# Tetra Vs Oto (As Betta Tank Buddy)



## Mrlomography (Nov 21, 2012)

Hi all,

I just wanted to ask your opinion on the better tank buddy for a fairly docile Male Betta out of Tetras and Otos? Which Tetra would be best?

I was thinking along the lines of small schools, such as 6 Tetra and 3 Oto.

*It goes without saying that anyone reading this should understand that i am talking about in larger tanks, not in the fashionable small 2-5g things that the major chains have been pushing.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Matt, Ottos would obviously be a better choice as they are not usually in the same areas as a betta. However I have had full success with housing a male betta with head and tail light and glolight tetras. Generally you want fish with compatible water requirements, and nothing too flashy. Also the larger the school the less a betta should mess with them(the large group = larger prey thing) and also more of a chance of them nipping at each other instead of the betta. As with any betta the personality is unique so be sure to always keep an eye on the fish, and pay attention to any signs of aggression from any of them.


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## Mrlomography (Nov 21, 2012)

*i/a*

Excellent, thank you for your (as always) brilliant reply.

I am a fan of Glowlights, they are really striking when schooling (IMO) but i have seen some people reporting success with Neons with Betta. What is your opinion there? I would have thought them to be a little showy and nippy?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Ive also heard some have success with neons. I say if you want to try it, go for it, just be watchful. Like the others if the school is large enough chances are they will focus on each other and not the betta.

The only reason i went with the other myself were they were much hardier than the neons.


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## Mrlomography (Nov 21, 2012)

You are an absolute star for your replies. I feel a lot more confident now that all the pre-reading into plants, species compatibility and so on was worth it.

*thumbsup thanx

Thank you so much!


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## luananeko (Aug 27, 2010)

I've had a wide range of types of fish that I've kept male bettas with successfully, but it all comes down to the betta's personality. My current betta is a King Betta and he even lives with 5 large gourami and guppies in my 75 gallon community tank without any issue. It's just a matter of picking a calm betta and carefully introducing it near last to the tank. If you're focused on schooling fish/critters, I've had success with the following types:
Cardinal Tetras
Neon Tetras
Black Neon Tetras
Zebra Danios (as long as school was large enough that they didn't nip the betta fins)
Harlequin Rasboras
Otos
Frogs
Dwarf Chain loaches
Cory cats

As majerah pointed out already, bottom dwellers especially tend to go well with bettas since they're less likely to intrude on his space.

Hope this helps


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