Bettas and other fish

Question
What other fish can a male betta be with in a tank that it would not fight?  I have a 3 gallon bowl, but will be upgrading to at least a 10 gallon tank.  Someone told me that goldfish would be alright. I tried it, but Rhys, my beautiful, blue male betta did not like it very much.  I removed Dash (appropriately named) to a new bowl.  I want Rhys to be with others if he can.  Any help will be appreciated.

Answer
Hi Christina,

There are several tankmate options for bettas, but all should be used with caution because bettas are never, as a rule, predictable.

Species that I have housed successfully with bettas are white cloud mountain minnows and bronze corydoras catfish. You could have about 4 of the minnows in a 10 gallon; they are pretty little silver fish that love to explore all over the tank.

Or you could get cory cats - they are really cute little bronze catfish that forage around the tank bottom for uneaten food (but they don't 'clean' the tank). They also like to be in groups, but are a bit biggger than the minnows so you could only have about 3 if you choose them.

There are other possibilities, these are just the ones that I have had success with. As wit hall descisions, research thoroughly before deciding.

Hope this helps!

Prue

P.S: Just so you know, Dash the goldfish will need a 20 gallon tank for himself when he's older, and if you want tankmates for him, another 10 gals for every friend. :)