Female Betta

[ibb]

Hi,
I'm pretty new to owning fish. We got our first tank in December and since have bought a 2nd tank for the smallfry and now hubby bought a small tank and a siamese fighting fish. What i want to know is whether it was ok to put in 2 catfish with it. For some reason he bought them as well and unlike other catfish (we have bristlenosed in the other tank) these swim around a lot and don't stay on the bottom. I am wondering if this is annoying the betta. She is only young. She doesn't seem very active either. She stares at herself in the glass and goes to the top every few minutes. I was wondering if maybe we could get her a companion, another female but than i've read the least should be 4. Also there is sand on the bottom with some plants and small pebbles for decoration. Should we build her a cave? Do they like them? I have no idea how to look after a betta.
Any advice appreciated.

 

[nmonks]

Hello,

I think you need to post this question in the Betta forum. Bettas aren't brackish water fish (i.e., fish from estuaries and mangroves that appreciate salty water).

For what it's worth, when I've kept bettas in quiet community tanks they've done well. You shouldn't keep them with aggressive or nippy fish (like angels or tiger barbs) but Corydoras catfish, Asian glass catfish, neons, platies, kuhli loaches, and so on should be fine.

Be careful about imagining fish "think" as we do. Bettas are territorial fish, and they don't like others of their kind encroaching on their space. Males especially. If the tank is large enough, then you could try a 2-3 females with a single male, but sometimes the male will chase the females if they aren't in the mood to spawn with him. If the tank is tiny (10 US gallons or less) then best stick to just the one betta, male or female.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[catxx]

how big is the small tank?

if it's corydora catfish you have, yes they have a habit of being almost hyperactive

i would disagree with neale though, never keep a male with females ever. it tends to end in tears, no matter how large the tank. and females can be just as aggressive as males, which is why 4+ is recommended (in tanks 10 US gallons or larger, never under 10 US gallons it's been tried and it's failed)

also, neon tetras tend to be too nippy for bettas. and platies shouldn't go with males as the bright colours usually mean the male attacks the platy thinking it's another betta.

as for decor, bettas like lots of tall plants, in all my tanks i have plants that break the water line, bettas can be lazy and like to sit on leaves near the surface, especially at night when they want to sleep.

how strong is the filter in the tank? that can effect them too, but as it's a female i assume she has a short tail therefore strong current won't be as much of a problem as males with long tails.

p.s. can a mod move this to the betta section?