that all depends on the betta IMO. I have one in my community and she's pretty good but I am thinking I have seen her go after my long fin serpaes. I have something going on in my tank and they were effected so that might be why. She typically keeps pretty much to herself though.

I'd get another one for sure if something happened to her so she's obviously not too bad

Guppies, well I don't know about that. I wouldn't think the guppies would go after her to mate though, I think they know their own species.

 

Usually, people get young female bettas to put in their community tanks because they are less aggressive than the males. Sometimes you can get a rather passive male to put in with other fish.
Sometimes, an lfs will put bettas in their community tanks to show that the fish is community compatible and you can get multiple females that way to make a sorority tank.
Usually, with passive males, you can put one betta with other fish that are not bettas and that is it.

 

Not sure about guppies, but I have a beta in my 55 community. Rummy nose, danios, GBR, blue eye forktail, Otos, bristle nose pleco and a few other misc fish. Never any issues. Beta stays to its self and is fun to watch.

 

Yes, the guppies will try to mate with the betta. She will strongly object to this and may remove some fin before they wise up. If they ever do wise up.
How many guppies?

 

wow, I had no idea! good to know.

 

Thanks for the tip Betta132!

 

I have had guppies and bettas together. I have never had a problem with it. If I ever did see any aggression, it was the betta getting picked on though.

 

I've never kept female bettas, but every one of my male bettas (I was up to 10 at one time) were in community tanks of some sort. Some were in smaller tanks with pygmy cories or ember tetras or something of that sort. But others were in my 33/46/55s with angels, rams, neons, other tetras, cories, plecos, etc. I never had any issues with my bettas showing aggression toward anyone, although I occasionally had one (particularly a longer finned one that couldn't move as fast) that would get picked on in the big community tanks. The only thing that didn't work for me was the betta with male guppies. However, I did try that in a smaller tank (probably a 7g), not one of the big community tanks. A bigger tank might make a difference, as does the individual temperament of the betta.

 

Hmm, that's what I've been hearing. It's a case by case basis depending on the particular betta's temperament.

I am pretty darn sure a male betta would nearly never work with male guppies (especially ones that are really flashy and have long finnage that look like more competition to male Bettas.

I have 7 adult male Blue Moscow guppies, and only 7 females blue Moscows currently (I usually have more females, but gave some away, but some females are pregnant right now and will try and save some female babies)

How about temperament of other Betta species? Are they usually more aggressive or just completely non-community compatible? One of my LFS carries the more rare and wild type Bettas (some still colorful)

 

It depends on the species of wild betta. Most tend to be less aggressive, and will probably not react quite so violently to being hassled by the guppies. However, if the guppies relentlessly pester them, they might still react poorly. They won't kill the guppies, but a guppy might lose a piece of fin if he's an idiot and won't go away.

 

Thanks for the info. Have you kept any other species of Betta? Do they have the same captivating personalities as others mention Betta Splendens have that makes them their favorite fish?

I always thoroughly research all fish before I buy, but any recommendations of betta species I should look into (personality, peaceful, less than 3" max, decent color or very interesting looking)? If so, should I keep a single male or female, a pair, or trio?
They will be for a 55 or 100gal heavily planted community tank.

I am sure my guppies will try to "pair up" with the Betta, but they get the picture real quick and don't bother again.

 

I have 10 male Betta splendens (I don't care for the looks of the wild types or any of the other species of bettas, so I don't keep any of them and have no experience with them), and all but one of them reside in community tanks. The tenth guy would be in a community tank if I had 10 tanks, but I only have 9, so "******" lives in his own 5 gallon (heated and filtered) bowl, alone. The 9 that are in community tanks very rarely show any sort of aggression towards other tank mates, which include long-finned species such as fancy and feeder/wild type guppies, Endlers, Pearl Gouramis, and assorted angelfish. Pretty much, they hang on their own except at feeding time, when they queue up with the rest of the ravening hordes . I haven't tried to keep females, so I don't know about those in community tanks, but on a betta forum I belong to, there are many who keep them either in community tanks or in sorority tanks. I think that, depending on the individual, she would probably do just fine with most other community tank fish.

 

I've kept B. Albimarginata, the white-edged bettas. They have similar personalities to pet store bettas, without the insane aggression. They're small, though, you'd probably never see them if you put them in a big tank like that.
Try looking here: http://www.seriouslyfish.com/search/betta for species suggestions and care sheets.

 

I think its a situational matter. My male Betta's have always been in community tanks with fish that dont "look" like bettas, and he's been more than compatible (minimum 10g).

I think with females its better to have a few...but they do seem to be generally less aggressive.

If I would personify a Betta, I would say they're just very introverted and need their own space. If they can't have that, then they'll get snippy. Haha

 

I have 4 female bettas, 11 glass cats, 2 cory cats, 5 yoyo loaches, 2 dojo loaches, 5 prisetlla tetras, 2 black widow tetras, 4 endlers, and a BN pleco in a 75 gallon planted tank. The female bettas will flare at each other. They have gone after shrimp (I have stopped getting shrimp for this reason). I like them. The female bettas and the dojo loaches will get right in my hand to eat blood worms. I put them all in the tank as tiny 1 inch fish at different times. I did keep them in a 10 gallon quarantine tank to grow out a bit. They have never chased or bothered the endlers. I had a killie fish who I found was the culpret in a few fish deaths. I re-homed that fish, and have had no problems since.

 

I've got 3 Petsmart female bettas in a 36g bow community with guppies, M/F and several other varieties of fish and everyone is fine. The male Guppies harrass the female guppies more than any of the other fish.

 

Bettas are not bullies in my experience. I kept mine with a school of CPDs and he left them alone. You have to house them with peaceful fish though, if you get semi-agressive fish that like to challenge them, they'll likely turn into Mr Hyde and try to put the aggressor in their place... and a pissed off Betta is a force to be reckoned with

Bettas are very smart and have huge personalities for their size. You can even train them to do tricks. They're also as interested in looking at you as you are in looking at them, and I think that's why they're as popular as they are. The fins are pretty too...

I'd have one in my current tank, but Bettas and shrimp probably don't mix in a 6 gallon tank. The babies would get eaten for sure

 

I think it also depends on the betta.

Currently I have a female betta in a 65g community with guppies, schooling fish, cories Etc. She's never bothered them. Keeps to herself.

 

I agree it depends on the betta,I have one I put in my 45,when I added 3 oto's he became depressed and would lie on the filter intake.

Moved him to his own tank and he's happy.guess he just doesn't like other fish,lol

 

I've had female bettas harass fish in a community tank. Crowntail females can be more aggressive than halfmoon females in my experience. One in particular had to be pulled out of the tank because she kept nipping at the albino corys. I could not stand for that! I've never had a problem with halfmoons. They have gotten along fine with corys and other fish. The crowntails are a bit edgy, but I have had a few that got along without problems. So it is almost a shot in the dark. Maybe she will, maybe she won't. If you take the chance, and it works out, you will really enjoy a beautiful fish. A better bet might be a halfmoon. The latest and greatest (IMO) are long finned veiltail females! I have one and she looks almost like a male, her tail is so much longer than the other girls. Anyway, I hope it works out for you.:laugh2:

 

I have also had male bettas that didn't like guppy tails. But I have bettas in both of my community tanks at the moment. I find they get harassed more than the other way around.
My female is huge... largest fish in her tank. I think she would do a great job at halting a guppy population explosion. They love live food.

I have a red male with neon blue eyes I am raising to breed with her.

 

I used to have a 125 gal with up to 5 or 6 female betta, breeding guppies (to produce live food for African Butterfly fish) and other things.. the male guppies never bothered the bettas (but they had female guppies to keep them busy) and the female bettas never bothered anyone.