Adding a betta to the 46Gallon community tank.

[l_l_l]

Hi all!
I presently have a Betta which is in my baby's room.
But as of today, baby is not sleeping in there and nobody is going in the room to appreciate this fish .
I'm thinking I will be adding him to the 46gallon tank, it's missing a showpiece fish right now and I'm wondering if that would be a match.
He's always been gentle on other fishes, he used to live with neon tetras in the past.
Had to remove him because the neons were harassing him.

This 46g tank has a school of 10 rummynose tetras, 10 Celestial pearl danios and a colony of endlers.
I'm wondering if that would be fine for him?

Once my baby goes in her room I'll probably get another betta for this 10gallon tank with store credit I got.

Thanks for your input!

[Sandman1969]

I'm not a betta person, but do know they do not like big tanks. They actually prefer & are happy with those small bowls for home.

[caoder]

The betta should be fine in the tank as long as it doesn't have high flow or at least areas of low flow. They tend to do better with other fish in the tanks.

[Shell]

I have never tried adding a betta into a community tank, but my first thought is - if you try this - ensure that, as caoder mentioned, the flow is not too forceful. Also, I would look into getting a betta log - our betta fish love them - and it might allow your betta to feel safe in a tank with other fish. I am also thinking that a lot of decorations, plants, etc. would be helpful as it would give the betta a feeling of security. Again - I have only ever had betta fish on their own, tanks ranging from 5.5g to 6g, so my comments are not based on experience - just gut feelings! Sonny, our male betta, has only a leopard ramshorm living with him (named Marvel!), and they get along famously!

If you do decide to do this transfer - maybe do it on a day that you know you will be home to observe - fish have their own quirks and personalities - you never know what will happen! Maybe a great result and all of them will be fine together - or, maybe one of those times where you have to get the fish out of there!

I have heard great stories about adding a betta into a community tanks, I have even thought about doing it myself - so perhaps this is worth a try! I'd say, just make sure you can be home long enough to ensure that all is well with the finned babies - accommodation is not always guaranteed

[l_l_l]

Thank you.
The tank has a load of plants including a very very tall and large broad leaf anubias plant that shoots all the way to the top.
There is a very large piece of driftwood as well that acts like a cave which he could call home.

I'll try and see if he likes it in there. As soon as I see that he's not happy anymore I could always move him back in the 10g.

[nyleveiam]

I have a male betta in eight of my community tanks... the biggest being a 55 and the others either 40B, 29's or 20's.  The 40 has an angel, the betta, serpaes, cories, black neons and gold tetras.  That one does have lots of current but that particular betta has very, very short fins.
The 55 has rummies, glo-tetras, x-ray tetras, some cories and one cardinal... quite a bit of current and that betta has HUGE fins and the only thing that happened with him was his fin rot cleared up within a week or two.  
One 29 has my rainbows plus a crown tail (Bart!).  He LOVES to swoop down at the rainbows but that is all he does, they ignore him.  
One is with Neons and black neons, no problems there at all.  
The others are in species tanks, one has swordtails, one has danios, and one has my white clouds and loreto tetras, and the last is a 10 gallon with the betta and some cardinals.  I did not put one with the platies as that tank gets overstocked too easily.
All tanks have plenty of plants high enough for them to rest on and they all have a betta leaf as well.  All tanks are also relatively lightly stocked, in spite of the variety of species in them.  
I did have some issues with Bert... he was a bit too aggressive so he is alone and another one is alone as he is an elephant ear and really has too much fins and tail, IMO.  
I always had a back-up tank in place in case it did not work out... some of these bettas are still young so I DO keep a close eye on them all the time.  
I feed the bettas first, they always rush up immediately when I open the top to feed so I have no issues that way.  I haven't had any issues with them overeating EXCEPT when the original betta girls were in the 55 community.  That was a major problem, but the girls I have now can only eat what I give them and I can control the amount as I don't have to worry about other fish in there getting enough since the girls are alone, HIGHLY recommended if you do a sorority!!!
Since you do have a back up tank I would go for it, but agree with Shell, do it when you can keep an eye on them!!

[l_l_l]

Thanks again for all the valuable input.
Since he has very long flowing fins, I'll keep a close eye on him to see if he's ok with the fishes in there.
Maybe he'll get some new muscles.
If not, I'll put him back in the 10g. Maybe I could get another Betta for this 46g by then?
I spotted a very nice looking orange white and black betta and have plenty of store credit to bring him home.

[Mykuhl]

I have had bettas housed alone in a bare 2 gallon tank and the same bettas(2 of them) moved into a 20 gallon long well planted community tanks with driftwood. I found that in both cases they did better in the community tank than in the bare 2 gallon. One of the bettas was a plakat male(short finned betta) housed with a colony of apistogramma and painted fire red shrimp, and the other was a half moon male housed with a colony of young painted fire red shrimp. Both of them became more active and lively in the 20 gallon community tank, especially the plakat. So, my experience is they do well in planted community tanks.

[l_l_l]

I actually got a trio of Bolivian rams for the tank and got this betta a few dwarf cories as friends. He seems to enjoy their presence.

[Biulu]

My experience with bettas is that they are social fish, in the sense that they need company. Not of their own kind but from other fish. I have the impression that when they are by themselves, they get bored, listless and almost always quickly get sick and die.

For that reason, I have stopped putting my bettas in separate tanks. I always house them with other fish and they seem to be grateful for it.

[nyleveiam]

My happiest, healthiest bettas are definitely those in the community tanks!!!  They NEVER have fin issues, seem to get much more exercise and just generally flourish.
I have a few issues with them overeating but I finally found that they LOVE the NLS betta food so if I give them that first before I feed the other fish they do much better since they are so intent on eating theirs they give the others a chance to get their own food.
I even have one in a tank with just a mature Angel as a tank mate.  I admit, I had to try three different angels before I found one that would leave the betta alone but the betta thinks it was worth the effort.  Interestingly enough, both other angels are in community tanks WITH a betta and totally ignore them.  Go figure!

[Starfish]

My happiest, healthiest bettas are definitely those in the community tanks!!!  They NEVER have fin issues, seem to get much more exercise and just generally flourish.
I have a few issues with them overeating but I finally found that they LOVE the NLS betta food so if I give them that first before I feed the other fish they do much better since they are so intent on eating theirs they give the others a chance to get their own food.
I even have one in a tank with just a mature Angel as a tank mate.  I admit, I had to try three different angels before I found one that would leave the betta alone but the betta thinks it was worth the effort.  Interestingly enough, both other angels are in community tanks WITH a betta and totally ignore them.  Go figure!

I think that just proves that fish do have personalities. Sometimes they clash and other times they meld quite well.

[nyleveiam]

I am continually amazed by my fish... spent over an hour last night watching a brand new Endler fry (just 24 hours old) and an older female intent on eating him/her.  She would swim after it and it would dart away but she kept coming.  Suddenly, the fry would turn quickly and swim right at the older one, at the last minute darting right over her head.  
You could actually see the confusion in the older ones eyes!!!  That fry kept doing that until the older one finally swam away.  I checked this morning, the fry is still alive and well!!!  It is one of only three I found on Sunday.  I had removed some of the floating plants and am afraid I might have removed too many of their hiding places OR it was a small drop since the mothers are quite young.

[goldfishbetalover]

My experience with bettas is that they are social fish, in the sense that they need company. Not of their own kind but from other fish. I have the impression that when they are by themselves, they get bored, listless and almost always quickly get sick and die.

For that reason, I have stopped putting my bettas in separate tanks. I always house them with other fish and they seem to be grateful for it.

what type of fish may I ask do you have your beta's with ?
with thanks!

[Biulu]

You name it! Every tank I have has a betta. I keep them with small shoaling fish like ember tetras, micro rasbora, or pencilfish. I also keep them with loaches, corydoras, angels and even gourami types.

With the latter you have to be a bit more careful though.

[goldfishbetalover]

ok
you have me wondering now if my nine are lonely!?

[Biulu]

ok
you have me wondering now if my nine are lonely!?

Not necessarily so. As I said, I noticed that my bettas get listless when they are on their own. If yours are lively and eat well I would say that they are fine.