Bettas And Other Fish

[Creech]

Hi,

I have a 48 gallon tank with both an undergravel filter and a back of the tank filter. Currently the tank houses 8 zebra danios (sp?), 5 neon tetras, an dwarf panda cat, and an ANCIENT Khuli loach. We have a male betta in a 1/2 gallon bowl that our daughter isn't taking great care of. Would the betta bully the fish in the 48 gallon tank? It sure would be easiest for us to care for all of them in one place.

TIA,
Creech.

 

[nino]

It's not a good idea to put in him there.
Zebra Danios swim to fast and are not good around slower moving bettas. And I think neon tetras will nip the bettas fins (or is it the other way around?).. either way both of those are not good tank mates for a betta. The khuli loach would work as well as the panda cat. Is the panda cat a cory cat? If so, you should have more than just one, they like to be in schools of 3 or more. Some bettas also prefer not to have so much space and prefer smaller aquariums (minimum of 1 gallon) because they can then better patrol their territory and are less stressed out from having to do a lot of swimming.

Also, it might be easier to take care of the betta if he was in a bigger tank (5-10 gallons) which you could properly cycle. With a 1/2 gallon bowl he probably needs water changes 3-4 times a week which is a lot of extra work.

 

[Creech]

It's not a good idea to put in him there.
Zebra Danios swim to fast and are not good around slower moving bettas. And I think neon tetras will nip the bettas fins (or is it the other way around?).. either way both of those are not good tank mates for a betta. The khuli loach would work as well as the panda cat. Is the panda cat a cory cat? If so, you should have more than just one, they like to be in schools of 3 or more. Some bettas also prefer not to have so much space and prefer smaller aquariums (minimum of 1 gallon) because they can then better patrol their territory and are less stressed out from having to do a lot of swimming.

Also, it might be easier to take care of the betta if he was in a bigger tank (5-10 gallons) which you could properly cycle. With a 1/2 gallon bowl he probably needs water changes 3-4 times a week which is a lot of extra work.

The bowl needs changing 3 times a week.

Thanks, you confirmed what I thought. Bad idea. Getting a small tank is a great idea. Should be relatively cheap.

 

[thapsus]

I agree with nino. Zebras are too active company to bettas. Zebras, neons and cory also like more cooler water than betta. Bigger tank would be best solution for betta. If I were you I would buy 10 gallon tank and put betta and kuhlis there and keep temp at 27C (=80F). Then temperature 22-24C would be suitable for all your fishes in 48gal. I would also take bigger shoals to your bigger tank. For example
15 neontetras
15 zebras
10 panda corys.

I don't think size of the bigger tank would be a problem for betta. Here in Finland we keep bettas always in community tanks and they do perfectly well and live long lives.

 

[Creech]

We bought a 5 gallon tank for the little guy and BOY does he seem happy in it. Active and energetic.

 

[Ethos]

Good. You should tell us about him in the betta section.
We <3 new betta keepers in there, lol!