What can i put with my betta in my 5 G?

Question

I have a 2 inch male blue betta. I'm a little scared..i have heard some bad things about Betta's.. he looks harmless and is kinda scared of me...I've had him less then a week. my setup has a filter, gravel, 2 fake plants, and a igloo type of thing with holes. All he does is start from the top right corner swim to the bottom of my filter (bottom left) go to the top left and go back to the top right...he's still doing this as i speak, is this a problem. He doesn't eat much, but my guess is because he's new. My main question is what can i put with him, what fish, and how many. He seems to have a personality of shyness. If i get new fish will I have to remove him, change my setup a little and put in my new fish first or what? Please answer this question. Remember its a 5 gallon.

Answer 1

Male bettas are very territorial and can be very aggressive. I do not recommend putting another fish in with the betta. However, I have put a female betta in with a male and they got along just fine.

Your fish is being normal as he swims up and down his rather large tank.

Answer 2

Betta are both shy and aggressive.

The safest bet for other fish is to get small, fast-moving fish that your betta won't see as competition - maybe danios, or the smaller tetras?  

Answer 3

Nothing, Betta's are aggressively territorial and would not handle another fish in such a small tank. He is actually in a perfect sized tank for just him. You might want to invest in a heater for him if you live in a colder climate because bettas are tropical fish.

Answer 4

It's not a problem, he's just getting adjusted to his new home.

You could get an Otocinclus if you really wanted to. But in a 5 gallon tank, there's not really anything else you could add. Otocinclus are algae eaters, so it's best to supplement their diet with sinking algae wafers.

E-mail me for any questions!

Answer 5

Bettas are fine with other fish that don't have long flowing fins.  However in a 5 gal I would only recommend a couple of otocinclus or a small school of 3 pygmy cories (they have to be pygmy which stay under 1/2" regular cories would be to large for a 5 gal)  Most other fish are to large or too active to keep in a 5 gal  

Answer 6

You can only put probably 2 or 3 more fish in with him that are tropical non aggressive, he will attack other betas but won't attack other tropical fish.