So I’m planning on getting a betta for this 20 gal (yes it will have plants it’s just cycling) I was wanting to put some shrimp in here along with a pictus catfish, is this a good combo? Or is there a better alternative I can look for. I just thought the pictus was so cute
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Posted by Revolutionary-Pay153
15 Comments
I’ve never kept a pictus before, but after a quick google “pictus catfish with betta” my results suggest this is not a good idea as the betta may become a snack, they also require a lower water temp then bettas.
Why not cycle with the live plants in it though? Live plant will alter your water condition so you may want to do cycling along with them so the final product is what it is.
Shrimps generally don’t do well with Betta so I would avoid. But your tank is a 20g so it may work, just give the shrimp more hiding space and it will probably be fine.
I have never kept a catfish with Betta but I went and search in Google “Does catfish go well with Betta” and the output and some thread suggests that you should definitely not keep pictus and Betta together.
Betta do better alone.
Shrimp will get destroyed by both a picture and a betta.
Corydoras stay smaller, especially pygmy corydoras, they are super cute. Just gotta be sure you have lots of foliage for them to hide, and make sure you get at least 6. They are highly social
Just be sure to research prior to getting them their needs
Snails do better than shrimp, imo
Tons of cute breeds. They’ll sometimes attack mystery/apple snails, but they close their shells
I have snails and shrimp with my betta, but he’s a very docile, sweet, non-aggressive guy. Why do you want another fish with a betta?
Bettas are happy alone. Can you be happy with him alone?
Totally betta dependent. I have shrimp and chili rasboras with my current betta and they do fine, but I had a previous betta who ate all shrimp on sight.
I keep him mine with amanos and cherry a few of the cherries disappeared but otherwise they are fine
MAYBE a snail. But I still had to train my betta to not attack my snails.
Shrimp are AWESOME betta tankmates if you add the shrimp to the tank before the betta. The shrimp need time to find hiding spots, start getting eggnant (pregnant with eggs), and acclimate. Once they are settled, they will be more than capable of thriving and reproducing in a tank with a betta. Both my 15 and 20 gallon betta tanks started with 10 neocaridina shrimps each, and now there’s probably somewhere around 40-60 at any given time of various ages. The betta does eat some babies, but shrimp have so many babies you will always have a population as long as the colonizing shrimps have time by themselves to get settled and enough plants to hide in. Shrimps are also nutritious and enriching prey for bettas! I honestly think everyone should have shrimps for their bettas
I would not add a pictus catfish, or anything that is roughly the same size as or larger than bettas since that is stressful and possibly dangerous for the bettas. Bettas like to be the big dog in their tanks
I have mines with cherry barbs, harlequin rasbora, shrimps, a clown pleco, hill stream loach, and albino cory. All are doing fine. Mines is heavily planted.
With the caveat that it can come down to individual personality, I’ve kept shrimp with both a male betta and a female betta without issue. You can try but be prepared for the possibility that it won’t work.
No on the pictus catfish for reasons others mentioned, but a group of 8-10 of one of the small corydoras species would be great for this tank and should be good with a betta.
Make sure the tank is heavily planted for best results, and introduce the betta last
If you buy a betta from a communal tank there shouldn’t be an issue. Mine was in a communal tank when I got him and he lives with 5 cardinal tetra, 7 endlers, a bristlenosed catfish, a corydoras, a rabbit snail and a random snail that appeared one day magically.
I might try shrimp in there at some point.
I keep 4 jullie Corey’s and blue Dream shrimp with mine in a 14gallon. I have Java moss and caves for the shrimp and cats. They all seem to get along well. However my betta has never been aggressive to any extent, it minds its own. That could be different for you.
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Completely depends on the personality and temperament of the betta. However, I have 4 betta tanks set up right now. One is with a colony of ghost shrimp! Two are with shoals of cories. And one is with some peacock gudgeons.
If you have ample hiding spots and you have a lot of line sight breakers you can keep bettas happily with several species. Not one of those species is a pictus catfish. This size tank is not suitable for a pictus nor is the husbandry right with a betta and a pictus. Pictus catfish get up to 6 inches, and they need to be kept in a shoal, their minimum tank size requirements are 60+ gallons.
Species i have successfully kept with bettas are; Neo shrimp, ghost shrimp, nerite snails, mystery snails, rabbit snails, “pest” snails, neon tetras, green neon tetras, corydoras (any species), bristlenose plecos, clown plecos, khuli loaches, peacock gudgeons, upside-down catfish (nigriventris synodontis), and even dwarf petricolas.
With this 20 gallon being a regular and not a long you are even more limited on what species you can get. I would suggest looking into pygmy corys or panda corys as they stay smaller, you will need to get a proper shoal of 6 or more. Shrimp and snails are also great options, especially if its on the heavier side of plants. You could even get a clown pleco if you wanted. But again this completely depends on the betta itself. Every betta is different and every betta has their own tolerance levels. Females are just as sassy as males. I have a male who wouldnt flare or get mad at anything and I have a female who gets sassy with everyone. You need to see the temperament of the betta before you can accurately say if you are able to keep other species.