My Betta's

[blazinloud]

Well this is my 1st real post here and have a question for you guys.....and gals.

I got a beautiful male betta from my sis for christmas, my 1st fish. He came in a tiny plastic tank with no filter, or anything. So I went out and got a 10 gallon tank for him, and his new friend a dwarf frog.
While I was chatting with the fish lady, and they were checking my water, she said I could put a female in there with him, so I picked up a pretty female.....

when I got home I let the bag sit in the tank for about a half hour, then set her loose. NOw i dont know if this was a good idea or not, my male chases her around and kinda head butts her, she's forced to almost constantly hide, or stay in a corner......is this normal?
I dont see any nips out of her tail or anything.

they've been together for 1 day now, will it get any better? or should i take her back?
I would like to keep her if i can, shes a nice fish.......

thanks for any help

Adam

 

[Kyrielle]

Male and female bettas can never ever be put together unless it's for breeding or a very large tank. They're just too aggressive with each other. Your male will keep chasing and stressing out the female and she'll probably get sick from the stress. My advice would be to take the female back.

 

[blazinloud]

alright, i dont want to, but i dont want her to be killed.

how many fish can i add to a new tank? lfs said 1 per week, up to 10" of fish.

she said it raises the ammonia level???

 

[unspoken930]

you could buy a divider and put the female on one side and the male on the other side, it would solve your problem, and I suggest you go to the top of the betta section and look at the FAQ area and such, its really helpful about tank mates and things.

 

[jollysue]

you could buy a divider and put the female on one side and the male on the other side, it would solve your problem, and I suggest you go to the top of the betta section and look at the FAQ area and such, its really helpful about tank mates and things.

This was going to be my suggestion, too. Make sure you remove the girl right away. Put her is another recepticle, and if it is small change the water daily.

I would find another fish store. Your lfs lady is criminally ignorant, which causes me to suspect the fish care. Since the tank is new you will need to change the water frequently--once a week should do for bettas. Don't add anymore fish for now until you catch up with what you have. Then do your research before you buy, unless you have a knowledgeable seller.

Some needs for Betta: a hidey place, a place to sleep on at the top of the tank. Try to get a divider that is opaque or lots of decor that can be placed along the divider for privacy.

 

[blazinloud]

alright, well i took the pretty girl back, and got a yellow mollie, and some sort of gourami(sp)

now everyone is getting along much better. They also said to check the ammonia level often, so i got a testing kit.......

last time i checked it was around .01

 

[fishboy619]

alright, well i took the pretty girl back, and got a yellow mollie, and some sort of gourami(sp)

now everyone is getting along much better. They also said to check the ammonia level often, so i got a testing kit.......

last time i checked it was around .01

wow, a gourami and a mollie with a betta, ive never managed to keep them together,im suprised that your male is bothered but the female betta you had but not the other fish.dont add anymore fish for a while now, let the bacteria,etc settle.i agree with jollysue, find another fish dealer, if they tell you they came be kept together you know they are just after the money.a good way to find out if the dealer is good or not is to ask stupid questions, look around and see expensive fish, tell him or her you want to keep a few male betta together with whatever his expensive fish are(please dont do it for real) if he trys to sell them to you you know hes a fake, if he stops you, hes passed stage one.keep asking questions and do lots of research on internet and books.that devide idea was a good one, deviders are realtively cheap and would keep both of your fish safe,but use plants to cover devider.
keep up with water changes weekly and good luck with your fish i hope everything works out.

 

[blazinloud]

To be honest this IS the best petstore in my city. Has anyone heard of petland?

I really like this gourami! he swims and swims, up and down......he's cool. I really wanted some guppies......but id think my betta wouldnt......

is it ok, if they all eat blood worms? I have the blood worms, the betta pellets, and flakes...

although I rarely see my ADF get a bite......

 

[blazinloud]

hmmmm, my mollie seems to stay at the top most of the time......is this because the water is too cold?

I would like to get something exotic in there......maybe like a shrimp, or a crab.......but the crab would prolly eat my frog, right?

they also had small blue lobsters there, bad idea too?

basically i just want alot of diversity in there....and possibly a school.......But i think im asking to much from a 10 gallon tank....

I havent seen any shrimp at the lps, are they difficult to care for? greatly affect water quality?

 

[jollysue]

No crab with the Betta. The blue lobster is also a no.

I will say again, research before you buy. There may be trouble down the line with your new selection too.

I have read just recently that ADFs should be separate because of the eating thing. I never see mine eat either, but I have had my oldest for over a year in different tanks. They seem to thrive. I got 3 more and they are in the sorority tank for several months now and again seem fine.

How long has this tank been running?

You should not get any ammonia or nitrite readings in a cycled tank. It could be why the molly is acting oddly.

 

[fishboy619]

i wouldnt risk it with guppies, their fancy tails are too tempting for bettas.all the fish you have will be fine eating bloodworms but its good to feed flakes and other food now and againe for different flavoures/textures for your fish.drop one pellet by your betta and watch him eat, then drop another one if nessary, this way you knopw hes eating,
with the frogs, i use a small dish or plate that goes on top of the gravel and i place bloodworms on their, the frogs find it after a while, another method is to use a trukey baster ans squirt a few infront of the frog, or use long tweezers to wiggle one in front of them.if using the plate idea, feed at night as frogs use small and the fish might not see the bloodworms and eat them.
dont get a crab or a lobster, unless in a separate tank on their own.both will eat fish and frogs,
you could maybe try some shrimp, the worst that will happen is your fishes has a tasty treat,plus they add almost no waste towards the tank, all you do is add them and leave them, they feed of leftovers.
10 gallons doesnt give you much choice on what to put in their, i remember when i started with a 15 gallon and i wanted lots and lots of fish, untill i realized i couldn't(dont worry i didnt buy 100's of fish and place them in my tank, i was just speculating)
ive heard that mollies are brackish water fish,and they are plenty of articles on the net to support this, but they have been kept in freshwater for years and i see no problems.unfortunly with the fish you already got, their isnt much else you can add, either take the mollie back and get some small tetras(5) or leave it as it is, if all hell breaks out with the betta you may be forced to devide the tank off anyways, just see how things progress and take one step at a time, thier is no rush at the moment, fish keeping is a thing of patience and understanding.
good luck

 

[blazinloud]

Uh oh....

It seems like my betta is mad at me or something. When i 1st added the mollie and gourami my betta chased them around a bit, but wasent being rough at all.
and now he just seems to stay in one corner most of the time. Plus he dosent seem to be nearly as social as previously.Does he feel threatend?

While the 2 other fish zoom around, he pretty much stays in the same 1/4 of the tank, unless im feeding or something......Possibly just guarding his territory

 

[t1tanrush]

I really wouldn't advise adding anything to your tank until you've done some more research. Cory catfish will live ok with a betta in a 10 gallon. I have 4 cory catfish in a tank with 5 females, no problems, just make sure there is lots of hides.!

 

[jollysue]

The gourami is a top fish. The Betta is a top fish. They may not be happy with one another. They usually are not. The Betta will get the worst in the deal. If the molly is also at the top. more problems.

As we are trying to let you know: research first. Impulse buying most often does not work out if your lfs and you don't have good information.

It works best if you plan and research. Your fish will be happier. You will be happier. Your aquariums will be a success. You will be a successful hobbyist.

 

[blazinloud]

oh well, betta will have to live with the red flame gourami......apparently they're from the same family.....

No roughness going on...........