# Betta in community tank?



## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

A question for you all betta lovers. I'm pretty sure I remember some threads here with people doing this, but I thought I'd double-check first: would a betta (male) be ok in a community tank with small, non-nipping tetras? Can too much water flow be an issue or do you really need a lot of flow with powerheads and everything to make it an issue?

Thanks.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

all my Betta's that were in community tanks did just fine. Got along well with all the tetra's as well as the other fish. As for flow, most of mine didn't mind the flow , even seemed to enjoy swimming thru it, however but too much flow might not be to their liking .....powerheads and such. I always made sure to have some tall plants or floating plants at one end to break the current/flow so they could have a peaceful area to chill out sleep or whatever. Also a cave or 2 is always nice as they love to explore.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Mine didn't mind the flow either and was in my tank with some little tetras as well as some big fishes (bala sharks, tinfoil barbs) He didn't bother anyone and was bothered by any one else. I like seeing male bettas in large tanks.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

I agree with the other guys on this one, my Lucifer is happy in my 70 community but he tends to stay out of the high flow areas, usually in the overgrowth on the opposite side of the tank from the spray bar. 

In my experience the only tank mate i've ever had issues with has been Tiger Barbs, which I don't consider to be community fish but LFS's continually label them as such.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Ok, thanks guys. I might give this a try in my Vicenza.


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## teija (Sep 30, 2010)

I tried one in a community tank but realised there is a reason Neon Tetras cannot be kept with bettas... Although he started out loving all the space, my betta quickly began hiding from the neons... So I moved him back out, away from his bullies.

The rest of the fish seemed ok with him though. Good luck with it!


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

teija said:


> I tried one in a community tank but realised there is a reason Neon Tetras cannot be kept with bettas... Although he started out loving all the space, my betta quickly began hiding from the neons... So I moved him back out, away from his bullies.
> 
> The rest of the fish seemed ok with him though. Good luck with it!


Hummm... Thanks for the heads-up. I do have neons in there...


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

i've got neons in mine... no issues at all


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Same here....neons, black neons, glowlight....there may have been one or two instances but for the most part I have never witnessed any nipping from my tetras


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

All right. Thanks again. As often in this hobby, things are not so simple and can depend on many factors. What I gather from here is that at least it's not a big no-no, so I might give it a try if I see a betta that I really like (that doesn't seem all that unlikely  ). One good thing with bettas is that it's easy to give them a temporary home if you look at selling them back.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

I tried putting my betta into the community tank and it didn't work out for him. The other fish didn't bother him (it was a 30 gallon tank with mostly only corydoras) but he hated the flow from the HOB filter. It wasn't much of a flow, really, but he used to hide behind the heater. I moved him to a 5 gallon planted tank and he seemed happier. I didn't run a filter on that tank. 

But I had a female betta with fairly long fins who absolutely loved a current.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Morainy said:


> I tried putting my betta into the community tank and it didn't work out for him. The other fish didn't bother him (it was a 30 gallon tank with mostly only corydoras) but he hated the flow from the HOB filter. It wasn't much of a flow, really, but he used to hide behind the heater. I moved him to a 5 gallon planted tank and he seemed happier. I didn't run a filter on that tank.
> 
> But I had a female betta with fairly long fins who absolutely loved a current.


Thank you Maureen. This is useful too. Yes, flow might just be very dependent on the individual too.

Looks like if I try, at least I should have a back-up plan to rehome the betta at least temporarily until I sell him back. Problem is, my kids love bettas and if we choose one they'll never let me sell him back. Hmmm...


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