Keeping betta with live bearers

[connie]

So my wife surprised me with this betta a few months back when I sent her to the fish store for some api products. She bought him/her with a 1gal semi aquatic plant grow tank (I have pictures below) I’ve done my best to make it as comfortable as I can (heater , light , water changes every few days) but I feel so bad the tank is so small and we do not have the space for a 4th tank at the moment I’m just wondering if I can put it in my live bearer tank , I’ve googled a few things but I trust some people on here a lot more then google. I do not know if the betta is male or female , I know that makes a difference. I believe she said it’s a crown tail betta or something along those lines.

[graye]

Question one, a crucial one: what livebearers? Mollies, for example, sometimes mistake Betta fins for rotting plants, and take a bite. They like what they discover, though not all of them catch on to the possibilities.

[connie]

Question one, a crucial one: what livebearers? Mollies, for example, sometimes mistake Betta fins for rotting plants, and take a bite. They like what they discover, though not all of them catch on to the possibilities.

Sword tails , painted platty , red wagtail platty

[graye]

I did it when I had communities, and it worked. The biggest issue, as long as the livebearers don't nip the tasty fins is temperature. Swords and platys like cool water in the 22-24 range, and Betta splendens should start at 26 and up. You could compromise at 23-4, but it isn't ideal. It still might beat a tiny tank.

The betta will probably act like he wants to kill the universe when he goes in, but with the fins, he can't catch anything healthy.

[WildFins]

Bettas are naturally territorial and have been bred to be aggressive. Some bettas will attack other fish in a tank. Some bettas will tolerate tank mates. But that's all it is, putting up with. The territorial bettas are stressed by the presence of other fish in their territory.
A 1 gallon tank or being with other fish is a no win situation for the betta. Not knowing the temperament of the betta, I think I'd keep it alone in the smaller container for the time being until you can figure out a way to give it a larger (at least 5 gallons) home. Even an upgrade to 2 or 3 gallons now would be much better. There are people who say that bettas live in puddles in the wild. They do, but not permanently. Just be diligent about water changes.

[Clack]

Without seeing the space this 1 gallon tank is in, could you fit something like a 5 gallon here? The poor guy probably has little quality of life in such a small tank - not your fault, he was a surprise to you, but I'd be desperate to put him in anything bigger if I had the means.

[TankWarrior]

Hello. I think the Betta is too aggressive for peaceful fish. I'd do some research on the personality of the Betta before subjecting peaceful fish to one that's a little on the mean side.

10

[jackgulf]

I would put the betta in the livebearers tank temporarily, and then try to get a larger tank (5-10 gal) for the betta ASAP. Bettas, especially slow, long-finned ones, won’t necessarily kill everything immediately, but keeping one with other fish permanently is a ticking time-bomb.

[connie]

I have a 10 gallon with everything , we just literally don’t have anywhere to put it (moving back to the in-laws while I start police academy , once I leave my job I have now we will have to move , I work as a maintenance technician for an apartment complex so once I no longer work here i can’t live here either) it was already hard enough to find a place for our other tanks as is. I was looking last week at a 5gallon tank that’s a cube , I’m hoping once we move in there I can find a spot for that.

[graye]

It's odd. Over 5 decades, I have kept a large number of bettas, often several at a time (not together, although I was able to that with wild caughts not engineered for gambling/fighting), and all in community tanks. None have ever harmed another fish. They chase a bit, but the deformed fins make them slow. Once they give up, usually quickly, they settle.
I have always chosen tankmates carefully, as their slowness makes them defenceless against nippers.
I don't consider Betta splendens to be aggressive fish. Even plakats, which don't have the drag from fins, never harmed tankmates. They are territorial, and take a space they defend, but so do a lot of fish. T lalius gouramis have killed tankmates, red tailed sharks, tiger barbs, some swordtail males, most if not all dwarf Cichlids and even some zebra danios have been killers. Betta splendens haven't here.