# Betta Tankmates



## AshyBoon (Sep 4, 2012)

Hello there,
I have a 20 gallon tank that I am setting up rather soon with the intention of having a beautiful blue and red male betta fish that I've had my eye on in the tank. I'd like to have some live aquarium plants and didn't know if there are any recommendations on plants for betta fish, so if anyone has reccomendations on plants, I'd love to see them. =)
On to my main question: I have a list of fish that I would like to add in with the betta, and would like everyones' opinions on them, please.
Mollies, the silver or black variety or a mixture, but no dalmations.
Platies, Mickey Mouse or Gold Twin-barred varieties.
Velvet Wag Swordtails.
Danios, the Zebra or White Cloud varieties.
Cherry Barbs.
Jumbo Neon Tetras.
Also, I've read a couple of different snails are compatible with bettas, are mystery snails compatible?

Thanks everyone for your time and help =) :fish-in-bowl:


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

Any fish the size or small than a betta will get along fine. Bettas stay near the top, especially the males, so you need to get some bottom feeders that will clean up any food tha drifts to the bottom. Good candidates include Corys, Otos, Small Plecos and Mystery Snails.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

In my experience bettas go al over, not just the top... If they see any fish thats brightly colored theres a chance of giving chase. If the other fish is short finned and fast its usually not that much of an issue unless he doesnt give up easily. So the neons, while possible depends alot on the male. Mollies see the fins as lunch and are prone to nipping so keep this in mind. Danios like the cooler side of things so I wouldnt do that one because they are more compatible with goldfish and cold water fishes. 

I have had the head and tail light and glo light tetras with my bettas. They are like neons but not as bright in the color department and the betta didnt mind them. I also house harlequins with mine and they dont bother them either as they move too fast.

Cories are good or a bristlenose pleco.


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## AshyBoon (Sep 4, 2012)

Thank you both. =) Does anyone have opinions on the platies? I'm pretty interested in those.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Mollies, platies and swordtails eat plant matter, and Betta fins look like plants. Sometimes, there is nipping - not always.
Zebras are too jittery for Bettas, and they nip. Jumbo neon tetras are just old neon tetras...

Can I suggest you look at harlequin Rasboras, which like the same warm water as Bettas? They look fantastic together, and get along great. Corydoras cats are possible, as are glowlights, black neons, neons, cardinals and most platies. 

You could have nipping with platies, but I always mixed the two without problems. Mollies and swordtails didn't work out as well with Bettas. I love them both, but maybe one in three will bother a Betta. Maybe one in twenty platies will. bettas are mean, grumpy and slow, so platies will generally learn to give them a wide berth.


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## RonB (Nov 7, 2011)

navigator black said:


> Can I suggest you look at harlequin Rasboras, which like the same warm water as Bettas? They look fantastic together, and get along great.


Good sugestion. I'm 50 and never had them before untill about 1 yr ago. They just didn't really do anything for me. I'm glad I got them. With the right setup the look good and they are peacefull.


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## SilentPlanet (Jul 18, 2012)

I once had a 12 gal. tank that I kept a male betta, two neon dwarf gourami, and three bloodfin tetras. I put a TON of some kind of aquatic grass and some ferns and never once had a problem with that tank.
I have had gourami that just would not get along with any fish, but the dwarfs were always peaceful. I also found that the betta and gourami were much more active in that tank with an air stone that slightly agitates the water.
Good Luck!


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