Another tankmate question - newbie!

[Emerson]

I'm sorry if this has been covered on the site before...I'm a newbie, and trying to get some reliable information on Bettas and whether or not they can have a tank mate.

My husband and I bought a 5 gallon aquarium last week, with filter and heater. It's very nice, and we spent quite a bit of money decorating it with all kinds of nifty things that allow for hiding places and things to explore. The intent was just to buy a few tetras, a cory and maybe a snail.

WELL, when we went to the pet store to finish buying some of the accessories, I was showing my husband the fish that had been recommended to me. Then he spotted the Bettas. He said, "Wow! Why can't we have one of THESE?" I said, "I don't think they get along with other fish" -- at which time the pet store worker (overhearing our conversation) said, "That's not true. They're only aggressive toward their own type. You should be able to keep neon tetras in there with him and not have any problem." For the size of our tank, he recommended only 1-2 other fish.

Can anyone tell me if this is TRUE, or whether he was misinformed? I'm reading all of these horror stories. We really would like at least 1 or 2 other species in our tank........Horatio (the Betta) is such a great fish (he's having a ball in the tank), but I'm a little disappointed that we won't have more "friends" to watch him interact with.

???Help?

[ana]

bettas amd gouramis should never be in the same tank

bettas arent aggressive toward other fish so much as with each other and gouramis but other fish will be aggressive

i have heard of many people who have mollies in with them but mollies tend to have fungus problems and fungus can be very deadly to bettas so i wouldnt do that

'dirty fish' like guppies and goldfish arent recommended

danios, but only those with short fins, i know theyre okay. i have heard of problems with neon tetras but i think thats if you have a lot of them in with him

corys are fine

someone told me that it was a good rule of thumb to never have another long finned fish in with them

you dont want anything nippy, it will bite at his fins and thats not good. i think if you only have 2 of one kind in with him they wont school and be so playfully nippy. there are pages on the net that give lists of fish you can put with bettas, but i would check and see if anyone has done it yet before buying, and keep an eye on them for a few days after you add them

keep some melafix and maracyn and maracyn 2 on hand, just in case, maroxy and maracide would also be good to have in case the new fish have unseen problems

i always treat for a few days with melafix after adding new fish to my aquarium

remember, one gallon of tank to one inch of fish is the general rule of thumb, keeping in mind the growth that will occur

i hope you find just the right ones for you

(my personal favourites are corys, julis are so adorable, you should keep corys in pairs )