# What could i put with Betta's?



## abadi (Jul 25, 2010)

Hello fishes,,

Betta's (Fighting fish) siamese, or waterever.. is there any other fish i could put with them? same tank?

No? i guess?

If im thinking to get a Betta i think i should ask if they can be put with other fish otherwise i dont have a spare tank for 'em alone.
I call 'em ''Emo Fish'' :lol2:
Also i 'ave seen 'em in my LFS, when should they spread their rear fins brightly? always? as ive also seen some thin ones with their fins folded apart, does this mean these arent healthy ones? or are they normally thin and spread their rear fins when they want to?

Hope i make sense :lol2:


----------



## _jake_ (Jul 3, 2008)

Dependant on tank size your looking at smaller bottom feeders or fast small tetras. Ottos, Cherry Barbs, CPD all seem to work well.

I think what you mean is the different types, alot like Leo morphs?


----------



## Chromisca (Sep 28, 2010)

Kuhli Loaches would also go well with a Betta, and they're very pretty imo 

Kuhli Loach - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


----------



## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

little trick when fighter shopping: take a small mirror with you and hold it (discreetly!) to the glass - a healthy male will rush up to his reflection fins flaring


----------



## Barnacle (Sep 16, 2010)

Wow, that's a brilliant trick daftlassie! :gasp:


----------



## abadi (Jul 25, 2010)

Well the only type of fish thats gonna be with are tiger barbs, probably also a common pleco and a few neon tetras or so (not really neon tetras tho, just plecos and tigers), i was wondering if i can put bettas with other fish generally?



_jake_ said:


> Dependant on tank size your looking at smaller bottom feeders or fast small tetras. Ottos, Cherry Barbs, CPD all seem to work well.
> 
> I think what you mean is the different types, alot like Leo morphs?


Not really...

what i mean't was, when a betta looks like this (its fins) does this mean it isn't healthy or is it the same as the one in the pic below?




















daftlassieEmma said:


> little trick when fighter shopping: take a small mirror with you and hold it (discreetly!) to the glass - a healthy male will rush up to his reflection fins flaring


Haha good one, have ya tried it? : victory:


----------



## Ash1988 (Nov 9, 2010)

DO NOT put a Betta with them tiger barbs, they will rip his fins apart and he will die, tiger barbs are too boisterous for a Betta.
Oh and the tails, there are a few difference tails, the first pic you posted is a Veil tail Betta and the bottom is a half moon tail, there are also delta tail, crown tail, double tail and the plakat.


----------



## abadi (Jul 25, 2010)

Ash1988 said:


> DO NOT put a Betta with them tiger barbs, they will rip his fins apart and he will die, tiger barbs are too boisterous for a Betta.
> Oh and the tails, there are a few difference tails, the first pic you posted is a Veil tail Betta and the bottom is a half moon tail, there are also delta tail, crown tail, double tail and the plakat.


Ohh got it now, both parts :2thumb:

I must research on the tail thingy thoo :whistling2:
What about the different colourations of bettas? from blue to purple to red to pink? what are they called? :lol2:

Thanks :notworthy:


----------



## peterparker (Nov 11, 2010)

daftlassieEmma said:


> little trick when fighter shopping: take a small mirror with you and hold it (discreetly!) to the glass - a healthy male will rush up to his reflection fins flaring


Great idea that, A good knowledge base to start is a Thai guy called *Atison Phumchoosri, *he has a site - AtisonBetta home of show quality bettas, Halfmoon bettas,beautiful betta pictures gallery. where you can pick up some great tips (ie. catappa/indian almond leaves for conditioning the water) he has several generations of passed down knowledge......BUT bear in mind he is from Thailand and breeds them for fighting, so some pages refer to training etc. that won't be of any use (but make for interesting reading)
I keep a female in a community tank which includes angels, Nigerian Red Kribensis, Chinese algae eater, some cory's and she is quite capable of looking after herself, but angels have previously had a go at males so that selection of fish are no good for a male. the males (unless after breeding where they are downright savage) seem to be more timid and tempermental in their moods (quite often sulk!) At the mo I have a 3' tank with 3'sump and I've split main tank into half doz pens, in the 1st are 4 fems who are quite happy together, the next 2 are males on their own, which I have observed them flaring nose to nose at each other through the glass, despite it being a blacked out, they just seem to know when the other one is there, next is fem then 2 males (seperate again) but I have had to put 3 fems in the sump due to fighting (suprise, suprise) and they live quite happily with 5 black widow tetra's.
What I've found, especially with males is they all have different characters, some are fiesty, some are moody but all (if healthy) will react to the sight of another male, even if as daftlassie says it's their own reflection.
They are fantastic little fish, and well worth reading up on. Veil tails used to be all the rage but they seem to have fallen out of fashion, apart from the crown tail I personally think the veil tails are majestic looking, I love em. 
As for spare tank, when mine breed, they get to a size in between babys (happy to live together) and saleable (where the LPS will take them) where the males will start to bicker, I have quite a few 3-5 litre jars which I use, I tend to put a java fern or catappa leaf in with them and sepearate them into one per jar, must be in a warm (20-24c) room as you can't put a heater in a jar, but because of their ability to breathe air (look up Labyrinthe organ) they don't need filtration or aeration (as long as you regularly clean out "poop" & change their water, VERY IMPORTANT if keeping like that).
Blimey thought I'd never finish that!!
But to finish, they are great little fish that have great character, learn to recognise their keeper very quickly and can be hand fed over time with bloodworm and the likes.
I can't recommend them enough, super fish.
Phew!


----------



## Ash1988 (Nov 9, 2010)

How big is your tank, you say you have a common pleco, im assuming you have a 6ft tank to house this monster to be, as commons grow upto 2ft long.

What are you going to do about the Tiger Barbs?? if you want a Betta then the Tigers must be rehomed or taken back to fish shop.

Sorry im just concerned about Tigers Barbs and Betta being in same tank.


----------



## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

Ash1988 said:


> How big is your tank, you say you have a common pleco, im assuming you have a 6ft tank to house this monster to be, as commons grow upto 2ft long.
> 
> What are you going to do about the Tiger Barbs?? if you want a Betta then the Tigers must be rehomed or taken back to fish shop.
> 
> Sorry im just concerned about Tigers Barbs and Betta being in same tank.


^^^ agree with everything here. that sounds like a bad mix of fish.


----------



## abadi (Jul 25, 2010)

Ash1988 said:


> How big is your tank, you say you have a common pleco, im assuming you have a 6ft tank to house this monster to be, as commons grow upto 2ft long.
> 
> What are you going to do about the Tiger Barbs?? if you want a Betta then the Tigers must be rehomed or taken back to fish shop.
> 
> Sorry im just concerned about Tigers Barbs and Betta being in same tank.


Ohh, i dont have a common pleco but thought i'd get one a baby one and yeah they'll probably outgrow my tank.
Tiger barbs arent kept with betta's, i dont have any betta's atm but i just said if i wanted to get betta's there will be with tiger barbs as i dont have another (or cant be bothered) tank, and i know its a bad idea anyways so im like ''no way im getting a betta'' unless ill get rid of the tiger barbs or run a new tank.

I mentioned ''neon tetras'' and ''common plecos'' but i didnt mean i keep them.. yet..



goldie1212 said:


> ^^^ agree with everything here. that sounds like a bad mix of fish.


Ahh, then same answer lol :2thumb:


----------



## BornSlippy (Jan 11, 2010)

abadi said:


> Ohh, i dont have a common pleco but thought i'd get one a baby one and yeah they'll probably outgrow my tank.


So why buy one when there are plenty of much smaller growing sepcies? (and which will do a much better job of eating any algae you may have though you will need to suppliment it's diet).

As said tiger barbs are a no no with long finned fish. Betta tankmates should not be boisterous and/or fin nippy or small enough that they can be eaten. There are many options though.


----------



## abadi (Jul 25, 2010)

BornSlippy said:


> So why buy one when there are plenty of much smaller growing sepcies? (and which will do a much better job of eating any algae you may have though you will need to suppliment it's diet).
> 
> As said tiger barbs are a no no with long finned fish. Betta tankmates should not be boisterous and/or fin nippy or small enough that they can be eaten. There are many options though.


I was thinking about that yeah, last time i went to my local aquarium store they only had common plecos and i hope they got some new arrivals this week.


----------



## shiftylou (Apr 27, 2008)

I have lots of betta's 

I have a tank with 1 male betta and community fish such as harlequin rasbora's, neon tetra, swordtail platties, algae eaters, penguin tetras, danio's, 2 german rams, a few guppies, balloon mollie, some other platies and a group of female betta's

they all get along fine, I also have a betta keeper in the tank that is divided in 2 for 2 more betta's I rotate them over so each betta gets free swim of the tank each week.


----------



## Ash1988 (Nov 9, 2010)

abadi said:


> I was thinking about that yeah, last time i went to my local aquarium store they only had common plecos and i hope they got some new arrivals this week.


They should have Bristlenose pleco's, these are very popular.


----------



## abadi (Jul 25, 2010)

Ash1988 said:


> They should have Bristlenose pleco's, these are very popular.


Yes they are quite popular, they're probably out of bristlenoses? then? thats why i was hoping for new arrivals.


----------



## scarman (Jul 31, 2010)

I have a clown plec, pygmy corys, amber tetras and cherry shrimps with my white betta male and his two female companions and there are no problems. live plants like java moss and fern, and anubis work well in the tank especially when planted on bogwood near the top. this has encouraged my boy to start building a bubble nest, but make sure water flow is low for this to remain.

I can only encourage bettas as they all have their own individual character and are a real joy to watch.

Si


----------



## Fordyl2k (Nov 29, 2010)

Just recently got rid of my 60l tank. I found my betta to do good with honey gouramis,4 panda corys and a small group of 5 tetra.


----------



## abadi (Jul 25, 2010)

Fordyl2k said:


> Just recently got rid of my 60l tank. I found my betta to do good with honey gouramis,4 panda corys and a small group of 5 tetra.


ahh interesting, looks like ya got things doing well in there, what type of tetras you have there?



scarman said:


> I have a clown plec, pygmy corys, amber tetras and cherry shrimps with my white betta male and his two female companions and there are no problems. live plants like java moss and fern, and anubis work well in the tank especially when planted on bogwood near the top. this has encouraged my boy to start building a bubble nest, but make sure water flow is low for this to remain.
> 
> *I can only encourage bettas as they all have their own individual character and are a real joy to watch.*
> 
> Si


i disagreeee, lol sorry but bettas are beautiful but IMO very boring to watch and they often give any non knowledge guest that its a just dead fish :lol2: dont you? :Na_Na_Na_Na:

my favourite aquarium fish are catfish, the smaller sized NOT corydoras they are very active and very loving friendly unlike tigers and most cichlids cute from the outside, evil from the inside :devil:


----------



## jme2049 (Jan 11, 2008)

abadi said:


> i disagreeee, lol sorry but bettas are beautiful* but IMO very boring to watch and they often give any non knowledge guest that its a just dead fish* :lol2: dont you? :Na_Na_Na_Na:


Why are you thinking of getting a Betta then?:Na_Na_Na_Na:


----------



## petbroker_1 (Jun 8, 2008)

ok lets sort this out it is NOT common plecos that get massive it is the common sailfin pleco that gets massive( i had 1 that got 3ft in lengh) and fighters are generaly better alone cuz tetras, barbs and angels and no doubt a number of other fish will fin nip and probably kill the fighter,


----------



## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

abadi said:


> Haha good one, have ya tried it? : victory:


 my LFS always had good fighters in so i never tried in the shop, but i've had family members question their aggressiveness so it makes for a good display 


petbroker_1 said:


> ok lets sort this out it is NOT common plecos that get massive it is the common sailfin pleco that gets massive( i had 1 that got 3ft in lengh)


 both are still considered pretty big for the "average" aquarist: common plec (_Hypostomus plecostomus - _usually anyway)reach about a foot maybe a bit over, still gonna need a bigger tank


----------



## Fordyl2k (Nov 29, 2010)

abadi said:


> ahh interesting, looks like ya got things doing well in there, what type of tetras you have there?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Had some neons. Also had lampeyes and cardinal tetra at one point in with him. Mine was a shortfinned fighter btw imo they look nicer


----------



## abadi (Jul 25, 2010)

jme2049 said:


> Why are you thinking of getting a Betta then?:Na_Na_Na_Na:


:blush: because they are beautiful :lol2:


----------



## jme2049 (Jan 11, 2008)

abadi said:


> :blush: because they are beautiful :lol2:


Haha true. Mine ain't boring he darts about everywhere. I got a couple of sucking loach in with him there too fast for him but he likes to boss them around.
He also knows when feeding time is and waits in a certain spot for his food.


----------



## Fordyl2k (Nov 29, 2010)

They can also be hand fed


----------



## Mynki (Mar 24, 2010)

peterparker said:


> Great idea that, A good knowledge base to start is a Thai guy called *Atison Phumchoosri, *he has a site - AtisonBetta home of show quality bettas, Halfmoon bettas,beautiful betta pictures gallery. where you can pick up some great tips (ie. catappa/indian almond leaves for conditioning the water) he has several generations of passed down knowledge......


I've imported Betta's directly from him as I couldnt find any decent fish in the UK. He also has his own product line:-

items - Get great deals on Water treatments medication, Spongebob Squarepants items on eBay.co.uk Shops!

I've used the SPA as it's far more convenient than almond leaves. The Betta PRO food is also really good. I used the standard and PRO when raising some Bettas. The PRO definately produced better Betta's!


----------



## Mynki (Mar 24, 2010)

petbroker_1 said:


> ok lets sort this out it is NOT common plecos that get massive it is the common sailfin pleco that gets massive( i had 1 that got 3ft in lengh) and fighters are generaly better alone cuz tetras, barbs and angels and no doubt a number of other fish will fin nip and probably kill the fighter,


Lets _genuinely_ sort this out once and for all then :lol2:

The term common plec is an extremely bad name to use as there are about 5 different species imported into the UK that are then sold on as common plec. These are regularly all lumped together as Hypostomus plecostomus. A fish that can and will grow upto 12".

The fish often sold as a "Sailfin plec" (Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps) is another very popular plec and will reach a larger size of 18". It won't grow anywhere near the 3 foot mark you have suggested. Although feel free to prove me wrong with a picture. Or buy a new tape measure.......

In fact the only plec that will get to the three foot mark is the Adonis plec. A fish not really suited to the aquarium trade, but seen often none the less. They're one of the more attractive plecs, but Acanthicus adonis will soon outgrow your aquarium as it will hit one meter in lengh. Or three feet and three inches.

Unless you own a tank measuring 6' x 2' the common plec is a very bad choice. Arguably, sailfin plecs need an even bigger tank. And the Adonis plec a massive trop pond. Personally I'd like to see an end to the trade in Acanthicus adonis as no one can really house them properly.

Hope thats cleared a few things up?


----------

