Fish People?

DarkHawke · March 2012

Alright, I have decided to get another tank and have one, maybe two new fish. I want a male betta, but am also looking at maybe a goldfish or guppy to occupy the same tank. (Some people say you can do this and others say you can't?) I don't know a whole lot about fish, I have done some research, but most people just contradict each other. I had a male crowntail for over a year before someone added tap water when changing his tank and killed him. So I guess what I'm asking is where to buy a decently priced small tank. What kind of fish can be in the same tank with bettas. What they would need as far as air filters since bettas don't need them. Any other relevant fish info? Thanks. (:

Minx · March 2012

I just have a simple desk tank from walmart for my guy. I really dont do much for him. He;s got some glow in the dark stones and i change his water once a month. No filter and feed him betta food once a day before i go to bed at night. He's a butterfly halfmoon salamander betta. He's a pretty guy ;D

DarkHawke · March 2012

I'm thinking about just getting a single male betta and then possibly upgrading to a bigger tank with a couple of community fish later. What size tank do you have for him? I'm thinking about a 1-2 gallon tank.

Minx · March 2012

Mine is a half gallon. From what ive heard males would rather live alone. Ive never been brave enough to put another fish in and see if he minded.

DarkHawke · March 2012

From what I've read most places, as long as they aren't put with fish that will tear at their fins and nip, then they are usually alright together. (:

Aziu · March 2012

Personally, I would never put anything else in with my male bettas. I've heard in some cases of success with mixing other species with bettas but overall (from what I have heard/read) it is best to keep a male betta alone. All my boys have their own vases (don't know the exact volume but I'd guess 0.5-0.75 gal each) with rooted plants in the top to help with water quality and large stones at the bottom. They -love- the plant roots for resting/hiding in, it really does wonders for the water quality and is less messy than having submerged plants. I have rooted pathos, peace lillies, and spider plants sucessfully for my bettas. To give you an idea of how I have them set up, here's an old picture...back when I had fewer bettas. XP <img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/AhiFlame/Pets/bettabettas.jpg"; alt="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/AhiFlame/Pets/bettabettas.jpg"; class="bb-image" /> If you get a tank with any filtration, I have noticed that bettas are not the best at chasing down their food. I tried having a female in a 5 gallon (I think I had guppies in with her at some point, but I can't recall for sure x_x) and she had a horrible time finding/catching the food because the bubbler moved the pellets about too much. If you do end up trying a betta in with other fish, shop for personality. I usually buy the bettas that display the most aggression (are flaring) or those that are very people-oriented (my latest boy, Malibu, followed me from side to side as I walked by his shelf.) From my own experience I've found that the sassy/active ones survive the best once they get home from the pet store. But if you're looking for a betta that would be most relaxed in a community tank you'd want to look for one that was active but not aggressive. As for the other fish, like you mentioned, avoid anything that would nip fins. I've also heard to avoid anything too colorful (like male guppies, glowfish, neons, etc.) that the male betta might construe as a rival and try to kill. Not sure if that has any merit. *shrug* Oh, and be sure to provide hiding places for your betta. Also, beware that if he gets to constructing a bubble nest (which I've found most of my boys do sooner or later) he will likely defend it against any tankmates.

Frostbight8 · March 2012

Hey, Az, where do you get the plants? My grandmother got a betta for Christmas a long time ago, and it had the plant in the tank already. That fish lived for the longest time, but when he did die, she let the plant go, too. Now we can't find them anywhere! We got one that went in with the rocks, though that's not the same..

Aziu · March 2012

I got the plants from everywhere, really. The pathos I just took some trimmings from an existing plant and rooted them in the betta tanks while the fish were settling in. The spider plants I got as "babies" from a co-worker. The peace lilly is the only plant I bought, and that I got from Linders Greenhouses. Most large plant/garden stores probably have the peace lillies in stock; I got mine in the spring so I'm not sure if it is stocked seasonally or whatnot. From there I pulled a clump of plants from the pot, rinsed the roots as thoroughly as possible, then let the roots sit in a vase of water (without a fish) for about a week, with daily water changes to make sure the fertilizer/dirt is completely removed. I'm sure there are other plants that would work equally as well, so long as they don't mind wet environments.

Alabama · March 2012

Male betas can be community fish, but it's not recommended because they can be aggressive or their lack of speed makes them a target. Not only do you have to worry about other fish nipping his fins, he may nip theirs. So to put them in a community, you have to have fish that are bigger than him that aren't aggressive and/or that can stay/get away from him. You need to have a larger tank for that to happen first. I wouldn't put them in with anything else in anything smaller than a 10 gallon. I kept mine in a 55, 40 and a 20 gal with angelfish, silver dollars, plecos, tetras and zebra fish. Guppies and goldfish would be a no for betas. They aren't fast swimmers and especially the guppies being the same size or smaller than him would most likely be seen as targets. To add to what Aziu said about the agitation in the water. If you put him in a tank with agitation, make sure some of it is "quiet" water where he doesn't have to constantly fight the current. Betas aren't the best swimmers, and trying to fight the current can damage their fins. The quiet area also gives him a place where he doesn't have to be quite as quick to get his food. Usually, I put tall plants in tanks on one side to break up the speed of the water there for the beta.

Sea Oats · March 2012

I have a male betta in a 5 gallon Tetra brand tank I got from Walmart for $30. I also have him in with some little neon tetra. They're school fish so they keep to themselves as long as they have their buddies and my betta seems fine with them being there. I've heard not to keep bettas with goldfish because even though bettas are slow, so are goldfish (and probably not very bright either), and they make an easy target for an agressive fish and I've heard the same about guppies. Not to mention goldfish are really messy, and you'll be cleaning the tank out a lot more often. Danios, tetras, and mollies are probably your best bet as far as tank buddies go for a betta, and if you're not dead set on fish you could try African dwarf frogs or snails. My fish knowledge isn't too extensive, but my fish seem to be doing fine.

Sushi101 · March 2012

Ok so try to get a cheap tank from community shops. They tend to be less expensive, and it supports the community. I tend to leave the betta fish alone, they can get aggressive. I have two of my own, well, now one because the other one died (old age). I also have a 30 gallon fish tank, a "topical" fish tank. My dad used to have a 100 gallon fish tank, but that was too much work. Try not to get fish or fish supplies at chained pet stores like Petco. That's all about I know, I'm not a fish genius. Good luck!

Sushi101 · March 2012

DarkHawke wrote:

From what I've read most places, as long as they aren't put with fish that will tear at their fins and nip, then they are usually alright together. (:

Yes, just whatever you do, don't put another male betta fish in the same tank.

Sushi101 · March 2012

Alabama wrote:

Male betas can be community fish, but it's not recommended because they can be aggressive or their lack of speed makes them a target. Not only do you have to worry about other fish nipping his fins, he may nip theirs. So to put them in a community, you have to have fish that are bigger than him that aren't aggressive and/or that can stay/get away from him. You need to have a larger tank for that to happen first. I wouldn't put them in with anything else in anything smaller than a 10 gallon. I kept mine in a 55, 40 and a 20 gal with angelfish, silver dollars, plecos, tetras and zebra fish. Guppies and goldfish would be a no for betas. They aren't fast swimmers and especially the guppies being the same size or smaller than him would most likely be seen as targets. To add to what Aziu said about the agitation in the water. If you put him in a tank with agitation, make sure some of it is "quiet" water where he doesn't have to constantly fight the current. Betas aren't the best swimmers, and trying to fight the current can damage their fins. The quiet area also gives him a place where he doesn't have to be quite as quick to get his food. Usually, I put tall plants in tanks on one side to break up the speed of the water there for the beta.

Yea, their fins weigh them down. Try to let them flare up their fins once in a while to exercise them.

Sushi101 · March 2012

Alabama wrote:

Male betas can be community fish, but it's not recommended because they can be aggressive or their lack of speed makes them a target. Not only do you have to worry about other fish nipping his fins, he may nip theirs. So to put them in a community, you have to have fish that are bigger than him that aren't aggressive and/or that can stay/get away from him. You need to have a larger tank for that to happen first. I wouldn't put them in with anything else in anything smaller than a 10 gallon. I kept mine in a 55, 40 and a 20 gal with angelfish, silver dollars, plecos, tetras and zebra fish. Guppies and goldfish would be a no for betas. They aren't fast swimmers and especially the guppies being the same size or smaller than him would most likely be seen as targets. To add to what Aziu said about the agitation in the water. If you put him in a tank with agitation, make sure some of it is "quiet" water where he doesn't have to constantly fight the current. Betas aren't the best swimmers, and trying to fight the current can damage their fins. The quiet area also gives him a place where he doesn't have to be quite as quick to get his food. Usually, I put tall plants in tanks on one side to break up the speed of the water there for the beta.

Yea, their fins weigh them down. Try to let them flare up their fins once in a while to exercise them.

^Oriyana^ · March 2012

I had a male beta in a 10 gallon tank with fancy guppies and it went fine. However, when I had a male beta in a 10 gallon tank with neon tetras, they ate his fins and killed him :P

SirPopcorn · March 2012

(sorry if I'm repeating but just skim read the other comments) From my own experiences I wouldn't put a goldfish with a betta. My last 2 bettas died because I was using the chemicals I used to use in the goldfish tank (in which the goldfish were fine). Before I realised it was too late for them to recover and yeah $:\$ So don't buy any chemicals specifically for a type of fish unless you're keeping just that type.. Plus goldfish are generally cold water fish and bettas are tropical warm water

PaperWings · March 2012

My betta lives with: - 3 cories - 3 platies - 1 molly - 1 danio (there was more but they got disposed of due to showing signs of TB which is common in danios) - 3 neons When I bought the platies, it was with another betta who started to get clamped fins and then passed on

after being so active. I blame the small tank he was in because it is a bit crap

When I got betta #3 I put him straight into the community tank because it has a better filter and has generally never caused me any problems. The only issue I had when the betta was set free in the tank was he didn't like my red platy. Poor thing was chased daily

But after prodding the tank every now and then to stop him, he now seems all settled. Like every other species of fish they all have their moments and chase each other. I have no issues with feeding or with my beastly external filter. He loves resting in my live plants.

DarkHawke · March 2012

Wow, I never knew so many people kept fish, especially betas. Thank you everyone for all of the advice. Aziu - It looks like you have a great set up and loads of fish lol. PaperWings- What size tank do you have as your community tank? (I don't think you said, although I may be mistaken.) I'm thinking of getting a maybe 2-3 gallon tank and then getting a betta plus 1 or 2 other community fish for the tank. We don't really have any fish stores or anything of the such around here so I will probably be buying from PetSmart, so I will see what their selection is. In the past I have been thoroughly unhappy because they cram thousands of fish in tanks that should, in my opinion, hold on more than 25, even for selling purposes. =/

PaperWings · March 2012

Is 60l but dunno what that is in weird american terms.

Darkist Angel · March 2012

I had a Beta...then I put it on my windowsill and it boiled. I can help you with sushi but if you want them to live...

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