not at all fancy looking. Just plain Jane.

But, what kind of tank mates should I get since he's so calm?

Here's a picture of him:



Edit: and of course it posted upside down ...when the picture is actually up right on my iPad. You get the idea. He's a cute as a button!

 

[jacks'thunder]

I put a gold fish in with mine. Actually 2, a gold one and a gold and black one! They were just feeder gold fish but they lived a long time. I worked at a pet store and bettas were a big seller. Betta fish, betta decor, betta tanks, betta food, betta books, betta friends, LOL you name it we had to know about it! LOL!!

You could also do Rosies, they are feeders also but long and skinny in shape with stripes. Cute little fish and those live a while too!! I'm giving you "cheep friends" that you can get any where, that are tough, and don't require alot. Good starter friends! LOL!! Just make sure once you get someone in there with him to watch his fins. Other fish just can't seem to resist nipping them.

Good Luck with Xavier!

 

[Jill]

Maybe some neons? or some plain (not fancy tail) guppies. I love bettas

 

[mydaddysjag]

I have mine in a 10 gallon with some cory cats at the moment, need to add a few more fish. One thing is I would suggest a 10 gallon tank if you can swing it, a 5 gallon might be big enough for a betta, but your going to run out of room for tank mates. Ideally you want 1 gallon of water per 1" of fish, and the more the better, if you overcrowd the tank your water quality goes down the drain

 

[Tremor]

Thanks. I was planning on going up today to get a 10 gallon tank and some fish, but I don't think that's going to happen right now.

Probably soon though!

 

[SugaryCharm]

I have had a few bettas (no fish anymore) but have never had good luck putting them in with other fish--either the betta harassed the other guys, or the other guys wouldn't leave the betta's fins alone. I did put a clear, perforated divider in a 5 gal tank that worked well for mine for "company." Good luck, whatever you decide!

 

[Lil Eowyn]

If you're going to add another betta, do not get another male! They'll fight till the end --not pretty! Good luck! =)

 

[Jill]

I did used to keep bettas in 10g tanks with neons, small platies, few cories... it worked well for us. They're such pretty little fish!

 

[tagalong]

Jill, the neons did not nibble on the betta's fins? I must have had a delinquent bunch of neons!

 

[Sterling]

I've have Bettas and have my current Betta in with Blue Neons, Balloon Molly, Black Tetras and Corries. No problems with them. I've found Barbs and Danios more of fin nippers than the Neons. Not to say Neons can and won't...but I've not had a problem with mine over the years.

 

[disneyhorse]

They don't really need "friends" but pick a community fish that isn't brightly colored with big fins. I love Cory catfish for the bottom, but they do like to school so get at least two.

Platy or mollies are good too.

 

[WendyJ]

A great "companion" in a betta tank is a marimo moss ball. It's a plant that grows in the shape of a ball, looks great in the tank, and actually uses the fish wastes as "fertilizer", so it improves water quality.

I've seen them at PetSmart (sold in the little cups that they sell the bettas in), but I bought mine on ebay.

Wendy

 

[minih]

I have a beta in with several different colors of tetra, the little white catfish to clean the bottom and an algae sucker fish. Have had them in together for a couple of years, altho my other Beta died of old age and this new one is about a year old, maybe a little more.

 

[crisco41]

if you need to make a tank divider you can use the plastic squares that you do hook rugs with. They cut easy to sizeThen you add on poster frame pieces and put it on the ends to make it rigid. Works great and costs just a few dollars

 

[HGFarm]

I find males and females fight in a tank that small- they are very territorial. I had a large tank but had all kinds of tropical fish in there... neons would be great... remember you wont have much room in your tank due to the small size- 1 gallon of water = 1 inch of fish. I would try like 3 neons with him... that would be nice and it's fun to watch them swim around.

 

[Jill]

I've not had it happen, Tag. I think the key is keeping enough in a school for neons, tiger barbs, etc. If you have enough fish in the school, the seem to interact with each other, vs. the other types of fish. At this time, we have five fairly large tanks, but in the past have kept smaller ones... ie, the 10g's with small tropicals and a betta.