Can I Have A Betta?

[Zante]

I euthanised my favourite gourami today, he was too far gone with dropsy.

I was thinking of getting a betta for my tank, but I don't have experience with them, so I need some advice.

He'd be going in my 95 litre tank (see signature for current population) which is heavily planted (two amazon swords, a bunch of vallisneria, and java fern, two lucky bamboo stalks, with the leaves outside the water, and plenty of floating plants)

Would it be ok in that tank? What about the current population? Would they coexist?

 

[Amanita.m]

Gouramis and Bettas do not generally get along. They are in the same family and tend to be territorial.

 

[Cazgar]

I wouldn't risk it, some people may have got away with it, but in general it's not a good mix

 

[OldMan47]

Zante, why not go back to the beginning? What do you see that caused you to euthanize your gourami and how do you know the underlying problem no longer exists in your tank?

Dropsy is a description of symptoms, not a disease as such. It is like diagnosing a human with pneumonia. Pneumonia simply means that the air sacs in your lungs are swollen and means nothing at all about a specific infection or even a chemical irritant. The same thing applies to dropsy, it simply means a fish that is severely swollen in the belly, such that it shows pineconing in its scales. It means nothing in terms of a specific illness.

So where are you in finding that underlying cause? Do you know what caused that swelling yet? Are the other fish in the tank carriers of whatever affected your gourami? Please don't jump the gun and replace a dead fish with another one that will need to go through the same infection and death.

 

[Zante]

Zante, why not go back to the beginning? What do you see that caused you to euthanize your gourami and how do you know the underlying problem no longer exists in your tank?

Dropsy is a description of symptoms, not a disease as such. It is like diagnosing a human with pneumonia. Pneumonia simply means that the air sacs in your lungs are swollen and means nothing at all about a specific infection or even a chemical irritant. The same thing applies to dropsy, it simply means a fish that is severely swollen in the belly, such that it shows pineconing in its scales. It means nothing in terms of a specific illness.

So where are you in finding that underlying cause? Do you know what caused that swelling yet? Are the other fish in the tank carriers of whatever affected your gourami? Please don't jump the gun and replace a dead fish with another one that will need to go through the same infection and death.

TBH I still don't know what the cause is. With this question I was just "planning ahead".

I am still observing the tank to see any signs of illness in the other fish, but they are all active and healthy-looking.

My best bet is that my fairly old male (just under 2yrs since I bought him) got too stressed when I made the mistake of adding another juvenile male in the tank. Since moving the ols male to the quarantine tank, the juvenile too has perked up and started actively chasing the females.

Anyway, as I said, I was planning ahead for when I am sure that everyone in the tank is fine.

In any case, I read the warnings of the other users, so I've decided I will not replace the dead fish, I will keep the population as it is.