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Can bettas have tank mates?

This question was asked by Cate in the comments section of my last post.

The answer is: yes, they can. But it may not be the best situation. But that is up to you to decide.

Here is some info and things to keep in mind:

First of all, you have to have a big enough tank to house both a betta and another fish or two or three. How big is your tank? Moreover, you need a filter and heater definitely if you want tank mates. Got those?

The #1 rule is: male bettas cannot go together. But a female and male can… but they may breed and you may have little fry you don’t want. Or if you have a female betta, sometimes 3 or more of them can live together. In addition, I was doing some research on betta tank buddies and you don’t want anything that will be aggressive and nip their beautiful fins—so generally no barbs and no sharks. From personal experience, I have a rainbow shark and he’s territorial and aggressive. Also, do not put your betta with anything brightly colored with big flashy fins. He may think its another betta. Never house a betta with a cool water fish, like goldfish.

In general, coryodras catfish, platies, clouds, danios, plecos, loaches, african dwarf frogs, snails and ghost shrimp are ok pals to have in the tank. Fyi—some people say the betta may eat the snail or shrimp. Just make sure you give the tank mates the specific kind of food they eat too!

Honestly, the temperament of your betta will determine if he gets along with his tank mates. If he is very aggressive, he may not like having friends in the tank. Make sure the tank has sufficient room for friends and plenty of hiding places… like plants and caves… so the fish can go hide if they are being picked on. All my bettas live separately and many people believe that it is best to keep them that way. But all in all, it is completely up to you! Bettas have been known to tolerate a tank mate.

The best thing you can do is try, but make sure to carefully observe your tank and be ready with an additional tank to bail someone out if things are getting aggressive in there!

Cate, did you have a specific fish in mind?

Hope this helps! If not, let us know what other questions you have and we’ll try to answer them!

K

What a pretty little betta…

This is a type of apple snail… a black mystery snail. I have one and he’s wonderful! He/she runs laps around the tank.

Most Snails are “Hermaphrodites”. Which means they are both male and female. And they can reproduce by themselves. They don’t need a mate. Although, they can reproduce with mates as well. Snails are used most often in tanks because of their ability to eat uneaten food and all other waste. But some of them can create extra waste as well. Be careful if you put snails in your betta fish tank, as the population can easily get out of control.

Pros
Eat Waste
Some eat Algae
Peaceful
Will eat Dead Fish (hopefully not your betta)
Low Maintenance

Cons 
Create Waste
Reproduce (very) Often
Will eat small Fry
Eat Plants
Bettas may eat the Snails
May be extremely hard to remove

‘Just one biiig bite and…’ photo by Mean and Pinchy on flickr