Bettas at Pet Resources

Other "misconceptions"

Bettas will kill anything you put with them...

I have 3 male bettas and 1 female currently, and all live in community tanks. They are a bit more aggressive than true peaceful tropical fish, but they are by no means indiscriminate killers. A male betta might kill another male, but they only kill because there is nowhere for the other male to escape too. In the wild there are no tank walls to interfere with fleeing. Bettas can be kept in community tanks if the following guidelines are followed.

Do not keep them with any fish known for fin-nipping, such as Tiger Barbs, Serpae Tetras, Angelfish, Botia spec. loaches, and the like.
Do not keep them with any fish that could be mistaken for a betta, this normally means no other gouramis, and definitely no different species of betta. Sometimes male guppies are also mistaken for male bettas.
Do not keep male and female bettas together unless you are planning on breeding them, and have done adequate research on breeding techniques.
Do have floating plants and lots of cover near the surface of your tank. Bettas are surface dwellers and like staking out a little territory where they feel comfortable.
Do keep the tank warm, around 75-84 F.

Bettas must live in a small tank...

This is another misconception. Some people perpetuate the myth that bettas need to stay in small tanks. The reasons vary, one was even that the water pressure in a larger tank would kill a betta. Another reason quoted was that Bettas live in tiny puddles in the wild, so it was good to keep them in small tanks.

Bettas do fine in larger tanks. I try to keep mine in at least 20 gallon tanks, but they have no problem getting around in these tanks. They often get along with their peaceful tankmates. I've also noticed that when compared to bettas that have lived their lives in a small container mine are much larger. They are also "friendlier" reacting to feeders with much more interest. In short there is no harm in keeping a betta in a larger tank provided several conditions are met, listed above under Bettas will kill anything you put with them...

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