Do Male & Female Bettas Make Good Tank Mates?

Though a male betta will accept females as tank mates, it is not a good idea to make this a permanent pairing, especially if you want surviving young. The male will continue mating efforts even after a successful mating and the female may begin attacking him to end his attentions. In addition, she will eat the eggs and young. It is best to find other varieties of tank mates for the betta.

  1. Multiple Betta

    • Provide shelter where the fish can hide.

      If you do house multiple betta in one tank, provide only one male with many females that are smaller than the male. If you want young betta to survive, remove all of the females if any one of them lays eggs. If you do not care that the young survive, provide many hiding places for the females. Less dominant females can use the shelter to avoid the attention of the dominant females and the male can use it if a pregnant female tries to attack him.

    Tank Mate Characteristics

    • Angelfish are not good companions for a betta.

      Bettas are solitary fish, though they may accept some tank mates. It is always best to use tank mates other than additional betta. Choose tank mates with smaller fins and less brilliant colors than the betta because a male betta sees large fins and brilliant colors as a rival even if the fish is not a betta. Do not add fish known to nip at fins such as the angelfish and rasboras.

    Good Tank Mates

    • Because betta spend most of their time near the top of the tank and go to the middle or bottom only to sleep, good tank mates would be bottom-feeders or fish that prefer spending time in the middle of the tank -- these fish will not aggravate the betta. Creatures such as the ghost shrimp and zebra snail are bottom feeders that can co-exist with betta fish. White cloud minnows and tetra-neon fish can also be good tank mates for betta.

    Bad Tank Mates

    • The flashy color of a goldfish will cause a betta to attack.

      Do not include gouramis in your betta's tank, as they are fin nippers. They can also grow larger than a betta, and thus become a threat and encourage the betta to fight. Mollies, swordtails, goldfish, fancy guppies and platys are also fish to avoid housing with a betta. All of these prefer a different environment than the betta, and most of them come in bright colors and have long flowing fins that will cause a betta to attack. Further, the mollies, swordfish and platys have an aggressive nature -- fish with an aggressive nature will cause damage to the betta's fins, which in turn could cause illness or death.