Close Menu
Betta Fish

Betta Fish: Any way to know beforehand if a Betta will tolerate tank mates?


This guy has a 10 gallon all for himself. I feel that there is a lot of unused space at the bottom; so I'm thinking of getting 6-7 dwarf Corydoras. Could he end up killing them? I have a veiltail that I know for a fact that I can't even put medium size snails in his tank; there is so much anger in that tiny animal.

Any way to assess his personality beforehand?



https://v.redd.it/2x3xllt7iqzg1

Posted by Realistic_Bobcat1105

10 Comments

  1. samanthadill13 on

    Get some ghost/ feeder shrimp since theyre cheap to test him out is what i read. Thinking of doing the same once my tank is cycled

  2. thirdcoaster on

    My betta leaves his corydoras tankmates alone. I think you’ll be fine.

  3. First_Revenge on

    Not really. Take it slow though and accept you may be making a blood sacrifice somewhere along the line.

    Try snails first they’re least likely to trigger aggression and work your way up until you find your betta’s limit. After that some larger amano shrimp that won’t register as food to your betta. After that something like your corys are probably safe. Then maybe colorful midwater swimmers like CPDs. Last is something like neocardinia shrimp which are actually just food, just up to your betta’s prey drive whether they register as such.

  6. fuckedchapters on

    my betta does fine with cory’s, tetras and otos. i let the fish accumulate for awhile in the bag they came in. i tried to get fish that were more bottom dwellers/generally stay out of the way of my betta and he doesn’t mind at all! best of luck!

  7. Suzarain on

    Not really. Behavior can change over time as well. I had a betta that started off very passive towards his tankmates and eventually became aggressive. Yes you can kind of “test” them with shrimp or snails but it won’t always be a sure thing. All you can do is have a back-up plan in case you need to separate.

  8. Federal_Coconut_1984 on

    FWIW, I tried the ghost shrimp thing with my betta and it wasn’t an immediate indicator. He was friendly with them at first, for a week or two. Then he was “playing” with them (chasing), then they started disappearing. So if you go that route, give it time to observe his reaction.

    Assuming he passes the shrimp test, you could corral the betta or the corys in a breeder box initially (placed inside the 10gal tank), where they can still see one another. See if the betta flares at all. If not, you can put one cory into the tank and see how the betta responds. Then two, and so on.

    Have a backup plan (tank) just in case you need to quickly separate them if aggression develops.

  10. escubidubidu on

    Bettas are territorial so your best chance for success will be introducing them to an already-established community tank. I’m no expert but would consider removing your lil guy, rearranging the tank, acclimating new fish, and then reintroducing him, so it’s a new environment.

    Mileage may vary. I recently tried to introduce a Veiltail to my 29 gal community and he immediately showed aggression toward the tetras and cory cats unfortunately, so I had to return him. Tried again with an Elephant Ear female and she’s done great. Like others have said, you can’t really gauge temperament until you can actually see them interact. Backup plan would be a good idea.

    Good luck OP!

Leave A Reply