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I have a Betta fish and he is my first fish ever. I was planing on putting more fish in his tank, but I know Betta fish are aggressive to other fish. When I did some research, however, I found out that you can place some fish with the Betta.
What is the best fish I can put with a betta?
My tank is 5.5 gallons (21 liters).
There are a 2 main reasons why a betta can become aggressive to other fish:
Visual apperance
In general, a betta will only be aggressive to other fish if he thinks they are 'competition'.
This can happen if the other fish has some visual similarities with other male bettas.
Most important is the fin size.
So as long as the other species has short fins it should be ok.
For example: male guppies have larger fins, so I do not recommend them. But I did have a betta together with some female guppies.
Territory
Betta's can be territorial. They need some space they can call their own.
A betta will swim through all layers of water (top, middle, bottom), but they will make their nest on the surface. If other fish come near, they will try to defend it.
So for this reason it's best not to add other species that mostly swim in the top layer, or that will also create their nest on the surface (like other fish with a labyrinth organ, like gouramis).
Personally, I've had a betta together with some tetra's (middle layer) and corrydoras (bottom) without any problems.
If you want to add female betta's, you should add at least 2 females. Betta's live in a harem with a male - female ration of 1:2 or 3.
But the territorial aspect is also important here. If the male has build a nest, and the females come too close, he can still become aggressive. So for smaller tanks, this is probably not a good idea anyway.
Also you have to be sure the females are actually female. A while ago one of my 'female' betta's turned out to be a short-finned male. and they indeed started fighting (the short finned won, the other died :( ).
Ofcourse, before adding other species you also have to check if things like temperature, ph, size, water current are similar to the requirements of a betta.
How large is your tank and how is it setup?
Betas are hardly ever aggressive with any other fish except Betas. Typically females can be kept together, but males should be kept separate. Personally, I've never had a problem keeping a single male and a or multiple females in the same tank, but I have heard of this not working for some, so it should be done with caution.
The biggest issue with betas is people often keep them in small containers or unfiltered bowls and tanks. Not getting into the discussion on whether this is humane long term, but most other fish cannot survive like this long term. Betas have a different respiratory system than normal fish, it's called a labyrinth organ, and it allows them to directly breath air. They are also able to handle temperature swings much better than most other tropical fish.
Anyway, if you can update and describe how your tank is setup, we can more appropriately answer the question with specifics.
Betta fish are aggressive and will eat other fish - including even species classified as "semi-aggressive".
I have heard some say that Hypostomus plecostomus will do OK with Bettas, but when I attempted this, my Betta began attacking my H. plecostomus. These definitely will not mix well with goldfish, which do better in a slightly colder temperature of 68-75 °F (20-24 °C), whereas Bettas are a tropical fish preferring the 75-82 °F (24-28 °C) range.
Any fish that won't fit into his mouth, except another betta. Also, no fish that can put a betta in their mouth.
What is more, some fish, like barbs, may nip at a bettas' long fins. You should look at a pamphlet on fish keeping; or websites (e.g. Houston fish box). Learn things like temperature intervals between 60 and 90 °F (16 - 32 °C), pH between 6.5 and 7.5.
But since I have read a bettas' natural home is a water buffalo's hoof-print filled with rain water, they are not very demanding. They, like all fish, love mosquito larvae. And as I think for companion fishes, a betta would say black mollies; large, slow moving delicious babies.
