Hi, My old Betta fish recently died. I have an empty tank and I want to get a new one. The tank is a gallon.

When I get my Betta, I want to get it a tankmate. I was thinking about getting a snail, but I also want to get it another fish friend.

First, I know that Bettas are territorial, so the gallon may not be big enough for 2 fish. It's fine for just the betta, with the snail though. I read that the snails help clean up the waste that the betta leaves, So I think that would be really good for keeping the tank clean. I also had a live plant, I want to get another one because it helps filter the water natrually and keep it cleaner longer. I think the plant, slong with the snail, would help a lot.

So now I just need to know what other fish, if any will fit in with a Betta in a gallon tank and not cause any problems. I want something interesting, and possibly colorful, something that won't cause conflict with my betta and will compliment it's colors.

Any suggestions?

We had a betta fish that lived a long and happy life with a little frog friend.

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Originally Posted by J_9

We had a betta fish that lived a long and happy life with a little frog friend.

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OH! I like frogs! :)

That would be cool! Did you keep it in a gallon tank as well?

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Originally Posted by ohsohappy

OH! I like frogs! :)

That would be cool! Did you keep it in a gallon tank as well?

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Yup, it was a gallon octagon tank we kept in our bathroom. Hubby is on the way to get a new beta fish now for our 7 year old.

Ohh that's cool.
I was also thinking of a glofish. I called the pet store and they said that if you pair them with Bettas, you need a 10 gallon tank for maximum cooperation and that it's best to get a couple of live plants and some hiding spaces for them.

I don't know whether ours was just a weird fish but we had a Siamese Fighter in a 4 foot tank with a bunch of other fish...
Discus, clown loaches, silver sharks, gouramis he was fine, he used to just hang out in the plants at the back of the tank and didn't bother anyone..

Only thing I think you really have to avoid is fish with large colorful fine.

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Originally Posted by shazamataz

I don't know whether or not ours was just a weird fish but we had a Siamese Fighter in a 4 foot tank with a bunch of other fish...
Discus, clown loaches, silver sharks, gouramis he was fine, he used to just hang out in the plants at the back of the tank and didn't bother anyone..

Only thing I think you really have to avoid is fish with large colorful fine.

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How many gallons was your 4 foot tank?

Ohso, don't get a snail, they don't need a mate to reproduce. You buy one and end up with a tan full of them.

My dad got a snail and after that we were giving them away by the handful and they still overran the tank.

We had a siamese fighting fish that lived very happily in a 5 gallon tank with our goldfish. Of course you could always get a female beta. :)

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Originally Posted by Altenweg

Ohso, don't get a snail, they don't need a mate to reproduce. You buy one and end up with a tan full of them.

My dad got a snail and after that we were giving them away by the handful and they still overran the tank.

We had a siamese fighting fish that lived very happily in a 5 gallon tank with our goldfish. Of course you could always get a female beta. :)

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Really? I thought they did, but maybe that's slugs, YUCK.

Does anyone think it's a bad idea to put a beta in a tank with glo fish? I heard if you get glo fish then you need a 10 gallon because they are community fish, so you should get them in 3 or more, and they need more room to swim around. But I think a 10 gallon is a bit excessive. Would a 6 gallon be okay?

The usual rule for fish is 1 gallon per inch. So, if you have a fish that's 5 inches long then you need a 5 gallon tank and can't add anymore fish.

Betas fall into the 2 inch category but are not very active fish. Still, I find it cruel that many people think it's okay to keep them in tiny little bowls, even cups.

My dad had a 30 gallon tank with many different fish, usually Neons (also betas) and angel fish, etc. etc. He always had a siamese fighting fish in the tank and there were never any problems.

Just keep to the 1 inch per gallon rule and you should be fine, but take into account the growth of the fish you buy. Ask the store how big they'll get before purchasing. :)

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Originally Posted by Altenweg

The usual rule for fish is 1 gallon per inch. So, if you have a fish that's 5 inches long then you need a 5 gallon tank and can't add anymore fish.

Betas fall into the 2 inch category but are not very active fish. Still, I find it cruel that many people think it's okay to keep them in tiny little bowls, even cups.

My dad had a 30 gallon tank with many different fish, usually Neons (also betas) and angel fish, etc. etc. He always had a siamese fighting fish in the tank and there were never any problems.

Just keep to the 1 inch per gallon rule and you should be fine, but take into account the growth of the fish you buy. Ask the store how big they'll get before purchasing. :)

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That sounds like a good plan. My Betta did pretty well in his 1 gallon, but like you said, they're not overly active.
They are jumper though, So I had to keep an inch and a half of empty space between the lid of the tank and the water, also so he could breathe. They're really cool little guys.

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Originally Posted by ohsohappy

How many gallons was your 4 foot tank?

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I wouldn't have a clue sorry!

We don't do gallons here and I couldn't tell you how many litres either lol

I agree with Alty on the snails!! Bad joo-joo with them.

You had neons and angels together Alty?

My angels eat all my neons, I learnt the hard way lol

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Originally Posted by shazamataz

I wouldn't have a clue sorry!

We don't do gallons here and I couldn't tell you how many litres either lol

I agree with Alty on the snails!!!!! Bad joo-joo with them.

You had neons and angels together Alty?

My angels eat all my neons, I learnt the hard way lol

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Our angels ate the smaller neons, then we wised up and got more mature neons, a bit bigger then angel fish mouth size. ;)

It was my dads tank, that man really knew fish. Me, well, I have a gold fish that has lived longer then anyone ever though he would despite 4 tank relocations, a case of ick and many other things. He's still alive. I also have a feeder fish which we've had for around 6 months. He also went through the ick and lived.

J9 mentioned frogs. We've had them, they're so cute, but I've never had luck with them, neither did my dad. The longest a frog has lasted for us is 1 week. :(

Sorry to get sidetracked but that just reminded me of Vaughns evil cousins...
When we moved house we left the fish at his mothers until we settled in, his cousins came to stay with her and poured an entire container of food into the tank (!! )
They were very sick so his mom took them out and put them in a jug of water.
She thought she was doing the right thing putting the water ager in.. She actually put the blue water tester in there!

One of them survived, the other goldfish and the catfish had a toilet funeral :(

My parents expensive fish Jack (the rabbit) killed by biting through the heater cable... needless to say he was banished outside after that.

Wow Shaz, your fish live a world of excitement. :)

Goldie was tiny when we got him, so small that we had to turn off the filter, he kept getting sucked to the little post thingy.

Now he's over 5 inches long. :eek:

You need to build a koi pond for him...
Good excuse to put hubby to work :p

Fish are really cool creatures.

As for the frogs, I'm really upset with wal-mart. Every time I go there, I see a bunch of dead ones. THey don't take care of their fish at all. It makes me sad. People tell me not to buy my fish from there because they don't treat their fish well, but that's exactly why I would want to, to save a fishie that otherwise wouldn't be well taken care of. I feel bad for them

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Originally Posted by ohsohappy

Fish are really cool creatures.

As for the frogs, I'm really upset with wal-mart. Every time i go there, I see a bunch of dead ones. THey don't take care of their fish at all. it makes me sad. People tell me not to buy my fish from there because they don't treat their fish well, but that's exactly why i would want to, to save a fishie that otherwise wouldn't be well taken care of. I feel bad for them

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I just got a new tank and a whole wack of new fish about a week ago. They are all so cute. They are:
-An orange platty(flame)
-Male guppy( Atlas)
-Female Guppy(Honey)
-Black Mystery Snail(Speedy Gonzalez)
-2 African Dwarf Frogs(Chase&Echo)
-One small Pleco(Jaws)

I got them all from Walmart as there are no pet stores near my house. The frogs were scarce there most were dead and even the ones I acquired were moving very little. Thankfully when I got them home to my tank they started moving around a lot more. I love my frogs so much but I'd have to say that my pleco jaws is my fave.

Frogs are cute but they move around A LOT. They need lots of space. So I don't think they would be a good choice. You know us humans tend to think that fish and other pets get lonely but they don't. Well not bettas anyway they are pretty solitary fish, they like their space. The only thing I could suggest is maybe to get one of those betta tanks that are separated into two sections therefore you could have two.

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Originally Posted by rex123

I just got a new tank and a whole wack of new fish about a week ago. They are all so cute. They are:
-An orange platty(flame)
-Male guppy( Atlas)
-Female Guppy(Honey)
-Black Mystery Snail(Speedy Gonzalez)
-2 African Dwarf Frogs(Chase&Echo)
-One small Pleco(Jaws)

I got them all from Walmart as there are no pet stores near my house. The frogs were scarce there most were dead and even the ones I acquired were moving very little. Thankfully when I got them home to my tank they started moving around a lot more. I love my frogs so much but I'd have to say that my pleco jaws is my fave.

Frogs are cute but they move around A LOT. They need lots of space. So I don't think they would be a good choice. You know us humans tend to think that fish and other pets get lonely but they don't. Well not bettas anyway they are pretty solitary fish, they like their space. The only thing I could suggest is maybe to get one of those betta tanks that are separated into two sections therefore you could have two.

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I like that Idea, but I think most of those tanks are too small for them. Otherwise I'd get a huge double tank, I'd say 5 gallons each side, and then put the Betta in one side and the neon glo fish in the other. Fish are the best! Maybe if they have those tanks then I can save up for one, they're pretty expensive though. :(

Well I got my new Betta today. He's a beautiful blue and red Delta tail. Very pretty. I've named him Pandora. (Fish Fishy Fish Fish Fischer is what my boyfriend thinks I should name it.) I decided I would let that be it's nickname. Pandora is his real name. :)