Anybody know what might cohabit safely with a betta? Ghost shrimp? Cory cats?
Critters cohabiting w betta?
- Thread starter Moozillion
- Start date
I had an Apple snail in with mine - in a 5 gallon. That's the smallest size I'd recommend for a betta.
You can try shrimp...but they might get eaten. Although bamboo shrimp are large enough they might be okay...especially in a larger tank with adequate hiding places...
Corys would be fine, but you'd need a larger tank. I have two left in my 25g, and they certainly use all the room...corys do best in groups though and I'd prefer a group of 6 (but these two are almost 10 years old, and I didn't want to add new ones since they seem fine as a pair)...
You can try shrimp...but they might get eaten. Although bamboo shrimp are large enough they might be okay...especially in a larger tank with adequate hiding places...
Corys would be fine, but you'd need a larger tank. I have two left in my 25g, and they certainly use all the room...corys do best in groups though and I'd prefer a group of 6 (but these two are almost 10 years old, and I didn't want to add new ones since they seem fine as a pair)...
I've had all of the above with my bettas. One of mine used to live in community tank and did well. Like with reptile terrarium, my tanks were heavily planted with plenty of places to hide for everybody. My bettas never bothered the shrimp or snails. If you have a tank big enough for some corys or other low level swimmers they should be ok too.
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Betas don't seem to mind peaceful tank mates.
Just no fast swimmers or anything aggressive.
Just no fast swimmers or anything aggressive.
Mine have always eaten their tankmates. My current betta tore through my entire established colony of very expensive shrimp in a matter of hours. When adding tankmates to a betta's tank, just beware that not all bettas do well with tank mates and some tank mates (like tetras/danios) are prone to nipping so you will need to watch out for that and be prepared to separate them if there are any issues.
In a 2.5 gallon? Maybe a shrimp or two. There isn't much room in a 2.5 gallon for anything but a betta.
In a 5 gallon? 5 or so shrimp, a nerite snail. IMO apple/mystery snails are not good option for small tanks. Mine have always gotten larger than my own fist (the ones from petsmart/petco) and the produce A LOT of waste which fouls the water in a small tank pretty quickly. You can always look into ramshorns as they have 'designer' ones available now.
In a 10 gallon? Dwarf cories or microrasboras. A 10 gallon isn't advised for larger schoolers, even neons and danios because of their activity level.
You start heading to a 20 long and you have the option of a small community. Some bettas don't mind, others do but plants are necessary. You have to break up lines of sight.
In a 2.5 gallon? Maybe a shrimp or two. There isn't much room in a 2.5 gallon for anything but a betta.
In a 5 gallon? 5 or so shrimp, a nerite snail. IMO apple/mystery snails are not good option for small tanks. Mine have always gotten larger than my own fist (the ones from petsmart/petco) and the produce A LOT of waste which fouls the water in a small tank pretty quickly. You can always look into ramshorns as they have 'designer' ones available now.
In a 10 gallon? Dwarf cories or microrasboras. A 10 gallon isn't advised for larger schoolers, even neons and danios because of their activity level.
You start heading to a 20 long and you have the option of a small community. Some bettas don't mind, others do but plants are necessary. You have to break up lines of sight.
...I had my 5 gallon betta/apple snail tank set up for 5 years or more. Good filtration. Water quality was good (with weekly changes of course). The only problem I had was with the snail escaping. Took a while to outsmart the snail...
But I agree...bigger is better.
But I agree...bigger is better.
Just my opinion after seeing how large they get when allowed. (IE given a large tank, excellent water quality, etc.) But I currently have 80gph canister running on a 2.5 gallon so I over filter on top of densely plant. Water quality has never been a huge concern for me.
