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Hello, all! I’m fairly new to the fishkeeping hobby, so please be patient with me... I am setting up a 10 gal tank and I am planning to move my male betta into it. I’ve read that fish that live at a different water level (eg bottom-dwellers) are sometimes successful as tankmates with bettas. Also, I just love catfish! I’ve been leaning toward corys (maybe a small group of pandas?) but I am certainly open to suggestions! What do you think would work in my tank? (Keeping the betta in a separate tank is an option, but I’d rather put him in the bigger tank.) In the forums over at PRAquatics someone suggested , so that’s on my list of ideas. I also really like plecos. Thanks for any ideas you have!

Hi aquarianibis,

Welcome to Planetcatfish.

As for your question, panda corys should be okay with your betta. I haven't combined these before, so I do have some thoughts. 1) Corys can be quite active, but bettas are less so. Will the high activity of the corys annoy or stress your betta? 2) Corys are a schooling/shoaling type of fish,
so whatever type of cory you buy, plan on getting 5 or more to reduce their stress (5 is not a magic number, but I feel it is a minimum). 3) Panda corys enjoy (but don't "need") some current in the tank, but bettas prefer still water as far as I know. So if you put the two together, keep the water sufficiently oxygenated (with your filter flow or an added airstone) but not too strongly moving.

Good luck,
Eric

Thanks, Eric!

A long time ago I decided to see why some folks were into Betta splendens. So I set up a pair of 2.5 gal. well planted tanks placed end to end on a shelf six feet up a wall. Into each tank went a male splendens and 3 panda cory. The two Bettas were too busy most of the time displaying at each other through the end glass to care about the pandas. About 8 months later I had to admit I was not a splendens person.

So I gave away the two bettas and replaced the two 2.5 gal. tanks with a single 5.5. The plants and 6 pandas from the 2.5s went into the bigger tank. Over the next few years I kept an assortment of smaller shorter lived fish on this tank. The corys are gone and today the tank holds and long standing colony of cherry shrimp and a small herd of Celestichthys margaritatus (Celestial Pearl Danio).

At a later time I kept a trio of Betta imbellis in a planted 10. They bred through another generation before I lost them. When in spawning mode these fish look amazing.