betta, tankmates

Question
QUESTION: hey darryl, sorry to ask but would you knowwhat tankmates a betta would be compatible with? i had it with guppies before and when my guppies had babies it would attack them and slowly tear them apart. i know that ebttas are fierce fish, but is there any fish i can leave in a same 10 gallon tank as him? and also out of curiousity can red earred slider turtles go with the betta?
ANSWER: Hey Pak-Hin,

First off, turtles will eat betta. Second, guppy and betta typically pair well together, if you had a hard time, i'd try platies, mollies, swordtials, tetra, danios, or something of the like. Any small to medium sized community tropical should work well with a betta. Keep in mind not to exceed your "fish-inch" allowance of one inch of fish per gallon of tank.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: so any kind of school fishes would work well? like neon tetras and female and male guppies? cause i remember before i only had a 1 male and 1 female guppie. if i had a 10 gallon tank what would you recommend to go with the betta? how many and what kind of fish?  thanks darryl

Answer
Hey again,

I'd set up the 10 gallon now (if you havent already) and put the betta in alone for a month. After that, you can get upto 6 neon tetra, or 4 guppies (mixed male and female), or 4-5 other smaller fish. If I were personally setting up this tank, I'd put the betta in now, wait a month and get an aquatic dwarf frog, and maybe 5 neon tetra. That's it! After adding the 5 neons, i'd wait another month before adding the frog, and perhaps i might maybe get a chinese algae eater or some other small tank cleaner a few months after that.

Best wishes, and hope this helps!