Adding A Betta To A 35 Gallon Community Tank?

[Serbrider]

I recently purchased a 35 gallon tank, and love it. As do the three fish who currently live in it (after buying the tank, some plants, filter, and having to get my car fixed, ran out of expendable money for more fish).

I have in it a fantail goldfish and two mixed fruit tetras. All three are very docile and I've had zero problems with aggression.

Anyways, I'm going to be leaving my fish in the care of some family while I'm on vacation for the summer (will be gone for over two months). And so, to make it easier for them, I'd like to introduce my betta (who is also quite friendly... At least, in his solo bowl (a two gallon glass vase)) to the larger tank, that way they will only have to worry about one tank.

My concern isn't about the fish, but the filter and bubble stone. Im worried the current would be too strong, and he'd have trouble coming up for air.

So... I'm looking for thoughts or suggestions of something i could do to help, any floating plants or top of the tank decorations or something that would make it easier for him...


To add, I KNOW goldfish and tropical fish shouldn't be together. I keep my tanks closer to 72-75 in temp, and my betta has always seemed to do really well in that temp range. When I have his warmer he gets really sluggish. And my fantail has done really well so far ( she was an impulse buy at the same time as I was buying my tetras, the LFS said nothing about it, and I realized later as I was doing some research, but I just ended up falling in love and do not want to get rid of her). So... Yeah. Not the best situation, but one that has worked and all fish are active and happy and healthy.

 

[Serbrider]

Update, introduced the betta, all are doing fine, betta is ok with the other fish, has flared a couple of times at the beginning, but now is perfectly fine and swimming all around the tank and doing just great with the other fish. I would still really like something to fill up the really big hole in the right upper side of the tank, so I'm still VERY open to suggestions.

 

[pablothebetta]

Don't think goldfish and bettas would make a particularly good mix and I'd get some more tetras as they do like groups. What are 'fruit tetras'? I would just keep them in the bowl - if something went wrong, you wouldn't be there to sort it.

 

[Serbrider]

I am considering getting a few more tetras. Another name (I believe) for a mixed fruit tetra would be a skirt tetra. I have a blue and a pink one.

It's been almost a day, all are swimming happily, the goldfish follows the tetras around, and the betta swims around just doing his own thing. He's really loving the big tank.

Right now the temp is at 75, with all four active and doing great. No aggression from any, all are eating, exploring, etc. Colors are strong and no problems.

Again, I do know (now), that goldfish shouldn't be with tropical fish, and I wont be doing it in future, but for now, on my limited budget and space, they're all happy and healthy, so I don't see a problem with it.

 

[Curiosity101]

It's not ideal long term as you know. But for the short term I'd rather see a betta in a filtered 35gal with those fish than in a 2gal vase!

Don't get me wrong, I know people manage bettas in non filtered smaller volumes of water but I'm never going to be won over by it when there are cheap filtered larger alternatives.

A particular point about the vase is how often you must be cleaning it. I'm always tentative leaving family just to drop pre measured food amounts into the tank incase they decide I'm not feeding enough and then over feed my fish. So the idea of leaving non fishy family in charge of doing massive regular water changes would just be crazy (if your family are anything like mine that is! )

So all in all I think adding the betta whilst your away is probably the best bet for your situation.

 

[Curiosity101]

Oh and I hadn't heard of fruit tetras either so I just looked them up, turns out they're dyed versions of white skirt tetras. I'm not sure you know about the dyeing process and whether you've bought into purposefully or by accident. But just incase you'd like a bit more info - Painted fish

 

[Serbrider]

Yeah, I clean the vase once a day, sometimes missing a day here or there. He's always been happy in it, but it's a lot of work for my family.

I'd still love some ideas for floating plants or something, he really likes to be at the top, but there's nothing up there...

As for the tetras, I bought them without knowing. Actually only just now learned that, had no idea. I just assumed they were a variety.

 

[Curiosity101]

If it's not something you've ever heard of then it's easily done. Personally I'm completely against dyeing fish, there are so many beautiful ones naturally so it annoys me that someone somewhere decided that it'd be cool to basically torture them for extra profit.

I don't like to assign thoughts or feelings to fish. But I'm pretty sure they can feel pain... even if they don't remember it like we do. And the correlation between dyeing and death is pretty shocking.

But yeah... just thought I'd mention it incase you didn't know.

 

[Serbrider]

Yeah, thanks. If I had known I wouldn't have bought into it. But now I have them, so they're going to keep their good home. I might pick up a few black or white skirt tetras to give them a school to be in, and in future I'll do more research besides looking at the small info sheets on the front of the tanks at the small LFS.

 

[OldMan47]

I am sorry to need to tell you this but you have no room for more fish of any kind Serbrider. The fancy goldfish, by itself, is too much for your present tank. It has nothing to do with the betta at all.

 

[Serbrider]

I apologize, but I have to respectfully disagree. Currently, the goldfish is about an inch and a half long. I will be watching her though, and when she gets to be about 4-5 inches she will be moved, either to a larger tank or a pond (if i can find someone with one that'll work). But for now, I have seen nothing in my research that'll make it wrong for her to currently stay in this tank. It's not a permanent home, but one that I don't see in issue in keeping her in until she gets too big.

 

[OldMan47]

I never stock a tank based on present fish size because I never know how things will go over time. If I use ultimate size, in this case over a foot long, I have less troubles in the long run.

 

[Serbrider]

I do agree... I purchased her without this knowledge though (again, bad on me... fishy impulse buys in a LFS that knows nothing about fish is not a good situation), but I keep all fish with the knowledge that what they're in currently is always just a temporary situation. I never think of anything as in it being their permanent home... because anything could happen. Sickness that would cause them to be moved into a quarantine tank, them growing to large causing them to be rehomed or whatever, etc. The tank she's in now is plenty big for her for a year or two at least. Which would give me time to enjoy her in the smaller tank while keeping an eye out for something larger.

Will I do this in future? No. Probably not. But... it's like the situations of people buying sharks and keeping them in tanks that they eventually outgrow, or even stuff like snakes that eventually will get too big for the tank they are normally in. Either a new tank is purchased for them before they get to that point, or they are given to someone who has a bigger tank.

Again though... is this tank Fanny's one and only home until she dies? Probably not. It's too small for that. But is she happy and healthy and giving me a lot of joy for now... and perhaps for the next few years? Yes. So I fail to see the huge problem with it.

Not arguing or disagreeing with you at all... simply sharing my viewpoint on the matter.