Help Me Please

[jammie654]

hi all. ihave just got a tropical tank with a betta

and was wondering if bettas can stay in community tanks as i dont have money to get a new tank jkust for him/her the fish i have are
striped dora catfish
3 Puntius pentazona pentazona
9 Neon Tetra Paracheirodon innesi
1 Corydoras arcuatu
1 Corydoras delphax
and one other fish which i dont know what it is pic is below

thanks

 

[andy_j]

The "mystery" fish looks like a honey gouramie.

The only things that might hurt your fighter is the Pentazona barbs although neins have been known to take a sly nip here and there. Your best bet is to watch closely over a few days to see if everything's ok...if not, your fighter might have to be rehomed before he's killed.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Andy

 

[Amunet]

Ditto what andy said.

Keep a close watch on the tank for a while. You might get lucky and have a great bunch of fish that don't bother eachother.

If he's getting nipped by the other fish though or if he's being a bully, you'll have to rehome him. You could get a cheap breeder's net to temporarily put him in until you get enough money for another tank.

 

[jammie654]

The "mystery" fish looks like a honey gouramie.

The only things that might hurt your fighter is the Pentazona barbs although neins have been known to take a sly nip here and there. Your best bet is to watch closely over a few days to see if everything's ok...if not, your fighter might have to be rehomed before he's killed.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Andy

so is my betta a male??? and he does bully the honey gouramie but just chasing he doesnt actually attack and "bite"

 

[JellyPi3]

yea a male...and yeah i agree with what the others say...observation is key in these situations

 

[jammie654]

i used to have a larger gouromie(sp) but it died but when i had it the betta gave no problems could it be because it is the biggest fish in my tank??

 

[andy_j]

Yes your fighter is a male. He will probably chase the gouramie because it is an anabantid....a family of fish which have a unique "labyrinth" or an organ behind the gills which allows it to breathe atmospheric air (you may have noticed both the fighter and the gouramie taking gulps at the surface). Just keep an eye on them....the fighter might just give the gouramie a quick "get out of my way" chase when they meet.

If i can give a bit of advice, you are keeping live animals here. I don't know how you got your tank or whether you bought it from scratch etc but you need to do a lot of reading up on the fish you keep. Not knowing whether that was a male or female fighter could've ended in disaster if you decided to buy another "male".

Don't add any more fish to your tank until you've read up on what you've got and know how to keep and look after them properly. Then, when you're ready, read up on what fish you would like to add next.

This way you will hopefully avoid buying (and losing) unsuitable fish in future.

Good luck

Andy

 

[jammie654]

Yes your fighter is a male. He will probably chase the gouramie because it is an anabantid....a family of fish which have a unique "labyrinth" or an organ behind the gills which allows it to breathe atmospheric air (you may have noticed both the fighter and the gouramie taking gulps at the surface). Just keep an eye on them....the fighter might just give the gouramie a quick "get out of my way" chase when they meet.

If i can give a bit of advice, you are keeping live animals here. I don't know how you got your tank or whether you bought it from scratch etc but you need to do a lot of reading up on the fish you keep. Not knowing whether that was a male or female fighter could've ended in disaster if you decided to buy another "male".

Don't add any more fish to your tank until you've read up on what you've got and know how to keep and look after them properly. Then, when you're ready, read up on what fish you would like to add next.

This way you will hopefully avoid buying (and losing) unsuitable fish in future.

Good luck

Andy

hi i wasnt goin to buy another one as i know that 2 males dont get on well i wasnt sure if it was a male. i have read a lot about my fish so thanks. i got the tank from a friend as they left to go back to S.A so i have looked after the fish at their house while they were still her for about 5 months so i do know about these fish.

thanks a lot for all the help and i will keep an eye on them. when my new fish arrive is it ok to hang them on the side off the tank in the water for a week as to quaratine them is that ok to do that??(yes they will be fed befor anyione asks lol)

 

[groupiekilla06]

How big is your tank? Is it cycled?

Sorry if you already answered this and I just missed it lol

 

[jammie654]

How big is your tank? Is it cycled?

Sorry if you already answered this and I just missed it lol

hi its a 2ft tank but it has been running for a bout 7months now. does that help you out

How big is your tank? Is it cycled?

Sorry if you already answered this and I just missed it lol

the tank is 2ft an it has been running for about 7months but i dont know if it ws cycled to start with as it wasnt mine then?

 

[stang1]

As everyone else has suggested, keep a close eye on the tank.
Gouramies and Bettas don't usually mix and your Betta may be very territorial towards the Gourami.
Pentazona Barbs are not nippy at all, they are one of the more peaceful Barbs. Unfortunately, most Barbs get the same bad press as Tiger Barbs but ther are a few that are not nippy at all.
Neon Tetras can be nippy, although when kept in a group, there is less chance of this happening.
When you say about using something to hang on the side, what type were you thinking? Most breeding nets/traps have vents and will not be suitable for a quarantine tank as they will still be contained in the same water. A small tank of about 5G+ would be a lot better although it will need to be filtered.

 

[jammie654]

As everyone else has suggested, keep a close eye on the tank.
Gouramies and Bettas don't usually mix and your Betta may be very territorial towards the Gourami.
Pentazona Barbs are not nippy at all, they are one of the more peaceful Barbs. Unfortunately, most Barbs get the same bad press as Tiger Barbs but ther are a few that are not nippy at all.
Neon Tetras can be nippy, although when kept in a group, there is less chance of this happening.
When you say about using something to hang on the side, what type were you thinking? Most breeding nets/traps have vents and will not be suitable for a quarantine tank as they will still be contained in the same water. A small tank of about 5G+ would be a lot better although it will need to be filtered.

i was thinking of putting some tank water into the bags which the fish come in then leaving them in the tank with a filter??

 

[stang1]

Not a good idea at all I'm afraid. The filter will be ineffective as it will not be able to filter water through the bag. The fish would just end up sitting in its own waste and would not have the oxygen it requires.

 

[jammie654]

Not a good idea at all I'm afraid. The filter will be ineffective as it will not be able to filter water through the bag. The fish would just end up sitting in its own waste and would not have the oxygen it requires.

oh so can you tell me how am i going to do it. my fish will be here tomorrow and i opnly have one tank and filter and no way of buying anymore stuff till the weekend. if i just put them straight in is that a really bad idea??

 

[stang1]

The only way to quarantine a fish is to put it in a separate tank, I'm afraid. You may add the fish to the tank and have no problems at all but there is no guarantee. When you say the fish are arriving, do you mean they are being delivered to you or your lfs?