So if I have a 36 gallon bow front with kinda an aggressive huge 5 in lace catfish, 3 Congo's and 3 giant danios.... Do you think I could get a school of rummy nose?
i had a snail that would keep going to the air stone to fill his shell with air and float around until he sank and went back to do it again. he was very entertaining.
My beta likes to go into the current of the filter and let it push it around the tank, then when he’d slow down he’d go back to the front of the filter and do it again.
I got my beta a friend because I thought his tank is so big for him to be alone. Got him a cute guppy, my beta Oscar waited until I went to bed and there was no more guppyfriend when I woke up. I followed all the books but, NOOOOO he wants to be a lone wolf.
"Snails are not fast moving." All the snails I've had have somehow managed to make their way from one side of the tank to the other when I've turned my back for a second. Maybe my snails have mastered teleportation?
Yeah actually my ramshorn are quite fast I them in one side then later they will be on the other side then when they are at the surface of the water and I put some food couple of seconds they'll all be in the bottom swarming the wafer.
Our snail is the star of the show. He's very active, catapults himself off the plant branches, lets the pleco clean him, and is still trying to fit himself into the little fish house. Shell stops him every time but he won't give up! When we got him we thought he was going to be boring.
I have three yellow shell snails and all of them do the same plant basejumping all the time. I even got them a tall, large leaf plant to jump even more. They love it. One of them does the floating thing. I love them.
@@zaphodbogdan33 Oh yeay, I had a couple of snails in a large fish bowl with hornworts. They'll be climbing around the plants and then reach towards the end seem to think here we go and free fall. Very entertaining to watch.
When I got my first couple of snails, I thought they'd be boring too, but nope. They were the most exciting members of the tank. They'd ride the air bubbler and four-wheel over everything to get to the food that they aggressively stole from the fish (who didn't dare challenge them). They've gotten older and have slowed down, but watching their children and a bunch of shrimp hitch rides on their shells is way too adorable.
I actually had a betta with some neons in the tank and observed an interesting dynamic. Neons were really timid for some time (clearly more than it takes for a fish to get used to the new setting) but became much more outgoing and playful when betta was added. The same thing happened when keeping any other bigger fish with neons. I have heard that small schooling fish feel much safer seeing calm bigger fish around because that means there are no big carnivores around.
what size tank did you have? I'm looking to get 4-5 neons with a betta in a 5 gallon. I'm hearing mixed things online, glad to hear they can live in harmony though!
@@brontebowling4143 5 gallon is a bit small. Not quite cause of the amount of liters, but it will be rather short. They are built for speed, and enjoys going straight ahead for as far as possible. Think of it as a fish version of greyhounds. They can tolerate to only go for walks, but if you want them to thrive? They need a football court or similar to run down once or twice a day.
Could you help me with a doubt? How is the food time solved? I mean, bettas are supposed to eat too little, the other fishes will eat something else, how do yo handle the bettanot to eat the other fish food?
Brought home our newest betta last week with four neon tetras. He started chasing the neons almost immediately. I was hoping he would calm down but continued into the night. The next morning, two neons were dead so we moved the neons to my second tank which was supposed to be a second betta tank. Now it's just a neon tetra tank. Neons may not bother bettas but bettas may very well bother the neons.
Yeah bettas are aggressive. They have their own personalities so it’s hard to know how they’ll react unless through trail and error. I have a new betta fish and he paces up and down his tank because of his own reflection, it’s probably best to keep him away from other fish. But I’ve seen and heard of other bettas being interested in their reflections in a non aggressive way so they probably would be able to have tank mates
See my betta is super nice, but I put him in a tank by himself for a week and got him some tetras and they just swim around I haven't had any fight or nothing, but my betta is very interesting he loves coming up to people looking at him and swimming back an forth showing off his beautiful color, loves to look at u in the eye and does tricks tbh, like he does cool swimming motions like a circle or a loop and just swims funny at times first time he did it I was scared tho
Great video, so glad you mentioned about feeding the Oto’s- they need to graze 24/7 or the good bacteria in their tummies dies off. I have 2 veg clips up all the time, one with spinach leaves on and one with red pepper or courgette I put a fresh piece in every 2-3 days. Also powdered repashy ( not made into the gel) squirted onto plants with a turkey baster works well too. Haven’t lost anymore Otos since I’ve been doing this.
My snails are one of my favorites in my tanks they just slowly move around and jump off the wall lol I love when they get on my bubble wall and get launched accross the tank then go back for more haha
As someone who has had bettas and have helped my grandfather breed them, I don’t recommend tank mates on a tank less than 10 gallons. Neon tetras, and ghost shrimp also make excellent tank mates, I would just make sure you do not get colorful shrimp or they will become a snack. Great video guys :)
I really like the list. You often said these fish will leave the Betta alone, but isn't the more important question, will the Betta leave them alone? As far as my research shows, it just depends on the personality of the Betta. Some are more chill and others protect their territory against anyone, I guess
It's been a year to your comment, I hope you're a successful and experienced fish keeper. So can I put 3 female platies with 1 female betta in a 25 litre tank?
@@m.shayanmubeen8780 tbh I'm not an expert, but as far as I know platies should be kept in a group of at least five and need an aquarium length of at least 80cm. 25l is just too small for 99% of all fish
@m.shayanmubeen8780 that size tank, you don't want any more than maybe just a snail to pair with the betta. For 10 gallons and smaller (37.8 liters and smaller) I wouldn't keep any other actual fish with the betta. The lack of room, the betta will feel territorial and may harrass the other fish. As well as the additional fish will make more waste and may put too much strain on the filter's bioload.
I have a male betta with 2 small dwarf platies in a 10gal and they are so happy, get along great!! I had the platies in a 20 with guppies but they always seemed timid and hid a lot, in the smaller tank with the betta they feel safe and are very active. It depends on your individual fish. The betta quickly established dominance and has his own fish house that he protects, but quickly warmed up to the platies and swims around with them fine, they just don't go in his pinapple house, I had to add a second hide.
"you'll never see your khuli loach" they say, "they'll disappear" they say. My loaches are always active and dig up my plants as if it's an amusing game to see me come over and put them back where they belong. Never have to wonder where they are. And yes, all my water parameters are fine, and they have been this way for a good year. But I guess I just got a pack of party loaches.
I thought my loach was dead for a year and a half, he was so good at hiding. I'd clean the gravel amd never saw him, but one day, there he was poking around again!
this came just in time: i got a betta just yesterday! it's too small of a tank to to include any fish besides the betta, but i'm still excited and happy for if (or more accurately, when) i get him a bigger tank
HarrisonCountyStudio I have a 3.5 gallon tank for my snail and betta and it’s just fine. My snail doesn’t need anymore space. He’s always moving but it takes him about 5 minutes to circle my entire tank, which he doesn’t just spend his day doing. I think that snails are fine as long as they have a top on the tank. My friend had hers in a one gallon tank for a bit then moved to a 2 gallon tank for her two snails and her two African dwarf frogs. I’m not an expert but they should probably be fine below five gallons.
@@taylor.syverson i have a 10 gallon for my betta, 6 neons and 2 nerite snails they really use the whole tank. I never seen a snail move so much in one day. Then the betta zooming around the tank and stocking around in the plants. He's exstreamly observant of his environment and is constantly being stimulated from the bustling tank. It's hard to fit a good heater and filter in a 3.5 gallon which can cause the betta to be more sluggish and more sickly. And having to clean the water out every 2 days.😫
taylor syverson you’re so wrong, the fish isn’t happy. YES it can survive but it’s not happy. Imagine leaving a dog in a cage just big enough for it to stand up, yea it’ll be fine for a couple hours but eventually it will be absolutely miserable. It’ll still live if it’s given food and water but it won’t be happy. And did you say your friend is keeping two dwarf frogs, snails, and a betta in a TWO gallon tank??? dwarf frogs need at least 20 gallons to be happy. You’re ridiculously ignorant.
I saw this video last night and decided to follow your advice… this morning I went to my local fish store and got 10 tetras neon… loving the result, my male betta doesn’t look bothered with them and it looks really nice Thanks so much for this wonderful video! Without you, my gorgeous crown tail would have remained alone ! Kind regards from Japan
I’ve got a beautiful betta in a 35 gallon tank with 3 cori cat... and a tiny snail that likely came along for the ride when we got the fish. I’m very new to fish keeping. My wife passed away 4 months ago and I’m trying to help our daughter take over the tank. The Betta when we got him looked like his fins were crumpled, but he was eating and swimming. We do regular water tests and Cleaning. Now, his fins look open and silky. All that to say, we have no clue what we’re doing, but it seems to be working! Would it be ok to add more fish? Or would it be best to leave well enough alone?
I think it’s very admirable of you to pass that on to your daughter. It takes a lot of patience, trial+error, and of course, research. As a fish keeper and also someone who struggles with grief, I commend you for your effort. It’s not easy, hang in there ♥️♥️♥️
You can get some really funky looking wild caught corys. But yes, you can out other fish, just look for betta compatible tank mates because corys are fine with anything pretty much.
This list honestly came right on time. My female betta’s sister just passed away a little while ago, and she’s been acting fairly depressed since she’s been gone, and the Ottos in her tank are fairly timid around her (understandably), and I’ve noticed she seems to want a new friend. Thanks so much 💗
Oh! If she was part of sorority, she'll want two more female bettas- that helps with the depression, as well as establishing pecking order- with just two they will tend to fight, but 3 is great.
Would you say the Dalmatian variation mollies are fancy fin? 😮 I’m planning on starting a beta tank but fell in love with the bespeckled mollie a few days ago
The pet store I went to had all their betta fish in one large tank living together. They payed no attention to each other surprisingly. I think it’s because they’ve lived together since they were babies and don’t mind each other
Thanks for all your helpful vids on freshwater fish but especially this one- I just added 3 Harliquin Rasboras to my 10 gallon betta tank today and after some initial fear as the fish were first introduced, they all seem to be doing well although its day 1. I’m keeping a close watch in the tank but after 4 hours now it seems like the betta is just curious but isn’t trying to get them. I’ll add a couple more Rasboras next week once I know my newer tank can handle the increased bio load. Happy New Year guys and again, your vids have really helped me gain a better understanding of keeping healthy and happy fish as a beginner fish keeper.
Now that time has passed, would you mind letting us know if they’re still getting along? I’m trying to figure the best set up for my Beta and her new 10 gallon home.
UGH. I just acquired at betta that was in a 1 gallon bowl. A few nights ago I went and got a tank that's 3 gallons. Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to get anything larger for a while. I hate that he's alone and wish I could put something in there to keep them company. But I'm guessing there's nothing for only a 3 gallon tank. I'm happy to have found you guys! Thank you!
I love Ottos. Mine liked algae wafers & snacking on cucumbers. I've also had great success keeping ghost shrimp with my Bettas. This time around I went with mystery snails & am looking to add some ramhorns to my smaller tanks. I've also kept guppies with a couple female Bettas but I added the Bettas after I was tired of the guppies breeding. Between everyone eating the guppy fry, my tank was kept from over population & my guppies either stopped breeding out of fear the Bettas would eat them or just died off of natural aging. My oldest guppy was 4yrs old. Currently my daughter has the oldest betta about a 3 yr old which we've only had about 1 year & he acts like an old man. Lol. These are some great ideas that have me thinking of using my empty 10 gallon aquarium again. It was being used for a hermit crab terrarium before I moved them to their 20 gallon long. Love y'all's videos.
I came back to see this video for the 2nd time. The first time I did notice the misspelling. But on the 2nd round, I noticed he actually really butchered the word. LOL I love it that everyone is human. I appreciate all the wonderful information you share with us. Thank you!
Any non-aggressive fish can be kept with a beta. I've kept fancy tailed guppies with betas for more years than I can remember and never had a problem. But there is a secret. The beta must always be the last fish you put in. If you get your beta first, it might then claim the tank and when adding other fish later, it will see them as intruders. So the beta goes in last. Also, keep the population of other fancy fined fish high. As long as the beta is seriously out numbered, there will be no problem. Also, you can also keep betas together as long as their numbers are high. Betas will not fight each other if there are just too many of them. 25 or more male betas in a 50 gallon tank and they won't fight. But they must all go in at the same time. Later you can add even more betas as new fish will be intimidated by those already there but keep the tank all males or all females. Do not mix because if a male spawns with a female, he will fight viscously to protect his nest. The first time I saw someone with a tank full of betas, I was very impressed. It was a sight to see. Lastly, the tank should have no hiding places. If a beta finds a place to hide, it might then try to defend that location.
@@beeatchfairy28 The Betta will also keep your guppy population in check by eating the young. If you want the guppy population to grow, then lots of hiding places for the young. Live plants on the surface do best. But you will still find the Beta laying in the plants just waiting for a tiny guppy to come its way. In our current tank, newborn guppy survival rate is about 10% thanks to the Beta.
@@paparoysworkshop That is perfect! I don't plan on having a big tank so guppy population control is very needed and I will be adding live plants anyway, I've been researching ALOMST self sustaining eco tank set up. I love fish! and have kept multiple different fish over the years, fish bring me so much peace and joy but I haven't kept fish now for a few years because of my health, I've just found out I have rheumatoid arthristis which is why I need the tank to be as easy to keep as possible. Despite Betta and guppies being a popular kids fish, I have never kept them before so I really want to.
Tried to go off this and bought 8 rummynose to be with my betta. We're now down to 4 and they definitely don't appear to be a beginner fish. It would be a nice addition to add how hardy and beginner friendly they are :-) Water parameters were supposed to be just fine. I learnt since then that they are easily stressed out and pretty sensitive, despite the research I did stating they were hardy.
The beta must always be the last fish placed in the tank. If he is first, he will claim the territory and you can have problems. So take the beta out and put him in a small tank. 1 gallon or less. Keep him there for a month while the other fish take ownership of the big tank. The more other fish you have in the big tank, the less likely the beta will cause trouble when you put him back in.
This is perfect for what I was just thinking about when I get my big 55G tank this week. I need to plan for tank mates for my Betta. I learned that because the Bettas can be very territorial and that the Betta should be the last to go in. My Betta is okay with 2 Black Kulli Loaches and 4 little Nerite Snails (2 Tiger and 2 Zebra). I am totally in awe of how well the 2 different Nerite species are getting along. I did have a talk with Taylor (Betta) when I first added the 2 Tiger Nerite Snails, then again when I added the 2 Zebra Nerite Snails a week later, then again weeks later when I added the 2 Kulli Loaches. They do their Kulli Happy Dance and bump into Taylor and he just swims away. After I get this 55G set up with plants, etc and aquascaped... and balanced... I will start transferring my Snails, etc in slowly like you said as not to upset the biological system. I have small batches of different Biological Media soaking in the tank to transfer over to help jump start the new tank. I am planning to up my numbers of Black Kulli and and buy small schools of some of ones that you listed here. I need some Panda Cats, Ottos, and a few others. I am not familiar with Rummy Tetras, but will get some since you like them. My brothers each had their own color of Mollies and us sisters had our own color of Guppies. I will get a few different colors and each as to honor our water friends back when we were kids. I am not planning on stocking it up full so I will start with small schools of 5 of each and then over time add more to each school. Thanks for this great list. I already had 5 of those species of your list anyway from my research, so adding a few others will make it interesting. I am creating a room divider with this big tank for this open design apartment for folks like me who was on a walker. I still need to use the cane, and even use the walker now ad then when that barometric pressure starts bouncing. Again, thanks for this great video. You and Lisa make fun videos together. God Bless ya.
Have loved your channel since I subscribed about 6 months ago. Love your advice and tutorials. You have helped me so much with my four betta tanks. I have thought about mollies for a new betta tank...especially the dalmatian mollies. Thank you for your help! Cannot wait to see the finished setup at the new property and would love to get some new bettas from you! I'm gonna get a 25 gal and want that thing to be as colorful as possible! Keep up the great work you two!!!!
I like them saying, "tidy up the tank" To me that implies the fish/snails are getting some bigger stuff while reminding you as a fish keeper you've got to help clean to. These are just your helpers not janitors.
Oh my gosh guys thank you so much! I have been absolutely STRESSING about what I want to put in my 36 gallon halfmoon tank and after watching this video I think I am going to find myself a betta and pick out some of these awesome companions!! Now I am going to look through your videos and see if there is a "How to care for bettas" one! Thank you again so much!!
LOL ... (it's just you). Thanks to you and Lisa for this video explaining the options for Betta tank mates. We're adding 2 ghost shrimp to our planted betta tank - since our FIN-aky betta eats only blood worms and won't eat flakes! (Worms really make big a mess!) Bettas do not scavenge. We plan on adding a few cardinal tetras after we make sure we know we can maintain tank balance with the shrimp. [We made sure the tank was cycled and well-balanced before adding the shrimp and we purchased backup shrimp pellets to be sure there's food supplemental food in case the 2 shrimp are more ravenous than we guessed.]
that loach was probably hidingin the ground, thats pretty much what they do. in the Netherlands they got their name from that, a litteral translation from the dutch name is mudcrawler.
Rummynose tetras are my favorite too, but they do nip at my bettas quite a bit. It's never caused fin damage, but I only keep short-finned bettas so they can usually swim away fast enough.
thank you! first time beta owner with a 5 gallon and just wanted to add a mate of some sort. if i end up not failing miserably with this, i’ll get a much bigger tank and etc. dream would be a filter free/natural tank or whatever they are called.
I got my first beta a little while ago and i wanted to get him a friend so he’s not lonely so i picked up some neon tetras and they seem to be friends with each other
im going to say be cautious of the mollies! I had to rotate out several before I found ones that were jerks to my betta >_>. removed 4 mollies and swapped them with others before I found some that didnt nip its fins
Our first Betta we paired with 4 gold dust mollies and they did good for the first month. As the mollies got bigger they started to bully the Betta and he almost died. Pulled him out and put into a 20 gal long to medicate, he had practically no fins left and stayed huddled up at the top of the heater. I decided to leave him in the 20 gal after he recovered. He now has a clown pleco and a new batch of Ramshorn snails for company and his fins are growing back even prettier than before.
ikr same! we recently moved my betta to the kitchen because i felt he wasn’t getting enough attention and my family always comes in to see him but i had to tell everyone “don’t worry, if you see him under plants or at the bottom, he’s just sleeping” he even goes under the filter and sleeps, then i walk up and he greets me at the front of his tank
YAAAS. that's because growing up we were told that cardinal tetras were called neon tetras. No one made the distinction between the different kinds of tetras back then. And mostly the cardinal variety were sold in Kmart/Sky City, and the like.
I used to have a glass fish decoration that had a little glass ball with a string attaching the two so the ornament would float. I had a snail that got on the glass ball and ride it around all the time
Mine are fine with my shrimp but the cherries I had with my teensy tinesy little fingerling badis were decimated. Whoops. (It only has to fit in tiny mouths in pieces, I found.)
You forgot African Dwarf Frogs! They’re adorable, small, and won’t bother your betta fish. They like to hunt for food at the bottom of shallow bodies of water, so if you have a shallow tank with medium sized gravel, they’re great! (If you put large gravel they could get stuck in it, and small gravel risks being eaten.)
I wanna get a couple dwarf frogs for mine but I just got him today lol so I’m gonna wait a little. I have a ten gallon and he’s a pretty small betta. You think I can house two frogs and a betta?
@@moldybandshirt1045 well I just saw a reply saying that you should probably need a 29 gallon but sense they are small maybe you can get two or to be on the safe side get 1
I have a betta, 2 African dwarfs, and 2 mystery snails and they all get along well. The frogs have enough places to hide and the betta loves the snails
I have 2 tanks. My first tank has zebra danios, guppies, albino cory's & one betta... I absolutely love this tank, everyone gets along amazingly. My second tank has a betta, Kuhli loaches & Pristella tetras. The pristella tetras are new, my betta is curious about them (he was living with the guppies for a while).
I have 4 rams in my 30 gallon tank with my betta. They were raised together and do phenomenally. Happy to know most of my bettas tankmates consist of the mentioned species and they all do great😁 I just added khuli loaches and they're awesome. I've got one betta, bristlenose, 4 rams, 6 panda corys, a handful of ghost shrimp, and khuli loaches. All with a natural river seascape. Might look into adding some ottos, those guys sound great as I plan on upgrading to a 55 soon!
I have a 20 gallon tank with my betta. He's got plants, he's got a few hides and he has friends. 2 X-ray Tetras, 3 Swallowtail Tetras, 7 Ember Tetras and a really chubby Bronze Cory. A few snails as well, but! I love my tank, my betta schools with all of the tetras. We *had* a few shrimp in there because I thought they would help the tank. Betta did prove to be a bit of a hunter for them. I felt bad for the poor ghost shrimp. But now and then I'll see a shrimp and wonder where it came from! Loved your video, thank you for it. :3 I love my betta and his tank mates.
Yeah I learned the hard way in had bought a black molly and in the second day when I decided to clean my tank I look down in my little cup holder and only saw my betta there chilling and full I didn’t know they was aggressive and territorial.
I really appreciate videos like this one. I love bettas and have several in assorted tanks but am never sure if I should give them some company, so this video puts me at ease with that thought. Thanks guys. Great job.
“Bristle nose plecos have never been known to bother other fish” My bristle boi: Literally eats a dead fish twice it’s size, has a lair it *DEFENDS WITH IT’S LIFE*
9:30 I had the same issue with my nerite. I didn't see him for weeks. Then the tank sat for like a year or two, and I finally found him when I cleaned the tank! He was alive 😁
I remember the first time my family and I decided to experiment with fishes in a 55 gallon tank. We got our first apple mystery snail and we loved watching it. It would climb up on the little castle decorations or up the wall of the wall of the tank and suddenly just kinda jump off like it was playing around. Mom thought it would be nice to have baby snails but the baby snails were so small that they were in the hang on the back tank filters we used and it was hard to spot them, much less watch them.
Fantastic video! It's great to see that there are compatible fish for bettas and I remember having childhood friends who did indeed have a family aquarium with a single betta and compatible fish living in harmony with one another. I have two sisters and they both have bettas, but their fish are living alone in small tanks which I think is rather depressing for the fish (even though my sisters love them and do take excellent care of them), so I'll be encouraging them to a) buy bigger tanks and b) add some playmates to make life more interesting for their bettas. :)
Perfect! I’m planning on setting up a new betta tank this week since I was getting a bit bored with my 75-gallon aquarium. I came across this video and found this very helpful in deciding how to stock a 5-gallon.
I have a beautiful planted 5 gallon with a koi betta, a school of neons, 2 panda corydoras, and 2 gold mystery snails. I get so many compliments on the tank!
OCTAVIAN420 I started out with just a school of 6, but 2 of them died and now I have 4 in there. They’re doing very good with just the four of them but you can’t totally go for six! Just be careful not to over load the bio load of it’s not prepared for a lot of fish!
Hahaha no waaay! Finally someone who loves rummys!! My fave! All my fish are safe for bettas so I am off to purchase 1 at the wkend ☺️ thanks for the vid ! 🫶
Got rummy nose tetras after your video! LOVE THEM SM! Best tetra breed I have ever owned, they never bother my Koi Betta and they add so much colour and life to my tank!
Great vid as usual. Another note, for those who want to get livebearers: buying all females will not always guarantee that you will not have any babies. Sometimes the female gets impregnated before they are separated from the males, and once she gets pregnant once, she can get pregnant again in the future. Just a heads up! Also, I wish the platys in my area were healthier. All I have close to me are the two big box stores, and neither one has platys that are healthy. They almost always seem to have ick, clamped fins, fin rot, etc.
Why dont you try and save 1 or 2? If i see a fish suffering/sick and it can get along with my other fish. Ill buy it and quarantine it to try and save it. If it survives i add it to one of my tanks. I now have 5 going on 6 tanks....i need to stop this actually. Point is save a fish if you can
Felix M I have done that, and even after quarantine, it ended up sick again and my whole tank got sick, coating me money and more fish. It’s actually a better idea not to support the sale of sick fish, and push these companies to stay on top of their fish care. Also, don’t assume everyone always has more room in their tanks to save sick fish.
@@butkusfan23 bad luck on your end I guess. Half of my fish are "rescues" and healthy now. I agree with you about getting on the companies about their fish care. I get the whole dont assume thing. But in this case it's safe to assume. No one got hurt and no ones feelings got hurt, I hope.
If you were anywhere near me, I'd be happy to give you some mickey mouse platies. Super healthy, breeding like mad, have been giving the youngsters to my LFS, but they keep popping out plenty more fry. No privately owned local fish stores near you? If not, your best bet will be to wait until after lockdown is lifted, then post in a forum for local hobbiests, FB groups might be best. Local tank owners will be looking to get rid of platy young! And they will be hardier and adjusted to the water in your area, more than ones coming into a fish store from a farm abroad.
Many nerites (especially the tiger and zebra) like to go on "walkabouts" so check your filter for them. I even found one in my sink and another inside my dishwasher (the aquarium was on the counter between the kitchen and dining room). Olive nerites stay put.
LOL, I have one the same way. I put two powder blue dwarf gouramis in with him because I thought he was lonely. He spent an entire week chasing them around the tank. I thought once he got used to them he'd leave them alone but finally moved them out into my 30 gallon community tank.
Mine hates other fish, but he's okay with shrimp. He doesn't seem to care even about the floating baby shrimp (I have ghost shrimp) and just leaves them be.
Great video you guys! Love watching and learning form your videos. I was so freaked out about putting anything in there with my male betta but you have given me so much confidence to go for it. Thank you so much!
I was gifted a Betta and a tank that I'm replacing because the lid and filter don't fit flush with each other. I bought a 1 gallon tank as a placeholder until I can get a 5 gallon one. I don't have the space for anything bigger at the moment. This list was very helpful and I have made some choices that will work in a five gallon tank environment. Thank you!
Thanks for the recommendations! I've been trying to figure out tank mates for my (super-aggressive) Betta, and you've given me plenty to mull over. Great video, as always.
JunkshopLibrary I think it’s important to note that while other fish can be kept with bettas, there are some bettas that just don’t like company, and that’s okay! It always depends on the individual betta’s personality
JunkshopLibrary maybe don’t put anything. i mean, snails are the most chill guys you could get. if your betta got mad at them, just means that he should be kept alone.
I want to get into the fish hobby and I want some tank mates with a betta. So this video helped me a lot! My only question is that, a betta attacks anything vibrant or shiny so how can cardinal tetras live with betta?
I used to have a tank that was huge I can't remember the size off hand but I had a male beta and 3 female beta. Along with common minnows from the local river. I also had a few of the fish on your list they all got along great and lived for years. They had enough room and substrate.
My beta fish was a very docile man, he never bothered anyone and the only time he ever went after another fish was when that said fish picked on him, which it learned its lesson pretty quickly. I kept him with goldfish, gouramis, silver dollars, cory catfish, and even a parrot fish. He died of old age a few years back, they are very smart and I even taught mines tricks
@@scrillsickwitit3803 Uhhh i wouldnt personally. Each fish has its own personality, and Sure my betta fish might be the exception, but yours might not, plus, they dont like fish with long fins, they see them as other bettas and nip. Youre free to experiment but always have a second tank for the guy ready incase he decides death is the only course of action
In this video you prevented these tank mates as fool proof perfect tank mates but there is no way to know for sure if it's going to work with every betta. People need to be aware that it might not work out for them and have a Plan B from the start.
If a betta grows up with fish it's fine. I've had a betta, molly, angel, and other fish together. They were completely fine. I've hade those fish for years.
I bought a bunch of otocinclus for my harlequin tank, and one of them jumped out of the net when I was putting them in. When I went looking for it on the carpet, I stepped on it. I felt so terrible.
Thank you for the videos, I watched this and a few other to do better research for daughter's Betta. Now I find myself shopping to 20-30 gallon tanks to start a big display tank of my own
That's true, if I'm at a shop or something that has other fish, I'll usually try to see how the betta reacts when held up to a tank full of some other species. If the betta acts aggressively, they probably will attack other fish in a tank with them. If they react curiously or seem largely indifferent, they can probably handle tank mates.
This is very true. I had a betta in a 15 gal that first killed a school of neon tetras, so i tried a school of rummy-nose and it killed them too. Beautiful but unpredictable fish.
Derek Acker how many fish were in a school together? It also might be the color of your betta or other fish in the tank, many seem to hate red lol.. or maybe my bettas are just colorist.
I had Otocinclus in my Betta tank. It did a great job but the Betta would always be bothered by them and chase them around the tank. It was a 35 Gallon tank too. So lots of space
I do believe Khuli loaches are the cooler loaches :) Simese algae eaters as well make for good tanks mates if you have the space. I have two with my fighter and they get along very well and have been for 4 years.
Beta is the second letter in the Greek alphabet. You are an Alpha (1st letter) in the FishTube community but it's BETTA dude. My OCD is acting up. I graded tests for proper spelling of plant names for longer than I care to remember,lol. Learned a bunch from your channel. Enjoy North Carolina..Bunch of my relatives from Long Island and VA moved down there and love it.
I'm wondering if it might actually be a good tactic to first get the community in the tank established a couple of weeks before introducing a beta. The basic idea is the beta won.t presume to have all the tank to itself.
My mom used to have a couple of loaches. One day she came home and found one of them flailing around the front of the tank, and on further inspection realized that the other had managed to accidentally trap itself inside the tank filtration system. So everything had to be turned off, so she could disassemble the filter to get the loach out. After that both the loaches gave the filter an extremely wide berth, as they had learned to fear it.
*Buy show quality Bettas here:*
keepfishkeeping.com/collections/live-bettas-for-sale
lol fish also don't run ever lol
So if I have a 36 gallon bow front with kinda an aggressive huge 5 in lace catfish, 3 Congo's and 3 giant danios.... Do you think I could get a school of rummy nose?
Hi guys how you, i was just wondering if i could keep 1 Betta fish in a 10gal tank with guppies.
Peter Bakens I would not recommend this. The Betta will nip those guppy fins.
Would snails be ok in a 2 gallon tank with a betta?
i had a snail that would keep going to the air stone to fill his shell with air and float around until he sank and went back to do it again. he was very entertaining.
That sounds fun LOL
I’d do this if I were a snail not going to lie.
It’s called parasnailing
oop-
My beta likes to go into the current of the filter and let it push it around the tank, then when he’d slow down he’d go back to the front of the filter and do it again.
I love when bettas stare at you with their entire face facing you. They look angry lol and it’s super cute
i got mine yesterday and he loves to just stare at me like :C
My betta does that too! hahaha!
Mine does that but he also does this little wave at people when he does. It's really cute!!
I KNOWWWWWWWW it's seriously adorable
Lol heck yeah some have more pouty lips then others I got a few betas lol my dwarf gourami is evil and looks like he is always frowning 😂
Just saving time...
10 - Cardinal Tetras
9 - Harlequin Rasboras
8 - Corydoras
7 - Snails
6 - Neon Tetras
5 - Bristlenose Plecos
4 - Ottocynclis
3 - Kuhli Loaches
2 - Platies/Mollies
1 - Rummynose Tetras
Good Job guys ;)
thank you !!
i like this but am still gonna watch because i want to see what they look like
still watched the whole video because i have a 5 gal to fill, but this makes things super simple! thank you!!!
@@d3115uxor get a 10 gallon if your going to get a betta+ other fish!
Thank you! Just watched the video without thinking to write any of them down! Haha
My betta:*STARES*
me:*STARES BACK*
Betta:*rudely swims away*
Me:AY WHY YO RUNNING FROM MEH-
Lolll I also love Hanako kun! Mitsuba and Kou for lifeeee
my betta gets angry at all the snails, plants, and rocks, even gets angry at the heater.. I love him haha
I named mine Ramsay because he permanently looks like you burnt the scallops.
@@josantiago3652 yep , he looks at me like " wth are u doing "
Mine will just glare at his thermometer.
I got my beta a friend because I thought his tank is so big for him to be alone. Got him a cute guppy, my beta Oscar waited until I went to bed and there was no more guppyfriend when I woke up. I followed all the books but, NOOOOO he wants to be a lone wolf.
😂❤️
"Snails are not fast moving."
All the snails I've had have somehow managed to make their way from one side of the tank to the other when I've turned my back for a second. Maybe my snails have mastered teleportation?
Dude same my snails are so fast when they want to be 🤣😂🤣
SAME 😂😂😂
Yeah actually my ramshorn are quite fast I them in one side then later they will be on the other side then when they are at the surface of the water and I put some food couple of seconds they'll all be in the bottom swarming the wafer.
My snail knows how to float and swim with the help of the air stone in my tank !
Yo same i got two mystery snails. I'd look at them and turn around and they are no where to be found, it's amazing
Our snail is the star of the show. He's very active, catapults himself off the plant branches, lets the pleco clean him, and is still trying to fit himself into the little fish house. Shell stops him every time but he won't give up! When we got him we thought he was going to be boring.
I have three yellow shell snails and all of them do the same plant basejumping all the time. I even got them a tall, large leaf plant to jump even more. They love it. One of them does the floating thing. I love them.
@@zaphodbogdan33 Oh yeay, I had a couple of snails in a large fish bowl with hornworts. They'll be climbing around the plants and then reach towards the end seem to think here we go and free fall. Very entertaining to watch.
When I got my first couple of snails, I thought they'd be boring too, but nope. They were the most exciting members of the tank. They'd ride the air bubbler and four-wheel over everything to get to the food that they aggressively stole from the fish (who didn't dare challenge them). They've gotten older and have slowed down, but watching their children and a bunch of shrimp hitch rides on their shells is way too adorable.
snails are ninjas! one minute, they're there, the next, they're gone!
I actually had a betta with some neons in the tank and observed an interesting dynamic. Neons were really timid for some time (clearly more than it takes for a fish to get used to the new setting) but became much more outgoing and playful when betta was added. The same thing happened when keeping any other bigger fish with neons. I have heard that small schooling fish feel much safer seeing calm bigger fish around because that means there are no big carnivores around.
what size tank did you have? I'm looking to get 4-5 neons with a betta in a 5 gallon. I'm hearing mixed things online, glad to hear they can live in harmony though!
@@brontebowling4143 Did you get the 5 gallon tank and put a Betta and the neon fish? How it go?
@@brontebowling4143 5 gallon is a bit small. Not quite cause of the amount of liters, but it will be rather short. They are built for speed, and enjoys going straight ahead for as far as possible. Think of it as a fish version of greyhounds. They can tolerate to only go for walks, but if you want them to thrive? They need a football court or similar to run down once or twice a day.
Could you help me with a doubt? How is the food time solved?
I mean, bettas are supposed to eat too little, the other fishes will eat something else, how do yo handle the bettanot to eat the other fish food?
i have a betta with platys khulis guppies and a very mistreated honey gourami thats peceful
Brought home our newest betta last week with four neon tetras. He started chasing the neons almost immediately. I was hoping he would calm down but continued into the night. The next morning, two neons were dead so we moved the neons to my second tank which was supposed to be a second betta tank. Now it's just a neon tetra tank.
Neons may not bother bettas but bettas may very well bother the neons.
Yeah bettas are aggressive. They have their own personalities so it’s hard to know how they’ll react unless through trail and error. I have a new betta fish and he paces up and down his tank because of his own reflection, it’s probably best to keep him away from other fish. But I’ve seen and heard of other bettas being interested in their reflections in a non aggressive way so they probably would be able to have tank mates
See my betta is super nice, but I put him in a tank by himself for a week and got him some tetras and they just swim around I haven't had any fight or nothing, but my betta is very interesting he loves coming up to people looking at him and swimming back an forth showing off his beautiful color, loves to look at u in the eye and does tricks tbh, like he does cool swimming motions like a circle or a loop and just swims funny at times first time he did it I was scared tho
Great video, so glad you mentioned about feeding the Oto’s- they need to graze 24/7 or the good bacteria in their tummies dies off. I have 2 veg clips up all the time, one with spinach leaves on and one with red pepper or courgette I put a fresh piece in every 2-3 days. Also powdered repashy ( not made into the gel) squirted onto plants with a turkey baster works well too. Haven’t lost anymore Otos since I’ve been doing this.
My snails are one of my favorites in my tanks they just slowly move around and jump off the wall lol I love when they get on my bubble wall and get launched accross the tank then go back for more haha
As someone who has had bettas and have helped my grandfather breed them, I don’t recommend tank mates on a tank less than 10 gallons. Neon tetras, and ghost shrimp also make excellent tank mates, I would just make sure you do not get colorful shrimp or they will become a snack. Great video guys :)
“Bristlenose have never harmed anyone”
Axolotl: *hold my slime coat*
They eat carrion too
Omg yes this happened to my childhood axolotls when my daft dad put a big pleco 😭
Axolotl: Oh wait no! IM GETTING EATTEN ALIVEEE!!
random fish that nips it only once a week: ???
I had a pleco try to eat one of my betta's alive after being told by countless people they were a fine tank mate.
@@LadySmartcat usually only happens to fish when the plec is starving, they feed on the mucus coat of the fish
I really like the list. You often said these fish will leave the Betta alone, but isn't the more important question, will the Betta leave them alone? As far as my research shows, it just depends on the personality of the Betta. Some are more chill and others protect their territory against anyone, I guess
It's been a year to your comment, I hope you're a successful and experienced fish keeper. So can I put 3 female platies with 1 female betta in a 25 litre tank?
@@m.shayanmubeen8780 tbh I'm not an expert, but as far as I know platies should be kept in a group of at least five and need an aquarium length of at least 80cm. 25l is just too small for 99% of all fish
@m.shayanmubeen8780 that size tank, you don't want any more than maybe just a snail to pair with the betta. For 10 gallons and smaller (37.8 liters and smaller) I wouldn't keep any other actual fish with the betta.
The lack of room, the betta will feel territorial and may harrass the other fish. As well as the additional fish will make more waste and may put too much strain on the filter's bioload.
I have a male betta with 2 small dwarf platies in a 10gal and they are so happy, get along great!! I had the platies in a 20 with guppies but they always seemed timid and hid a lot, in the smaller tank with the betta they feel safe and are very active. It depends on your individual fish. The betta quickly established dominance and has his own fish house that he protects, but quickly warmed up to the platies and swims around with them fine, they just don't go in his pinapple house, I had to add a second hide.
I just started fishkeeping because I got a betta as gift and now it has sparked my interest and your channel has just been so helpful
"you'll never see your khuli loach" they say, "they'll disappear" they say.
My loaches are always active and dig up my plants as if it's an amusing game to see me come over and put them back where they belong. Never have to wonder where they are. And yes, all my water parameters are fine, and they have been this way for a good year. But I guess I just got a pack of party loaches.
what fish do you keep with them? only loaches?
i think he meant if theirs just 1
I thought my loach was dead for a year and a half, he was so good at hiding. I'd clean the gravel amd never saw him, but one day, there he was poking around again!
this came just in time: i got a betta just yesterday! it's too small of a tank to to include any fish besides the betta, but i'm still excited and happy for if (or more accurately, when) i get him a bigger tank
Yeah best if you at least have a 5 gallon
If this is your first fish you'll end up with another tank... Or like 6
@@jacquig1939 you're right. I started expanding recently and I have 4 tanks and I'm already getting ready for a pea puffer tank
I'd reccomend a ten gallon with a lot of decorations. They'll love it. My betta (named Tori) absolutely loves his ten gallon!
You can add 1 snail maybe
You have to mention tank size and the tank environment for these fish with these bettas.
Ya, most would just assume a 10 gallon is what most beginners have @ 2:03 mentions a 20 gallon. Talks about snails in a 5 gallon with a Beta.
HarrisonCountyStudio I have a 3.5 gallon tank for my snail and betta and it’s just fine. My snail doesn’t need anymore space. He’s always moving but it takes him about 5 minutes to circle my entire tank, which he doesn’t just spend his day doing. I think that snails are fine as long as they have a top on the tank. My friend had hers in a one gallon tank for a bit then moved to a 2 gallon tank for her two snails and her two African dwarf frogs. I’m not an expert but they should probably be fine below five gallons.
@@taylor.syverson i have a 10 gallon for my betta, 6 neons and 2 nerite snails they really use the whole tank. I never seen a snail move so much in one day. Then the betta zooming around the tank and stocking around in the plants. He's exstreamly observant of his environment and is constantly being stimulated from the bustling tank.
It's hard to fit a good heater and filter in a 3.5 gallon which can cause the betta to be more sluggish and more sickly. And having to clean the water out every 2 days.😫
@@destinationaddictionsamsar7894 I'm thinking about getting tetras for my 10g aswell. What % water change do you do a week? Any tips?
taylor syverson you’re so wrong, the fish isn’t happy. YES it can survive but it’s not happy. Imagine leaving a dog in a cage just big enough for it to stand up, yea it’ll be fine for a couple hours but eventually it will be absolutely miserable. It’ll still live if it’s given food and water but it won’t be happy. And did you say your friend is keeping two dwarf frogs, snails, and a betta in a TWO gallon tank??? dwarf frogs need at least 20 gallons to be happy. You’re ridiculously ignorant.
I got a platie for my Betta to see how he would react and I'm so glad I did. They swim around together like besties. He seems much more entertained.
I don't think I have ever commented but I really do enjoy your videos. Your no nonsense approach is exactly what appeals to me. Thank you
This was my first KGTropicals TH-cam video I ever watched, now I’m running three tanks. Thanks John and Lisa, 👍👍
Mine too
I have two nice male bettas who don’t hurt anything and one female who kills anything she sees
Same with my lil male! If it moves, it's food lol
oh my GOD
REAL TALK!
Tats females duty...
When my male zigzag sees my female scales he opens his gills far and spins in circles unlike my fish scrub who died that would chase scales
I really didn't want tetras but after you said that bettas like to pal around with them my heart melted
My male betta killed all my tetras in a week !!
My betta swims peacefully with 44 neon tetras
I saw this video last night and decided to follow your advice… this morning I went to my local fish store and got 10 tetras neon… loving the result, my male betta doesn’t look bothered with them and it looks really nice
Thanks so much for this wonderful video! Without you, my gorgeous crown tail would have remained alone !
Kind regards from Japan
How big was your tank? Im looking to see how many fish are appropriate for something i can buy
My betta and my snail 🐌 are the best of friends it’s so cute 🥰 I always see them hanging around together or cuddling. They’re in a ten gallon😊
cuddling? thats so stinking cute
Can you put more fish in with them
I’ve got a beautiful betta in a 35 gallon tank with 3 cori cat... and a tiny snail that likely came along for the ride when we got the fish. I’m very new to fish keeping. My wife passed away 4 months ago and I’m trying to help our daughter take over the tank. The Betta when we got him looked like his fins were crumpled, but he was eating and swimming. We do regular water tests and Cleaning. Now, his fins look open and silky. All that to say, we have no clue what we’re doing, but it seems to be working! Would it be ok to add more fish? Or would it be best to leave well enough alone?
You could add a few more of the same kind of catfish you have. They're fun to watch when kept in groups of 6 or more!
I think it’s very admirable of you to pass that on to your daughter. It takes a lot of patience, trial+error, and of course, research. As a fish keeper and also someone who struggles with grief, I commend you for your effort. It’s not easy, hang in there ♥️♥️♥️
You could add maybe 7 more corydoras of the same species. These fish love being in big groups and will be way more outgoing in larger numbers.
Come on over to r/bettafish if you have any questions about betta fish! We’re really nice and everyone is very helpful! ☺️
You can get some really funky looking wild caught corys. But yes, you can out other fish, just look for betta compatible tank mates because corys are fine with anything pretty much.
This list honestly came right on time. My female betta’s sister just passed away a little while ago, and she’s been acting fairly depressed since she’s been gone, and the Ottos in her tank are fairly timid around her (understandably), and I’ve noticed she seems to want a new friend. Thanks so much 💗
Oh! If she was part of sorority, she'll want two more female bettas- that helps with the depression, as well as establishing pecking order- with just two they will tend to fight, but 3 is great.
A word of caution with the platties and mollies is that you must avoid the fancy fin types that the beta may mistake for another beta.
Great tip. Curious as to why this video wouldn't cover that information 🤔 thank you 😊
Would you say the Dalmatian variation mollies are fancy fin? 😮 I’m planning on starting a beta tank but fell in love with the bespeckled mollie a few days ago
My male Black Molly chased and about killed my Crowntail Betta. The Betta is to slow and not able to outrun the Molly.
The pet store I went to had all their betta fish in one large tank living together. They payed no attention to each other surprisingly. I think it’s because they’ve lived together since they were babies and don’t mind each other
Beta
Thanks for all your helpful vids on freshwater fish but especially this one- I just added 3 Harliquin Rasboras to my 10 gallon betta tank today and after some initial fear as the fish were first introduced, they all seem to be doing well although its day 1. I’m keeping a close watch in the tank but after 4 hours now it seems like the betta is just curious but isn’t trying to get them. I’ll add a couple more Rasboras next week once I know my newer tank can handle the increased bio load. Happy New Year guys and again, your vids have really helped me gain a better understanding of keeping healthy and happy fish as a beginner fish keeper.
Happy New Year 🙂
Now that time has passed, would you mind letting us know if they’re still getting along? I’m trying to figure the best set up for my Beta and her new 10 gallon home.
UGH. I just acquired at betta that was in a 1 gallon bowl. A few nights ago I went and got a tank that's 3 gallons. Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to get anything larger for a while. I hate that he's alone and wish I could put something in there to keep them company. But I'm guessing there's nothing for only a 3 gallon tank. I'm happy to have found you guys! Thank you!
our betta likes to pretend he’s a bottom feeder. he’s always hanging out with our corys
must be a lazy cutie
Or maybe ammonia burn. It happens when there is so much ammonia in the tank.
@@potets7707 often they'll stay around the bottom with bottom feeders because they want to steal their food :) bettas are little pigs
My betta thinks she’s a tetra 😂🥰
Lol😂
Mine is doing okay with my young (1-1,2 month old) guppies. He even makes ways for them when it's feeding time. I suppose I've got a gentle one 😊
What kind of betta is it? just curious 🤨
@@fidelmacias65 I don't really know :(
Seems like the key to keeping Bettas with anything else is male Bettas only. Lol, or a female Betta sorority
I love Ottos. Mine liked algae wafers & snacking on cucumbers. I've also had great success keeping ghost shrimp with my Bettas. This time around I went with mystery snails & am looking to add some ramhorns to my smaller tanks. I've also kept guppies with a couple female Bettas but I added the Bettas after I was tired of the guppies breeding. Between everyone eating the guppy fry, my tank was kept from over population & my guppies either stopped breeding out of fear the Bettas would eat them or just died off of natural aging. My oldest guppy was 4yrs old. Currently my daughter has the oldest betta about a 3 yr old which we've only had about 1 year & he acts like an old man. Lol. These are some great ideas that have me thinking of using my empty 10 gallon aquarium again. It was being used for a hermit crab terrarium before I moved them to their 20 gallon long. Love y'all's videos.
I came back to see this video for the 2nd time. The first time I did notice the misspelling. But on the 2nd round, I noticed he actually really butchered the word. LOL I love it that everyone is human. I appreciate all the wonderful information you share with us. Thank you!
Any non-aggressive fish can be kept with a beta. I've kept fancy tailed guppies with betas for more years than I can remember and never had a problem. But there is a secret. The beta must always be the last fish you put in. If you get your beta first, it might then claim the tank and when adding other fish later, it will see them as intruders. So the beta goes in last. Also, keep the population of other fancy fined fish high. As long as the beta is seriously out numbered, there will be no problem.
Also, you can also keep betas together as long as their numbers are high. Betas will not fight each other if there are just too many of them. 25 or more male betas in a 50 gallon tank and they won't fight. But they must all go in at the same time. Later you can add even more betas as new fish will be intimidated by those already there but keep the tank all males or all females. Do not mix because if a male spawns with a female, he will fight viscously to protect his nest. The first time I saw someone with a tank full of betas, I was very impressed. It was a sight to see.
Lastly, the tank should have no hiding places. If a beta finds a place to hide, it might then try to defend that location.
Thanks!!!. Wonderful advice. It makes sense that betta must the last fish you put in.
Awesome!! thank you!! I have been torn between a betta or guppies and now I know I can have both as long as I do it right
@@beeatchfairy28 The Betta will also keep your guppy population in check by eating the young. If you want the guppy population to grow, then lots of hiding places for the young. Live plants on the surface do best. But you will still find the Beta laying in the plants just waiting for a tiny guppy to come its way. In our current tank, newborn guppy survival rate is about 10% thanks to the Beta.
@@paparoysworkshop That is perfect! I don't plan on having a big tank so guppy population control is very needed and I will be adding live plants anyway, I've been researching ALOMST self sustaining eco tank set up. I love fish! and have kept multiple different fish over the years, fish bring me so much peace and joy but I haven't kept fish now for a few years because of my health, I've just found out I have rheumatoid arthristis which is why I need the tank to be as easy to keep as possible. Despite Betta and guppies being a popular kids fish, I have never kept them before so I really want to.
@@beeatchfairy28 Glad I could help. Good luck, and have fun.
Tried to go off this and bought 8 rummynose to be with my betta. We're now down to 4 and they definitely don't appear to be a beginner fish. It would be a nice addition to add how hardy and beginner friendly they are :-)
Water parameters were supposed to be just fine. I learnt since then that they are easily stressed out and pretty sensitive, despite the research I did stating they were hardy.
The beta must always be the last fish placed in the tank. If he is first, he will claim the territory and you can have problems. So take the beta out and put him in a small tank. 1 gallon or less. Keep him there for a month while the other fish take ownership of the big tank. The more other fish you have in the big tank, the less likely the beta will cause trouble when you put him back in.
Betta fish are just cats.
You cannot change my mind.
I’ve never felt so attached to a comment before lol
@Baked potatos lol my betta still does this 😂😂😂
Oscars are dogs
water kitties
How to unthink😳
I've got my guy in with guppies, snails, and a bristle nose. It's a nice sweet tank! He swims around with the guppies, its cute
Do the guppies nip his fins?
Then my mom came and woke me up!
I second Sasquatch's question! 👀
I don’t think guppies are a good option. Their fins are too bright for the betta which will make him/her aggressive.
@@Sasquatch1213 why would the guppies nip the betta’s fins, lots of guppies have long, flowy fins
This is perfect for what I was just thinking about when I get my big 55G tank this week. I need to plan for tank mates for my Betta.
I learned that because the Bettas can be very territorial and that the Betta should be the last to go in.
My Betta is okay with 2 Black Kulli Loaches and 4 little Nerite Snails (2 Tiger and 2 Zebra). I am totally in awe of how well the 2 different Nerite species are getting along. I did have a talk with Taylor (Betta) when I first added the 2 Tiger Nerite Snails, then again when I added the 2 Zebra Nerite Snails a week later, then again weeks later when I added the 2 Kulli Loaches. They do their Kulli Happy Dance and bump into Taylor and he just swims away.
After I get this 55G set up with plants, etc and aquascaped... and balanced... I will start transferring my Snails, etc in slowly like you said as not to upset the biological system. I have small batches of different Biological Media soaking in the tank to transfer over to help jump start the new tank.
I am planning to up my numbers of Black Kulli and and buy small schools of some of ones that you listed here. I need some Panda Cats, Ottos, and a few others.
I am not familiar with Rummy Tetras, but will get some since you like them.
My brothers each had their own color of Mollies and us sisters had our own color of Guppies. I will get a few different colors and each as to honor our water friends back when we were kids.
I am not planning on stocking it up full so I will start with small schools of 5 of each and then over time add more to each school.
Thanks for this great list. I already had 5 of those species of your list anyway from my research, so adding a few others will make it interesting. I am creating a room divider with this big tank for this open design apartment for folks like me who was on a walker. I still need to use the cane, and even use the walker now ad then when that barometric pressure starts bouncing.
Again, thanks for this great video.
You and Lisa make fun videos together.
God Bless ya.
Have loved your channel since I subscribed about 6 months ago. Love your advice and tutorials. You have helped me so much with my four betta tanks. I have thought about mollies for a new betta tank...especially the dalmatian mollies. Thank you for your help! Cannot wait to see the finished setup at the new property and would love to get some new bettas from you! I'm gonna get a 25 gal and want that thing to be as colorful as possible! Keep up the great work you two!!!!
I love how betta fishes fish literally look like :C
Yes! With a finny whillygig on each side!
lolll mines the opposite he always swims up and is like “hi!!”
Betta fish: 👁️^👁️
Betta fish one second after: 👁️O👁️
Also betta fish one second after: 👁️^👁️
>:c
•^•
I like them saying, "tidy up the tank" To me that implies the fish/snails are getting some bigger stuff while reminding you as a fish keeper you've got to help clean to. These are just your helpers not janitors.
LionessofTor 413
T
Oh my gosh guys thank you so much! I have been absolutely STRESSING about what I want to put in my 36 gallon halfmoon tank and after watching this video I think I am going to find myself a betta and pick out some of these awesome companions!! Now I am going to look through your videos and see if there is a "How to care for bettas" one!
Thank you again so much!!
I had a betta that snatched a eye right out of a harlequin rasbora head. He lived. One eyed Jack
LOL ... (it's just you). Thanks to you and Lisa for this video explaining the options for Betta tank mates. We're adding 2 ghost shrimp to our planted betta tank - since our FIN-aky betta eats only blood worms and won't eat flakes! (Worms really make big a mess!) Bettas do not scavenge. We plan on adding a few cardinal tetras after we make sure we know we can maintain tank balance with the shrimp. [We made sure the tank was cycled and well-balanced before adding the shrimp and we purchased backup shrimp pellets to be sure there's food supplemental food in case the 2 shrimp are more ravenous than we guessed.]
that loach was probably hidingin the ground, thats pretty much what they do. in the Netherlands they got their name from that, a litteral translation from the dutch name is mudcrawler.
Rummynose tetras are my favorite too, but they do nip at my bettas quite a bit. It's never caused fin damage, but I only keep short-finned bettas so they can usually swim away fast enough.
plakats are most aggresive . but if theyre getting along just keep them
thank you! first time beta owner with a 5 gallon and just wanted to add a mate of some sort. if i end up not failing miserably with this, i’ll get a much bigger tank and etc.
dream would be a filter free/natural tank or whatever they are called.
I got my first beta a little while ago and i wanted to get him a friend so he’s not lonely so i picked up some neon tetras and they seem to be friends with each other
I housed a few cherry barbs with my king betta and it also worked very nice! I also vouch for ottos and harlequin rasboras 100%! Best fish I’ve owned
im going to say be cautious of the mollies! I had to rotate out several before I found ones that were jerks to my betta >_>. removed 4 mollies and swapped them with others before I found some that didnt nip its fins
Our first Betta we paired with 4 gold dust mollies and they did good for the first month. As the mollies got bigger they started to bully the Betta and he almost died. Pulled him out and put into a 20 gal long to medicate, he had practically no fins left and stayed huddled up at the top of the heater. I decided to leave him in the 20 gal after he recovered. He now has a clown pleco and a new batch of Ramshorn snails for company and his fins are growing back even prettier than before.
Me: currently having a betta fish and 3 snails Also me: gets worried when my fish sleeps
Same
Flashbacks to waking my poor betta up from a nice sleep cause I thought he was dead. Lol sorry little one😂😭
ikr same! we recently moved my betta to the kitchen because i felt he wasn’t getting enough attention and my family always comes in to see him but i had to tell everyone “don’t worry, if you see him under plants or at the bottom, he’s just sleeping” he even goes under the filter and sleeps, then i walk up and he greets me at the front of his tank
Mine was just laying there I thought it was dead but a few days later it died
Pat S , you scared that your snails will eat your sleeping Betta??
When I was a begin beginner fish keeper I thought Neons and Cardinal tetras were the same thing
That's understandable, they are very similar
YAAAS. that's because growing up we were told that cardinal tetras were called neon tetras. No one made the distinction between the different kinds of tetras back then. And mostly the cardinal variety were sold in Kmart/Sky City, and the like.
Well, if you grab a handful of neons and a handful of cardinals and smash your hands together, they will be the same thing.
Same for me
Same bro
My cycling tank just has baby snails from the live plants I planted and I’m excited about it
Is my betta the only one who just swims up to the glass and boops his face and is like “hewo hooman where is my food”
@LIEW ZHENG HONG Moe 😂
I used to have a glass fish decoration that had a little glass ball with a string attaching the two so the ornament would float. I had a snail that got on the glass ball and ride it around all the time
I can’t keep anything but snails in with my boi. 😂 He’s killed every shrimp ever. 😂
@@ocellaris1271 MTS, Ramshorn, pond snails, nerite (sp?).
Mine are fine with my shrimp but the cherries I had with my teensy tinesy little fingerling badis were decimated. Whoops. (It only has to fit in tiny mouths in pieces, I found.)
I watched one shrimp get swallowed whole. It was something to watch
You forgot African Dwarf Frogs! They’re adorable, small, and won’t bother your betta fish. They like to hunt for food at the bottom of shallow bodies of water, so if you have a shallow tank with medium sized gravel, they’re great! (If you put large gravel they could get stuck in it, and small gravel risks being eaten.)
I wanna get a couple dwarf frogs for mine but I just got him today lol so I’m gonna wait a little. I have a ten gallon and he’s a pretty small betta. You think I can house two frogs and a betta?
yes!!!! i love africandrawf frogs and wished they talked about them in this video
@@saharamoon. probably a 20
Betas can actually attack the frogs. I've had it happen
@@moldybandshirt1045 well I just saw a reply saying that you should probably need a 29 gallon but sense they are small maybe you can get two or to be on the safe side get 1
I'm new and this was very helpful. Thank you!
Much Love from Texas 💖
Thank You for this video! A lot of really good information. I'm just getting back into the hobby, and your video is an enjoyable refresher course 🐠
I have a betta, 2 African dwarfs, and 2 mystery snails and they all get along well. The frogs have enough places to hide and the betta loves the snails
It also depends on the tank size. Bettas with tetras may be okay in a 10 gallon but not a 3 gallon
Bettas alone aren’t even good with a 3 gallon tank
I have 2 tanks.
My first tank has zebra danios, guppies, albino cory's & one betta... I absolutely love this tank, everyone gets along amazingly.
My second tank has a betta, Kuhli loaches & Pristella tetras. The pristella tetras are new, my betta is curious about them (he was living with the guppies for a while).
I have 4 rams in my 30 gallon tank with my betta. They were raised together and do phenomenally. Happy to know most of my bettas tankmates consist of the mentioned species and they all do great😁 I just added khuli loaches and they're awesome.
I've got one betta, bristlenose, 4 rams, 6 panda corys, a handful of ghost shrimp, and khuli loaches. All with a natural river seascape. Might look into adding some ottos, those guys sound great as I plan on upgrading to a 55 soon!
I have a 20 gallon tank with my betta. He's got plants, he's got a few hides and he has friends. 2 X-ray Tetras, 3 Swallowtail Tetras, 7 Ember Tetras and a really chubby Bronze Cory. A few snails as well, but! I love my tank, my betta schools with all of the tetras. We *had* a few shrimp in there because I thought they would help the tank. Betta did prove to be a bit of a hunter for them. I felt bad for the poor ghost shrimp. But now and then I'll see a shrimp and wonder where it came from! Loved your video, thank you for it. :3 I love my betta and his tank mates.
Yeah I learned the hard way in had bought a black molly and in the second day when I decided to clean my tank I look down in my little cup holder and only saw my betta there chilling and full I didn’t know they was aggressive and territorial.
I really appreciate videos like this one. I love bettas and have several in assorted tanks but am never sure if I should give them some company, so this video puts me at ease with that thought. Thanks guys. Great job.
“Bristle nose plecos have never been known to bother other fish”
My bristle boi:
Literally eats a dead fish twice it’s size, has a lair it *DEFENDS WITH IT’S LIFE*
my dad was screaming at my plecho for eating a dead goldfish only bones were left
My pleco doesn't eat anything except algae
9:30 I had the same issue with my nerite. I didn't see him for weeks. Then the tank sat for like a year or two, and I finally found him when I cleaned the tank! He was alive 😁
I remember the first time my family and I decided to experiment with fishes in a 55 gallon tank. We got our first apple mystery snail and we loved watching it. It would climb up on the little castle decorations or up the wall of the wall of the tank and suddenly just kinda jump off like it was playing around. Mom thought it would be nice to have baby snails but the baby snails were so small that they were in the hang on the back tank filters we used and it was hard to spot them, much less watch them.
Fantastic video! It's great to see that there are compatible fish for bettas and I remember having childhood friends who did indeed have a family aquarium with a single betta and compatible fish living in harmony with one another.
I have two sisters and they both have bettas, but their fish are living alone in small tanks which I think is rather depressing for the fish (even though my sisters love them and do take excellent care of them), so I'll be encouraging them to a) buy bigger tanks and b) add some playmates to make life more interesting for their bettas. :)
did they get bigger tanks
Perfect! I’m planning on setting up a new betta tank this week since I was getting a bit bored with my 75-gallon aquarium. I came across this video and found this very helpful in deciding how to stock a 5-gallon.
I have a beautiful planted 5 gallon with a koi betta, a school of neons, 2 panda corydoras, and 2 gold mystery snails. I get so many compliments on the tank!
Emily Vieira Just wondering how many neons ? I have a 5 gallon too and I want to make sure I have the right amount aha
OCTAVIAN420 I started out with just a school of 6, but 2 of them died and now I have 4 in there. They’re doing very good with just the four of them but you can’t totally go for six! Just be careful not to over load the bio load of it’s not prepared for a lot of fish!
Hahaha no waaay! Finally someone who loves rummys!! My fave! All my fish are safe for bettas so I am off to purchase 1 at the wkend ☺️ thanks for the vid ! 🫶
Got rummy nose tetras after your video! LOVE THEM SM! Best tetra breed I have ever owned, they never bother my Koi Betta and they add so much colour and life to my tank!
Great vid as usual. Another note, for those who want to get livebearers: buying all females will not always guarantee that you will not have any babies. Sometimes the female gets impregnated before they are separated from the males, and once she gets pregnant once, she can get pregnant again in the future. Just a heads up!
Also, I wish the platys in my area were healthier. All I have close to me are the two big box stores, and neither one has platys that are healthy. They almost always seem to have ick, clamped fins, fin rot, etc.
Why dont you try and save 1 or 2? If i see a fish suffering/sick and it can get along with my other fish. Ill buy it and quarantine it to try and save it. If it survives i add it to one of my tanks. I now have 5 going on 6 tanks....i need to stop this actually. Point is save a fish if you can
Felix M I have done that, and even after quarantine, it ended up sick again and my whole tank got sick, coating me money and more fish. It’s actually a better idea not to support the sale of sick fish, and push these companies to stay on top of their fish care. Also, don’t assume everyone always has more room in their tanks to save sick fish.
@@butkusfan23 bad luck on your end I guess. Half of my fish are "rescues" and healthy now. I agree with you about getting on the companies about their fish care. I get the whole dont assume thing. But in this case it's safe to assume. No one got hurt and no ones feelings got hurt, I hope.
If you were anywhere near me, I'd be happy to give you some mickey mouse platies. Super healthy, breeding like mad, have been giving the youngsters to my LFS, but they keep popping out plenty more fry. No privately owned local fish stores near you? If not, your best bet will be to wait until after lockdown is lifted, then post in a forum for local hobbiests, FB groups might be best. Local tank owners will be looking to get rid of platy young! And they will be hardier and adjusted to the water in your area, more than ones coming into a fish store from a farm abroad.
ScarletAmazon thanks for the advice!
Many nerites (especially the tiger and zebra) like to go on "walkabouts" so check your filter for them. I even found one in my sink and another inside my dishwasher (the aquarium was on the counter between the kitchen and dining room). Olive nerites stay put.
My betta is one of the few that are too agressive... can't put anything with him lol he's the alpha 😂
LOL, I have one the same way. I put two powder blue dwarf gouramis in with him because I thought he was lonely. He spent an entire week chasing them around the tank. I thought once he got used to them he'd leave them alone but finally moved them out into my 30 gallon community tank.
Yeah I put five neon tetras he tried to eat them all all of them died
@@visionvia5506 aww I'm sorry mine did that to my shrimps
Mine hates other fish, but he's okay with shrimp. He doesn't seem to care even about the floating baby shrimp (I have ghost shrimp) and just leaves them be.
...
Great video you guys! Love watching and learning form your videos. I was so freaked out about putting anything in there with my male betta but you have given me so much confidence to go for it. Thank you so much!
Me too lol
I was gifted a Betta and a tank that I'm replacing because the lid and filter don't fit flush with each other. I bought a 1 gallon tank as a placeholder until I can get a 5 gallon one. I don't have the space for anything bigger at the moment.
This list was very helpful and I have made some choices that will work in a five gallon tank environment. Thank you!
Great video...........I`ve kept Bettas with lots of different fish without problems.
Thanks for the recommendations! I've been trying to figure out tank mates for my (super-aggressive) Betta, and you've given me plenty to mull over. Great video, as always.
JunkshopLibrary I think it’s important to note that while other fish can be kept with bettas, there are some bettas that just don’t like company, and that’s okay! It always depends on the individual betta’s personality
If your betta is super-aggressive, you might wanna consider adding a snail instead of other fish.
@@originalresqme Tried that - he killed it the same day. Tank mates just may not be in his future!
JunkshopLibrary maybe don’t put anything. i mean, snails are the most chill guys you could get. if your betta got mad at them, just means that he should be kept alone.
Is it just me, or did the last Rummy look like they had a heart face? It’s so cuuuuute😭
I want to get into the fish hobby and I want some tank mates with a betta. So this video helped me a lot!
My only question is that, a betta attacks anything vibrant or shiny so how can cardinal tetras live with betta?
I used to have a tank that was huge I can't remember the size off hand but I had a male beta and 3 female beta. Along with common minnows from the local river. I also had a few of the fish on your list they all got along great and lived for years. They had enough room and substrate.
My beta fish was a very docile man, he never bothered anyone and the only time he ever went after another fish was when that said fish picked on him, which it learned its lesson pretty quickly. I kept him with goldfish, gouramis, silver dollars, cory catfish, and even a parrot fish. He died of old age a few years back, they are very smart and I even taught mines tricks
Ok so it's cool to keep one with my gouramis and angelfish
@@scrillsickwitit3803 Uhhh i wouldnt personally. Each fish has its own personality, and Sure my betta fish might be the exception, but yours might not, plus, they dont like fish with long fins, they see them as other bettas and nip. Youre free to experiment but always have a second tank for the guy ready incase he decides death is the only course of action
In this video you prevented these tank mates as fool proof perfect tank mates but there is no way to know for sure if it's going to work with every betta. People need to be aware that it might not work out for them and have a Plan B from the start.
this a thousand times! They are so unpredictable.
Exactly. My betta is very aggressive to anything in it's tank, even snails. He almost tore the eyes off mine once.
If a betta grows up with fish it's fine. I've had a betta, molly, angel, and other fish together. They were completely fine. I've hade those fish for years.
Although yeah it definitely depends on the betta
My Betta cannot be with anything! We tried.
I bought a bunch of otocinclus for my harlequin tank, and one of them jumped out of the net when I was putting them in. When I went looking for it on the carpet, I stepped on it. I felt so terrible.
Don't know why people liked this 😂
This made me giggle haha
Jay Flores you monster
" aNiMaL aBuSe "
why would you tell people that there is no point
yes. we've always had bettas in the community tank with tetras, corydoras and guppies and there's never been any issues!
Thank you for the videos, I watched this and a few other to do better research for daughter's Betta. Now I find myself shopping to 20-30 gallon tanks to start a big display tank of my own
I don't agree with the way she guarantees they'll get along. Bettas' are very unpredictable when it comes to tank mates.
That's true, if I'm at a shop or something that has other fish, I'll usually try to see how the betta reacts when held up to a tank full of some other species. If the betta acts aggressively, they probably will attack other fish in a tank with them. If they react curiously or seem largely indifferent, they can probably handle tank mates.
Nah.. male bettas just fight with one another.. my male betta and a dozen neon tetras are living peacefully for 2 years..
This is very true. I had a betta in a 15 gal that first killed a school of neon tetras, so i tried a school of rummy-nose and it killed them too. Beautiful but unpredictable fish.
Derek Acker how many fish were in a school together? It also might be the color of your betta or other fish in the tank, many seem to hate red lol.. or maybe my bettas are just colorist.
Ikr that morning I go to feed my fish and I see my harlequins tetras with missing tails...I know it was the betta.
I had Otocinclus in my Betta tank. It did a great job but the Betta would always be bothered by them and chase them around the tank. It was a 35 Gallon tank too. So lots of space
Love my betta! I think they are great in a community tank! Luckily mine does not bite at the nerite snail antennas!
I do believe Khuli loaches are the cooler loaches :)
Simese algae eaters as well make for good tanks mates if you have the space. I have two with my fighter and they get along very well and have been for 4 years.
Beta is the second letter in the Greek alphabet. You are an Alpha (1st letter) in the FishTube community but it's BETTA
dude. My OCD is acting up. I graded tests for proper spelling of plant names for longer than I care to remember,lol.
Learned a bunch from your channel. Enjoy North Carolina..Bunch of my relatives from Long Island and VA moved down there and love it.
The first fish I ever kept was a blue betta named Elvis! I had him for over 2 years and as a 13 year old I was heartbroken when he died.
I'm wondering if it might actually be a good tactic to first get the community in the tank established a couple of weeks before introducing a beta. The basic idea is the beta won.t presume to have all the tank to itself.
Maybe, I introduced my tetras and bettas at the same time.. and the betta was aggressive
My mom used to have a couple of loaches. One day she came home and found one of them flailing around the front of the tank, and on further inspection realized that the other had managed to accidentally trap itself inside the tank filtration system. So everything had to be turned off, so she could disassemble the filter to get the loach out. After that both the loaches gave the filter an extremely wide berth, as they had learned to fear it.
Man, my loach loved to hide in the filter. It deliberately jumped into it. Gave up trying to keep it out
I had some of these fish in the tank with my betta, along with a couple of gouramis. Never had an issue.
kuhli loaches are so flippin cute. One my favorite additions to my tank. I have a shoal of them and they have a ton of personality!
My betta named Fred is always hanging out with his snail buddy, Gary
Omg my snails name is Gary too 😂💕