Bumblebee Goby And Betta?

[Cal116]

Would it be acceptable to put 1 Bumblebee Goby and a Betta together in a 3 Gallon tank? Would they get along? Is 3 gallons too small for 1 Bumble bee Goby? He's in a 20 gallon tank right now and it's crowded with bigger fish. He often appears timid and shy, rarely coming out. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[nmonks]

I dare say it's do-able, though I will confess that I don't consider a 3-gallon tank acceptable even for a Betta, let alone a Betta plus a BBG. It's hard to heat and properly filter a 3-gallon tank, and even with a heater and filter, 3 gallons doesn't provide the level of stability or the amount of swimming room that fish need. For what it's worth, I consider 5 gallons the minimum for a Betta, and an 8 gallon tank the minimum for a community of very small fishes.

BBGs do surprisingly well with larger community fish, provided they get enough to eat. They are are territorial and do like holding onto a small cave or empty shell, and if there are bigger fish that make them nervous, they'll basically stay at home all the time. That's not a problem if they're well fed, but if the bigger fish are stealing all the bloodworms and brine shrimps, then your BBG has a good chance of starving.

Cheers, Neale

Would it be acceptable to put 1 Bumblebee Goby and a Betta together in a 3 Gallon tank? Would they get along? Is 3 gallons too small for 1 Bumble bee Goby? He's in a 20 gallon tank right now and it's crowded with bigger fish. He often appears timid and shy, rarely coming out. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[kiriyama]

No expert here , but are BG's slightly brackish fish, correct me if I'm wrong and I apologise in advance......

 

[nmonks]

Now, this is a good question. The short answer is no, BBGs aren't strictly brackish water fish. The traded species do perfectly well in freshwater, and in some cases are collected from blackwater streams where the water is soft and acidic. But having said that, all species occur in brackish water through parts of their range, and they do very well in brackish water aquaria.

Most BBGs die because they starve, rather than because of water chemistry issues. They don't eat flake and have no interest in freeze-dried foods. So thrown into the average community tank they soon starve to death.

Cheers, Neale

No expert here , but are BG's slightly brackish fish, correct me if I'm wrong and I apologise in advance......

 

[DarkEntity]

Now, this is a good question. The short answer is no, BBGs aren't strictly brackish water fish. The traded species do perfectly well in freshwater, and in some cases are collected from blackwater streams where the water is soft and acidic. But having said that, all species occur in brackish water through parts of their range, and they do very well in brackish water aquaria.

Most BBGs die because they starve, rather than because of water chemistry issues. They don't eat flake and have no interest in freeze-dried foods. So thrown into the average community tank they soon starve to death.

Cheers, Neale

No expert here , but are BG's slightly brackish fish, correct me if I'm wrong and I apologise in advance......

Just an addition to the starvation point, i had a lot of issues with getting food to mine, that in the end i used a syringe to pump blood worm to the floor of my tank near the shells they used as hides to get food to them without the puffers getting it first

 

[Cal116]

Neale,

Thanks for your help. I want to move him mostly because I'm struggling to feed him andi feel like he's going to starve in the larger tank where eating is very competitive and he refuses to compete. I use a turkey baster to feed him and he follows it around but my other fish are so aggressive when it comes to eating time. The only thing that I'm worried about is if I move him in with the Betta I don't want the Betta to attack him or vice versa (i.e. fin nipping). I love my Betta and I don't want to upset him.

I'm thinking about remodeling my betta's tank as well with a Coconut Hiding space for the BBG. Would the BBG be miserable in such a small tank?

Neale,

Thanks for your help. I want to move him mostly because I'm struggling to feed him andi feel like he's going to starve in the larger tank where eating is very competitive and he refuses to compete. I use a turkey baster to feed him and he follows it around but my other fish are so aggressive when it comes to eating time. The only thing that I'm worried about is if I move him in with the Betta I don't want the Betta to attack him or vice versa (i.e. fin nipping). I love my Betta and I don't want to upset him.

I'm thinking about remodeling my betta's tank as well with black sand and a Coconut Hiding space for the BBG. Would the BBG be miserable in such a small tank?

 

[nmonks]

Will the two species fight? Probably not. You hear the odd story of fin-nipping BBGs, but I've never seen this.

Is 3 gallons adequate for a BBG? Barely. While I dare say it could work, it isn't something I'd recommend.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Cal116]

Thanks for your input. Appreciate it.

 

[erk628]

A betta can be in a brackish tank? I thought they were strickly freshwater!

 

[nmonks]

Indeed, Betta splendens is a strictly freshwater fish. There is a brackish water Betta, Betta sp. Mahachai, but it is very rarely traded.

Cheers, Neale

A betta can be in a brackish tank? I thought they were strickly freshwater!