Bettas and zebras

Question
Hi Karen,
I read your post about mixing Bettas and Zebras.I have a 10  gallon tank which has 3 zebras,one glass shrimp and many small snails as well as floating plants.I saw a Betta at Wall Mart and I felt so sorry for it....Im not sure that it would be safe from the super quick Zebras.How can I tell if that Betta is passive or aggressive?I would like to give it a good home,but not sure if thats a good idea ,especially for the Betta.

Answer
Dear Allan,
The poor bettas at Wal-mart and actually at many petstores are often very poorly treated and kept. I am with you completely about feeling sorry for them all. And it's wonderful you are considering giving him a home in your aquarium. Provided the aquarium has established (has no ammonia or nitrite readings) and the water is healthy, I would say you could certainly add the betta. It's really hard to determine what the new betta's personality will turn-out like of course. But fortunately, the fact that the Zebras and other creatures are already established in this aquarium should mean that the betta will accept them right away, also he (the betta) will likely be quite shocked at suddenly being free in the larger enviroment, especially plants and all. I have noticed that bettas recently added to a new aquarium (after living in a cup) are often bewildered at all there is to see in a aquarium. They tend to explore any plants, stones, driftwood and even the gravel with great curiosity. And they may be very curious about new fish and other creatures at first and may chase them a bit or even nip them a little at first. But this is all usually just curiousity since everything is so foreign to a betta who has lived so long being isolated in a tiny cup.

I'm very glad that you are considering rescuing the poor betta and giving him a better life in a actual aquarium. I wish you the best with the betta and feel free to write me with anymore concerns.

Happy fishkeeping! Hope this helps,
Karen~