Friends For A Betta In A 10g.

[Kowalski]

I've got a 10 gallon with one male Betta.

Blah blah.

Soon, it'll be pretty heavily planted with plastic plants.

People on this forum have suggested these fish as good fish to add into the tank:


Bronze Cories

or

White Cloud Minnows


I've done a bit of research on both and have learned Cories need sand (not NEED, but it's preferred) and I have a gravel substrate, is that a issue if I were to look into Cories? (Bronze ones in specific)

Second, the minnows, they seem to sound like a good fit for my tank, so, what do all of you think?

Thanks in advance!

 

[seanc]

Cories will survive in gravel.. sand is better but as long as the gravel is fine they shouldnt be hurt.

Re minnows and bettas one issue some people overlook is that white clouds prefer high current levels (as they have in the wild) whereas bettas hate current.. if you do combine wcmm and bettas go for no/ very low current as betta wouldnt be able to swim in higher currents, and wcmm will still survive in low; very hardy fish, and usually quite active.. great ina large shoal, and ith 10G to play with thats plenty of room. Also worth considering shrimp (though some may get eaten) and snails too.
A few of the easier to care for live plants wouldnt go amiss if you can buy some; hornwort, java moss, amazon swords etc the easy to care for kind that you literally just plonk in.

 

[Kowalski]

Thank you very much for the input SeanC.

I think I'll try Minnows. My Betta has never seemed to be bothered by the current and is in good spirits, so, I think it'd be alright. Now the question is:

How many?

They grow from 1 inch to and inch and a half, or so I've read. My Betta is around 2 inches, so going by the "gallon per inch of fish" theory, I have room for ABOUT 6-8 minnows. Do I want to get that many? Would it be alright settling for 4-5?

I have looked into Java Moss, but it'll have to wait. Thanks again a bunch for the tips and thank you in advance to anyone who responds!

 

[seanc]

I wouldn't got with less than 6 else they wont shoal properly.
They produce next to no waste though, so the low bioload means you can go well beyond the inch per gallon rule if need be. The inch per gallon (US gallon) is merely a guideline, applying to small slim bodied fish.. needs adjusting sometimes.
Are you filtering this tank? might want a spray bar to lessen the current by diffusing it.
A bubble column in a corner is a nice touch for WCMMs; they'll dash in and out of it quite ofte, and the lit ones can look amazing.

Probably wise to get normal WCMMs, not the longfin variety as bettas can be agressive to the longfinned ones.

 

[Kowalski]

So 6 would be fine? It's filtered indeed, with a medium/slow current. The side of the tank with the filter (obviously) has a bit more motion than the opposite side. In fact, my Betta enjoys swimming to where the water comes out and swimming against it.

Thank you again very much for all the tips!!

 

[seanc]

Yup 6 would be perfect

No problem, good luck with the tank!

 

[france]

something else to consider before you run out and buy the clouds. When I introduced my betta to my 10 gal. I still had 3 Zebra Dainos in there from cycling. It made feeding my beta a pain in the ass.... every time I dropped a couple of blood worms in for him, the zeb's would zoom over and grab them up. I took them out and kept a couple of young Yo-Yo loaches in to clean up after the betta (messy eater) as well as a couple Otto's for algae control. The betta does not seem to mind the loaches at all.

 

[seanc]

WCMMs shouldn't eat fast enough to stress the betta out.. and they wont touch betta pellets ime. they only eat a tiny amount after all

 

[Kowalski]

Is there some sort of fish I could put in that would help keep the gravel clean? I've been reading up on Otos, Plecos and etc, but I'm getting a bit confused...

 

[Milo]

Plecos grow too big for 10g, otos sometimes die for no apparent reason shortly after purchase. I'd say Malaysaian trumpet snails.

 

[Kowalski]

Interesting! Just did a bit of reading on those snails, they look awesome.

So I have a 10 gallon with plastic plants and gravel...

There's a full grown male Betta in there, he used to be with Tetras, and thta was fine, but the Tetras died due to my mistakes. !

So, really, I could get two of those Trumpet snails, 5-6 White Clouds and that'd be alright in a 10g?

 

[Milo]

Sounds fine to me. Trumpet snails breed quickly and you'll probably find your gravel full of them in a short time, just take some them out if they overpopulate your tank.

 

[Kowalski]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll definitely look into it. If they overpopulate, what do I do with the ones I need to get rid of?

Thanks again.

 

[Milo]

Np! You can get a snail eating fish but don't feed them to puffers as their shells are too hard for puffers.

 

[Kowalski]

What's an example of a snail-eating fish that wouldn't bother my Betta or anger my Betta?