I have a betta fish and a little goldfish, well not so little anymore, and i was wondering if they can go together in the same tank because i have my betta in a tank inside and my goldfish in a big lonely pond outside. I know two betta's cant go together but i have also heard betta's will fight other fish so i was just curious if they would fight or if it would be alright to put them together...

I was under the impression that 2 betta *males* together is the only no-no. We used to have a betta male in our community tank with no problems. We never had a goldfish in there with him, tho.

sweetmommy -- Based on your response on the other thread -- My advice is to find a REAL, independent, mom-and-pop aquarium shop and shop there. Ask questions. Even though each purchase may be a little bit more, they can save you LOTS of money (and aggravation) in the long run.

Big retailers (Petsmart, Petco, and -- god forbid -- Walmart) are too hit-n-miss on whether the person working there really knows fish or not. Don't be penny wise, pound foolish!

I was told that you can't put betta fish with any other fish, that's why they usually have them all by themselves in cups.
???? I could be wrong, I think you should ask your local pet shop. ????

I used to have a beta (georgy) and he ate the other fish in the tank. so don't put them together it's just a big no no. also don't put a mirrior on the side of the tank. that's how he died. he attacked the fish tank until he went belly up.

Thnx PinkyGirl.

Ok thanks everyone! I just didnt know...this is only my fourth betta and i dont really know much about them except dont but them with other betta's because they will fight, and no mirrors, like said. But i wasnt sure if i could put other fish with one and they wouldnt fight. So thanks, i defiently WONT be putting them together lol!

You can also try looking up about gold fish on you You Tube or you can do a web search just by typing an inpaticular type like (Fan Tail Gold Fish) or (Fan Tail Ryukin Gold Fish) or (Betta)!

According to our local shop, and we hae done this with no problems.
No mirrors or anything reflective in the tank.
Male bettas can indeed be in wth other fish as long as they are small finned fish. N other fiswth the big fan fins, they see this as a threat and will fight them.

Check with your local shop and duble check the info before putting yours together though.

ok so I went down to my pets store yesterday to get abother molly to add to my tank and I thought of your question and I asked the fish man (that's what he calls himself)

and he told me that if you gave a female beta then they can be put into any tank with other fish. but if you get one of the bettas that came in their own cups, then they are male. and they should be kept by themselfs with no other fish in the tank. unless they are in a net icolated by themselfs. even of you have a bottom feeder (sucker fish) then the bettas will still attack and kill them. so gold fish are a big NO-NO in a tank with male bettas.

I hope this helps you a little more then my last answer!!!

I used to have two bettas. They died a couple winters ago because our heat went out while we were on vacation and they basically froze (or got too cold).

I always thought they were also known as Japanese Fighting fish.

I had a betta in with my guppies and platties. he did pick at the guppies long tails a little, but mostly he just ate the newborn babies. they were together for about eight months before he died.
I know that you never put two betta's male of female together unless they are ready to mate.

ya they are also referd to as the jap. fighting fish. I don't know if they still fight them tho. but I read somewere that the japanese would put 2 males in a small fish bowl and bet on which one would kill the other. it's sad. I hope they don't do it anymore.

That would be Siamese fighting fish.

Also you CANNOT keep 2 males together buy you can keep as many females together with 1 male.

The reason that you would see betas in a jar or small container in shops is die to the fact that they have up to 400 young and the shop obviously has not have enough tanks to place each seperately.

The only thing with male betas is the large fins and this can attract other fish into attacking as the fins are so large and floppy that other fish think its dying and so go in for a nibble. Particularly the likes of tiger barbs and such.

As was already suggested its best to go to a more family run business than the larger stores as these tend to be people who started as hobby breeders and then progressed into a business and usually only employ staff with a similar background whereas large stores take on anyone usually young people.

The other thing i find is that although a small shop can at times be a little more expensive they tend to have a much wider selection available and can have many of the rarer fish. Also they tend to get stock that is better quality and lives longer etc. Usually brighter colours not faded and usually larger in size too.

I assume this is due to importing directly rather than buying from commercial breeders/wholesalers that are inbreeding the fish they have leading to poor colour and size.

Hope this Helps

Two male bettas cannot go together in the same tank. I am not 100% sure if they can go with other fish or not. If i were to guess, i would say you should stay on the safe side and not put them together though.

Bettas are fine with other fish. but don't ever put two males together or two females toogether unless you know what your doing. the male will try to squeeze eggs out of them till their dead.But like I said they are fine with other fish.

i've got a goldfish but the other one died today

This thread is a bit old but I'll post because there is no shortage of people who want betta's in their aquariums. There are multiple reasons why you don't keep male bettas (Siamese fighting fish)with other fish. Males fight each other and anything that resembles a male betta even if a different species. Males will harass females for breeding until they die of exhaustion. They are carnivorous and will actively seek out and eat baby fish, eggs, and any mouthful of fin they can nip off another fish. Their food requirements are different from those of other commonly kept fish since they require more protein and do best when given live food. They cannot tolerate cold water which goldfish thrive in. Warm water causes goldfish to age more quickly than they should. They do well in a small tank with very little oxygen in the water (natural habitat is muddy rice paddies with shallow water) which would kill most other aquarium fish. That is why they survive those cruel little jars and bowls they are displayed in. They do badly in the turbulence created by aquarium aerators, bubbling ornaments and filters because their flowing fins are a handicap to movement. They can't swim quickly enough to avoid other fish that nip fins.

Here is my answer in a nutshell: NO ;)
Here's why.... Goldfish are a cold water fish. Goldfish produce large amounts of ammonia in their waste. The warmer the water is, the more toxic ammonia becomes. They also need a special food recommended for cold water fish. Has to do with their slower digestion. Never feed goldfish "tropical" fish food. Too high in protein! Follow me so far?
Betta fish are a tropical fish and enjoy water that is even as warm as 80 degrees! They also like to eat bloodworms (freeze dried or live) and need a "tropical" food for their higher metabolism. You can do 4 things here: #1 Put them together and make the tank like the betta likes it - problem is the goldfish will be unhappy. #2 Put them together and make the tank like the goldfish likes it - problem is the betta will be unhappy. #3 Put them together and make the tank somewhere in the middle - problem is BOTH of them will be unhappy. #4 leave them both where they are and let them both remain happy :)
Yes, 2 male bettas cannot live together and it is generally not recommended to keep even a male and female together. The best way to keep a male betta is alone, 80 degrees and quiet tank environments - no heavy flowing filters, especially at the surface. Where bettas in the wild in Siam live in mud puddles basically - no filtration necessary! Goldfish on the other hand need lots of filtration - they are "dirty" fish!
If your pond is large enough, and you are keeping it clean, get your goldfish another goldfish friend. Mr. Betta will remain happiest living out his days in solitude.
Hope this information is helpful

WOW... SO many posts here, and so much really horrible advice!!!!!!

Petstorepatty is the ONLY person who gave you accurate advice.
NO. Do NOT put tropical fish with goldfish. ANY tropical fish!!! For the reasons already explained.


As for the betta fighting thing, well.... years ago, my boss wanted the bettas OUT of the dumb bowels and put in the tanks with the fish. One per tank. They looked great, sales of bettas jumped.
And depending on the fish they are with, they do just fine! ONE per tank.
(Some fish like barbs for example love to bite fins. THEY attack the bettas. Not the other way around.)

As for putting bettas together? Females are often sold in one big tank. And they are most likely siblings. It's the male who is territorial but the male will only allow a female WITH eggs, ready to breed in his territory IF he is also ready to breed, long enough to lay eggs. Then she becomes every bit as much an intruder as anyone else.


Now... another myth. You cannot have two together. Usually not. But I did it!
Think about it, they live in the wild and don't just kill each other off.
They are territorial and have a whole ritualistic style of "fighting" to decide who is boss. In the wild really vicious fights are almost unheard of. A "looser" is allowed to leave.
Heck they even break off a fight if one needs to get a gulp of air. (They can breath air!)
Problem in a tank is the looser goes to leave only to run into a glass wall.
The winner says "hey, what are you still doing here???" And proceeds to kick some butt. The more the looser tries to flea, the more the dominent fish attacks.
This doesn't ever get that far in the wild.

In this pet shop I managed, sometimes one would jump into the tank next to it. Sometimes one would shred the other, but every now and again, they did fine! (20 gal longs.)

I tried this at home. Had four in a betta barrics thing, and decided to let them all go.
Mind you, this was a very large tank, (70 gal.) HIGHLY planted. Highly populated too. (Huge 300 gal per hour filter.) Looked like a jungle. Just like betta waters would look like in nature.
Male bettas territory is about the size of a 10 gal tank. It just so hapend my FOUR males all claimed a territory in this tank next to each other. You could draw a line where each ones territory ended.
It was amazing. They did fine like that for several years.

one final thought on bettas. They don't live long. 5 years is about typical, and when you buy yours, it's probably at least 2 years old. You get one or two good years, and one aging old fish year, and that's about all you can expect. Some fish live for decades. Not bettas.