Like most hobbyists, the first thing I wanted to know when I started keeping Betta fish, can you keep them in a community tank? Or better said, can you keep a Betta fish with tankmates?
In short
Male better fish are notorious for their aggressive behavior. It is possible to keep tank mates with a male Betta, but pick wisely. Bettas are aggressive towards color fish and fish that are the same size as they are, like Neon Tetras and other male betta fish. As long as your betta’s tankmates aren’t colorful, they should leave them alone. But this is always at your own risk and depends on your betta fish. Want to know why? keep reading!
The deep dive.
The long answer isn’t really that simple. In all honesty, it highly depends on the character of your betta fish, size of the tank and of course the type of fish you want to keep with your betta fish.
Why are Betta fish aggressive towards other fish?
First of all, it’s important to know that male betas are a lot more aggressive than female betas are. Even though, they both hunt for food. Their aggressive nature lies in their evolution and the way betta fish reproduce. In nature, male betta holds a territory, within that territory, they make a bubble nest and wait for a female to arrive. When a female swims by, she lays eggs in that bubble nest and the male fertilizes the eggs with a ‘special dance’ after the legs are fertilized the male defends the eggs with his life, especially against other Betta males and other colorful fish with long fins like other betta males.
Why does tank size matter?
Keeping your betta fish in a bigger tank (I recommend at least 31 Gallons or 120 Liter) simply reduces the change that other fish will continuesly swim inside the betas territory and therefore recedes the change the beta fish will kill them. Even though, having a bigger tank doesn’t guarantee a calm betta who leaves his neighbours alone. It also helps to create a lot of hiding spaces for other fish.
Individual character of your Betta fish
The aggressiveness of your beta depends on their character and therefore their suitableness in a community tank. I’ve kept some male betas in community tanks for their entire lifetime with no issues at all, other time’s I wasn’t so lucky. The only way to figure out if your beta fish has a calmer or more aggressive nature is by simply take your changes and put him with your other fish. This is at your own risk though and it’s likely that your beta starts attacking your other fish as soon as it can. So if you want to try this out, make sure to have a suitable backup tank for your beta that is cycled and keep an eye on it as much as you can.
Female betta fish
Female Beta fish are suited for community tanks and can be kept with a wide variety of community aquarium fish. They don’t have a territory to defend against other male betas and are therefore less aggressive. This doesn’t mean they are not mean towards other fish, Beta fish are hunters and can pick on others.
Suitable tankmates for your betta fish
Fortunately, there are tankmates you can keep with your beautiful Beta fish. I’ve made a list with 10 of the best tankmates for your Betta.
- 1. Cory Catfish
- 2. Harlequin Rasbora
- 3. Kuhli Loach
- 4. White Cloud Mountain Minnows
- 5. Ghost Shrimp
- 6. Zebra Snails/Nerite Snails
- 7. Zebra Danios
- 8. Black Neon Tetras
- 9.
Marble Hatchetfish - 10. Dwarf Pencilfish
- Cory Catfish
- English name: Cory Catfish
- Scientific name: Corydoras
- Size: 2 inch/5 cm
- Lifespan: up to 5 years
- Diet:
scanvengers Minium tank size: 10 Gallons / 37 Liter- Tank setup: Plants with some open swimming space
- Temperature: 72 – 78°F / 22 – 25°C
- PH Level: 7.0 – 8
2. Harlequin Rasbora
- English name: Harlequin Rasbora
- Scientific name: Trigonostigma
heteromorpha - Size: 2 inch/5 cm
- Lifespan: up to 8 years
- Diet: Omnivorous
- Minimum tank size: 10 Gallons / 37 Liter
- Tank setup: Plants with some open swimming space
- Temperature: 72-81°F / 22-27°C
- PH Level: 6 – 8
3. Kuhli Loach
- English name: Kuhli Loach
- Scientific name: Kuhli
loach - Size: 4 inch / 10 cm
- Lifespan: up to 10 years
- Diet: Omnivore,
perfers live food - Minimum tank size: 20 Gallons / 75 Liter
- Tank setup: Freshwater
- Temperature: 72-83°F / 22-30°C
- PH Level: 5.5 – 6.5
4. White Cloud Mountain Minnows
- English name: Kuhli Loach
- Scientific name: Kuhli
loach - Size: 1.5 inch/3,80 cm
- Lifespan: 3 to 5 years
- Diet: Omnivore
- Minimum tank size: 20 Gallons / 75 Liter
- Tank setup: 10 Gallons / 37 Liter
- Temperature: 64-72°F / 17-22°C
- PH Level: 6.0–8.0
5. Ghost Shrimp
- English name: Ghost Shrimp
- Scientific name: Kuhli
loach - Size: 1.5 inch/3,80 cm
- Lifespan: 3 to 5 years
- Diet: Omnivore
- Minimum tank size: 20 Gallons / 75 Liter
- Tank setup: 5-10 Gallons / 18.5-37 Liter
- Temperature: 64-72°F / 17-22°C
- PH Level: 7.0–8.0
6. Zebra Snails/Nerite Snails
- English name: Nerite Snails
- Scientific name: Neritina
natalensis - Size: 1.5 inch/3,80 cm
- Lifespan: 3 to 5 years
- Diet: Herbivore
- Minimum tank size: 5 Gallons / 18 Liter
- Tank setup: Freshwater
- Temperature: 72-78°F / 22-25°C
- PH Level: 8.1-8.4
7. Zebra Danios
- English name: Zebra Danio
- Scientific name: Danio
rerio - Size: 2 inch/5cm
- Lifespan: 3 to 5 years
- Diet: Omnivore
- Minimum tank size: 10 Gallons/37 Liter
- Tank setup: Freshwater, with plants and open
swimspace - Temperature: 72-83°F / 22-29°C
- PH Level: 6.0-8.0
8. Black Neon Tetras
- English name: Black Neon Tetras
- Scientific name: Hyphessobrycon
herbertaxelrodi - Size: 2 inch/5cm
- Lifespan: 3 to 5 years
- Diet: Omnivore
- Minimum tank size: 10 Gallons/37 Liter
- Tank setup: Freshwater, with plants and open swim space
- Temperature: 73-81°F / 23-27°C
- PH Level: 5.5-7.5
9. Marble Hatchetfish
- English name: Marbled hatchetfish
- Scientific name: Carnegiella strigata
- Size: 1.4 inch/3.5cm
- Lifespan: 3 to 5 years
- Diet: Omnivore
- Minimum tank size: 15 Gallons/56 Liter
- Tank setup: Freshwater, with
alot of plants, dark substrate and open swim space - Temperature: 75-82°F/24-28°C
- PH Level: 5.0-8.0 pH
10. Dwarf Pencilfish
- English name: Dwarf Pencilfish
- Scientific name: Nannostomus marginatus
- Size: 1.4 inch/3.5cm
- Lifespan: 3 to 5 years
- Diet: Omnivore
- Minimum tank size: 15 Gallons/56 Liter
- Tank setup: Freshwater, with a lot of plants, dark substrate, and open swim space
- Temperature: 71-82°F/22-28°C
- PH Level: 4.0-7.0 pH
Conclusion
It is possible to keep your Betta with tankmates, but choose your tankmates wisely and be careful. Do you have any questions, add ons or suggestions? Let me know in the comments down below!
