Now it's not really recommended to keep a betta fish with guppies. Bettas are likely to chase and nip the guppies long fins thinking they are another betta.
Now I have a really mellow betta fish he is really calm and minds his own business. He never has nipped at any of my guppies.
Now this won't work will all bettas. Even calm non aggressive bettas can still be nippy to guppies. So if you do plan on trying to do it you need to be prepared to separate them if need be.
Before you decide to give it a try I recommend taking these steps.
1. Get your betta first.
By getting your betta first you can observe him or her better to see if they will be okay with having tank mates.
2. Make sure you keep them in a 10 gallon or more tank.
Guppies need at least a 10 gallon tank set up anyway. This also gives them enough space to give the betta his own little territory in the tank.
3. Get the guppies!
Now if you don't know anything about guppies it's best to keep 2 females to every 1 male. You can do more research on guppies on YouTube.
4. Adding betta to tank.
Now this is the most crucial part. You need to first let your guppies into the tank first! Let them get acclimated and keep them in the tank before you add the betta for about 3-4 days. During this time you can check to see if any are sick.
If all is good with the guppies you then can add your betta. Before you just dump him in there though I highly recommend you float him in a cup or have him in a breeding box. This will help the betta get a little adjusted to his new friends.
After a day or two you can release the betta. Make sure you do it when you have time to observe your fish. Regularly checking on them to make sure you betta isn't hurting your guppies.
If your betta shows any aggression put him back in the cup to float or breeding box for another day And repeat.
If he is still aggressive by the 3rd try you betta is not suitable to live with guppies and must have his own tank.
Now this process can be done with any community fish.
Thanx for reading!
Comments (18)
I just realized ur betta looks almost exactly like mine -__-
Haha hey look at that!
Reply to: clayartgirl
Yeah lol
I wouldn't house bettas with any liver bears besides the nipping.
Live bearers are very likely to get sick by stuff that lives in the water (columnaris, ick) when put in stressful situations.
Your opening up all that sickness to your betta, when one fish gets columnaris or ick they're all bound to get it.
It's better to stick with non-livebearers for that and with fish that are compatible with bettas with no doubt (Khalil loaches, harlequin rasboras, etc) to lower any risk for all fish.
Reply to: clayartgirl
No, hardness is how much dissolved minerals is in the water and pH is how acidic the water is.
Reply to: Happyshrimp
Oh. Well I don't have a test for that.
Reply to: clayartgirl
There's liquid, strip tests, abd digital for them (it's normally in gH and kH togeather). Liquid and digital are most accurate (I use digital, but it cost more).