People like to keep many varieties of fishes in a single tank as they love their colors, beauty, etc. But It is actually not recommended to keep many kinds of fish in the same tank as they fight each other, need different temperatures, fight for food etc.
In this article, We are explaining Can danios live with bettas or vice versa, and other related questions such as Do they Live together, Eat together, Fight together, Swim together etc. and also What problem do they cause to each other.
Can Danios Live with Bettas? They can live together, But not all danios will live with betta or vice versa. If you want to do so, female betta with danios is recommended, use a big tank to feel space for them, provide enough food because both love to eat. However, it’s not recommended as they both are aggressive species, require different temperatures.
Table of Contents
Why Danios cannot Live with Bettas?
- The living temperatures of Danios and Betta fishes are not the same: As they belong to different species, different temperature regions of the world, they find difficulty in thriving together, especially in the tank with the same temperature.
The betta fishes are tropical fishes that are thriving in warm habitats whose temperature ranges between 75-80 degrees Farhenheit, whereas the Danios thrive in cooler habitats where temperature ranges between 62-76 degrees Farhenheit. So they are not recommended to live together in tanks offering the same temperature.
- Danios are fast swimmers than Bettas: The slow moving betta fishes feel threatened by the school of Danios that are moving quickly around it make them stressed.
- Danios are fin nippers: The fin nipping behavior is more in case of Danio fishes that makes them, especially when they are in groups of Danios called school, to attack the large, long finned species of fishes such as Bettas as these relatively move slower than the Danios. The Danios can show aggressiveness towards other species of fishes, especially against slow moving fishes with long fins such as Betta fishes.
- Danios are social while the Betta fishes are solitary fishes: The Danios like to live with a minimum of 5-6 other danios. The group of danios is called school that may trouble the single or few Bettas. The group of Danios or simply school will take their happy rides in the tank that involving, chasing one another, playing, swimming in groups that threatens Bettas as it is territorial fish, when other fish species, especially in group plays in its territory it can attack the few danios that in turn bring the school against the bettas that all causes stress to each other.
- They love to eat that brings competition for food leading to attack one another: Danios are omnivore while the bettas are carnivores in the diet. However, In a tank they can eat many foods such as flakes, pellets, bloodworms, and other foods. What induces fight in them is the active and fast moving, swimming Danios eat early than the bettas, that could starve and stress the Bettas leading it to attack Danios.
Can Danios Live with Female Bettas? Yes, Danios live with female bettas. The female betta is better than the male bettas as these females are less likely to become aggressive with other fishes. However, It is not recommended to live the betta and danios together because of their different needs and behaviors such as fin nipping, social, fast swimming behavior in danios, whereas slow swimming, territorial behavior in bettas.
What Fish can Live with Bettas? There are many kinds of fishes that can live with bettas some of them are Cory catfish, Neon and ember tetras, Zebra Danios, Rummy Nose Tetras, Cardinal Tetras, Black Neon Tetras, Mollies, Otocinclus Catfish, Redtail Sharks,Ghost shrimp, African dwarf frogs, Guppies, Kuhli loaches, etc
Do Danios kill each other? Yes, When Danios thriving environment conditions are bad they will kill other Danios. Danios get stress due to bad environmental conditions such as low pH level, bad water, less spacious aquarium, scarcity of foods, more fishes of same or different kind of species, etc. that leads to attacking, fin nipping behaviors within them, that is, Strong Danios troubling other weak, injured Danios causes the death.
Can Zebra Danios Live with Female Bettas?
Yes, But not recommended because both species of fishes require different range of temperature in the tank, that is, Bettas require warm temperature ranging between 75-80 degrees Farhenheit as they are tropical fish, While the Zebra Danios requires colder temperature ranging between 62-76 degrees Farhenheit.
The Zebra Danios, or simply all kinds of Danios have fin nipping behaviors that drive them to do the same thing to its tank mate Betta fish with large fins. The slow swimming Betta feel threatened by the fast swimming Danios, causing stress to female betta, especially when there is a school of Danios swimming rapidly. Both fish species like to eat that brings competition between them for the food.
What Fish can Live with Zebra Danios?
There are many kinds of fish that could be friendly tank mates for Zebra Danios.
- Ember Tetras.
- Ember Tetras.
- Platys.
- Swordtails.
- Kuhli Loach.
- Corydoras Catfish.
- Cory Catfish.
- Cardinal Tetra.
- Three-Spotted Gourami.
- Small Barbs.
- Goldfish.
- Angelfish.
- Guppies.
- Clown Pleco.
- Harlequin Rasbora.
- Honey Gourami.
- Rummy Nose Tetra.
Can Danios Live Alone?
Danios are a schooling fish that like to live, swim and play with other danios, A group containing a minimum of five danios fishes are better. However, keeping one Danios, For example, Let’s say one zebra danios in a tank with other kinds of fishes or alone can cause stress to them. That behavior can be seen as they show flaring, aggression, don’t eat foods, attack other species.
Best tank mates for Betta fish:
The tank mates for the bettas can be Neon and ember tetras, Zebra Danios, Rummy Nose Tetras, Cardinal Tetras, Black Neon Tetras, Mollies, Otocinclus Catfish, Redtail Sharks, etc.
There are many kinds of fishes that can live together peacefully with bettas. We should choose an appropriate one to live with Betta fishes happily. There are small, medium and large sized tetras are possible, In these types the medium or the large size of tetra species may not be recommended as a tank mate for the Betta fishes because the bigger the other fish,the more threat our Betta’s feel, especially while living together.
The female Guppies with female betta are good tank mates, other gender combinations are not recommended between them. Apart from gender in both these fish types there are other factors that can induce fight and stress within them, that could be tank environment setups, temperature, food sharing, territory violence, fish egg protection etc.
FAQ:
What can I feed my Danios? Aqueon Tropical Flakes, Fish pellets, Color Flakes, Tropical Granules, Shrimp Pellets, Frozen fish foods, Live fish food, Small insects, Blood worms, Algae and Small Crustaceans.
Can Danios live with Goldfish? Yes, The Danios can live with Goldfish as they can manage to live in the same temperature while feeding on the same type of foods that are meant for goldfish and vice versa. However, both should be of comparable sizes so that you can prevent them from eating one another and isolation required if either them lays eggs or undergo breeding.
Can Zebra danios live with Guppies? Yes, Zebra danios can live with Guppies because both of them have common characteristics such as both belong to the tropical fish category, that is, usually thrive in warmer climates, etc. Make sure you provide enough space to them to prevent the fin nipping behaviors done by fast swimming danios.
Can Zebra danios live with Neon tetras? Yes, Zebra Danios and Neon Tetras can live in the same tank because they have common adaptation, that is, relatively same pH level, temperature, growth rate and temperaments.
