Got Lucky Now Need Advice

[Daveo026]

Walking down to see my dad and someone in there yard was selling a 22g tank with stand full set up except heater so got it ball ach to carry home lol but anyway I'm thinking of setting the tank up when I get heater for a betta for my daughter to look after as she loves fish would a betta be a good fish for a 9 year olds first fish and would the betta get stressed in this tank by its self i don't want her having many fish til she learns how to look after this one and of course il cycle tank first and make sure she's looking after the fish.

 

[mike455555]

a betta would be a perfect fish there tough things although they do have a low life expectancy 1-2 years (or so my LFS told me)but they can also breath oxygen from the air. betta's like to be on there own as well i doubt it would get stressed at all... but i would say through in some low light live plants like anubias and java fern and some crypts to make the tank look more interesting. maybe add some cherry shrimp and oto's later as well

 

[pablothebetta]

Do you mean to keep a betta in the 22g? That would be fine, though I'd add some tankmates too personally - if the betta allowed them, that is. They can be pretty aggressive and it's hit-and-miss when it comes to tankmates. Some will tolerate more than others. He would most likely be quite happy by himself though.

What about a female betta tank? With dense planting, I'd expect it to easily be big enough to hold a fair number of females.

I do think a betta would be a good first fish for a child though, IME they're pretty hardy and attractive fish and full of personality too Bettas have been known to live for over 5 years, though you don't always know how old they are when you initially buy them in the store.

 

[Daveo026]

Im just learning with live plants at mo so il maybe Just get her plastic plants til I know what I'm doing with live ones

Well she wil have more fish in it once she can look after the male altho she wants me to find a pink one not sure I can manage that tho lol

 

[Daveo026]

She likes the fins on the males so I doubt she would want a female fighter

 

[pablothebetta]

Females can also be very colourful, they just don't have the flowing fins the males have. I'd watch with plastic plants - you don't want anything that he could catch his fins on. I'd personally try to stick with silk or live plants in there. Java fern and anubias are very hardy plants, you could always give them a go

Just a note - it's often better to add the betta last if it is to be kept with other fish, that way he is going into their territory and not the other way around and can help lessen aggression

 

[Daveo026]

Yeah what other fish to start with u think? I have a fighter in my tank altho he was te last fish added he's never shown aggression as of yet I wasn't gona get a fighter but I saw him In a pet shop and had to have him longest fins I have ever seen with blue and red in them altho he did puff out when he saw me looking into his tank

 

[pablothebetta]

If you want to add other fish before the betta after cycling, what about corys? They are more bottom-middle dwelling whereas the betta is more likely to generally be more top-middle dwelling - the hope being that, in theory, if the betta was more of the aggressive kind, the cories should mostly stay out of his way. You could always try some tetras as well, though they could make more attractive targets.