# ok so i have a question about betas!



## guppybreeder! (Sep 22, 2007)

ok so are betas aggresive twoard all fish or just other betas? are there any other fish you can put in with them? i don't currently have a beta but when i did my dad told me that i could put them with other fish but i was doubtful. when i was like 10 i had a beta in a 10 gal tank with an aquatic frog and the feeder minows that were in there for the frog. they were fine for quite a while but then the beta and the frog ended up killing each other! although i think the frog started it(he tryed to eat him and bit part of his tail off) the beta killed him and later died from injurys and since them i have seen them as aggresive fish that must be kept solitary. is this correct or did i just have an overly aggresive one?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Bettas live much of their lives in the wild alone, so don't go thinking "he needs a friend" and they were selectively bred for aggression as well as color and finage. Their other name is Siamese fighting fish and they were fought like roosters or dogs for gambling. Nevertheless, many people on this forum keep bettas successfully with other fish. But tank mates must be chosen will care. Anything too fast may not leave enough for bettas to eat and anything with bright, long fins (like fancy guppies) may remind the betta of another betta and get attacked. Nippy fish tend to pick on betta's fins. And living together safely for a long time is no guarantee they will continue to do so. Bigger tanks increase the changes of peaceful coexistence and so does lots of cover. You would be surprised at what can live together in a tank thats almost completely filled with hornwort. I personally don't think its worth the anxiety to keep a betta with something else, but I think nothing of filling up another tank.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

I've successfully kept bettas with many types of tetras and also guppies. The cohabitation with guppies came about by putting Betta fry in my 15g guppy tank to grow out. The fry weren't big enough to be any kind of threat to the guppies but also too big to be eaten by them so they learned to accept the guppies and not attack. If you placed a adult male Betta in a tank full of guppies it would be game on. I've done it (net in hand) and the results weren't promising, he attacked the first guppy to come near him and spent the entire time flaring and chasing them. I've never had a problem with Bettas attacking the smaller types of tetras eg Neon/cardinal, glowlight black neon or midnights and even harlequin rasboras go well with them. Of course if you are going to keep Bettas with any type of tetra you will need enough tetras so they can school and a large enough tank so they are not over crowded and provide adequate plant cover and hiding spaces.

It can definitely be done it's all a matter of trial and error, keeping an eye on them and finding out what works with your Betta... I feel they all have different personalities and temperaments so you may have had a very aggressive Betta (some types such as crowntails have had aggression bred into them whether intentional or not I don't know).


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## guppybreeder! (Sep 22, 2007)

ok thanks! i was just wondering because they are so pretty! i love to look at them but it drives me nut haveing 1 fish in a tank! lol


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