Odd Question

[Meggie :)]

Hey everybody! I have a quick question for you all...(actually, probably not so quick....)



So I rescued a baby betta a few weeks ago...I think it was on the 17th of last month. Anyway, she is still here with me, getting brine shrimp most of the time, every now and then blood worms. (It is all I have right now...they are frozen, not freeze dried).



She has been hanging out inside a breeder net in my ten gallon since I got her. (Don't worry, I raised the temp to about 82). But he/she (I will just call it a she) has grown a bit (YAY). But I feel like she would like it better to not be stuck in a breeder net inside a bigger tank with just a few floating plants for her.



Today I wanted to completely redo my ten gallon. Move the wood I have in here down to one of my male betta's tank (because he only has one small piece) and put some new pieces of wood in this ten gallon..



The ten gallon has one half grown balloon molly (she is adult, but never grew to full size..I think she was the "runt of the litter"), 3 pygmy cories, 7 assassin snails, and 3 amano shrimp.



Just some quick information on my halfgrown balloon molly: She seems very lonely almost my entire tank was wiped out a long time ago by a parasite brought in with another fish. Every since then, she has been pretty much alone. However, with that said, she does not seem territorial AT ALL. When I added the pygmy cories (after being COMPLETELY on her own for a few months) she swam right up to them immediately. After watching them nose around in the sand looking for food for a few seconds, she then pretended to be a cory...no joke...she pretended to nose around in the sand just like them. She wasn't looking for food, she was just copying them. And she followed them around EVERYWHERE. We have also gotten to the point now where she will only eat what food they eat. Another instance: I cleaned out my old science teachers horrid aquarium about a month or so ago. I decided to bring home a sick platy and try to save him (no parasites or bacterial anything, just very unhealthy, lethargic, skinny, etc from horrible conditions). Anyway, the platy would just kind of hover in the same spot moving his body back and forth a certain way. Well....as soon as I put him in, what else did miss molly do but swim right up to him and watch him for a few seconds, then start copying him? She swam up right next to him, and started doing the same strange wobbling movement as him.



I shared that annoyingly long paragraph to show the fact that the balloon molly seems extremely friendly, almost desperate for some company. She and this baby betta have been seeing each other through the net for a few weeks, so they have gotten used to each other I think. On top of that, like I said, I am planning on changing the entire layout of the tank today, so there will be no territorial business going on...



With all that said, now comes my question (about time right?!) What do you all think about me releasing her into the tank and seeing how it goes? Of course I will keep a hawk eye on the tank. But I really wanted some opinions on this.



Thank you for any suggestions you can give me, or I can ask any other needed questions.



I am really sorry for such a long post, I just really don't want anything to go wrong. I love this little betta and I ADORE my balloon molly.



Thank you all!

Meg

 

[Crossfire]

Hey everybody! I have a quick question for you all...(actually, probably not so quick....)



So I rescued a baby betta a few weeks ago...I think it was on the 17th of last month. Anyway, she is still here with me, getting brine shrimp most of the time, every now and then blood worms. (It is all I have right now...they are frozen, not freeze dried).



She has been hanging out inside a breeder net in my ten gallon since I got her. (Don't worry, I raised the temp to about 82). But he/she (I will just call it a she) has grown a bit (YAY). But I feel like she would like it better to not be stuck in a breeder net inside a bigger tank with just a few floating plants for her.



Today I wanted to completely redo my ten gallon. Move the wood I have in here down to one of my male betta's tank (because he only has one small piece) and put some new pieces of wood in this ten gallon..



The ten gallon has one half grown balloon molly (she is adult, but never grew to full size..I think she was the "runt of the litter"), 3 pygmy cories, 7 assassin snails, and 3 amano shrimp.



Just some quick information on my halfgrown balloon molly: She seems very lonely almost my entire tank was wiped out a long time ago by a parasite brought in with another fish. Every since then, she has been pretty much alone. However, with that said, she does not seem territorial AT ALL. When I added the pygmy cories (after being COMPLETELY on her own for a few months) she swam right up to them immediately. After watching them nose around in the sand looking for food for a few seconds, she then pretended to be a cory...no joke...she pretended to nose around in the sand just like them. She wasn't looking for food, she was just copying them. And she followed them around EVERYWHERE. We have also gotten to the point now where she will only eat what food they eat. Another instance: I cleaned out my old science teachers horrid aquarium about a month or so ago. I decided to bring home a sick platy and try to save him (no parasites or bacterial anything, just very unhealthy, lethargic, skinny, etc from horrible conditions). Anyway, the platy would just kind of hover in the same spot moving his body back and forth a certain way. Well....as soon as I put him in, what else did miss molly do but swim right up to him and watch him for a few seconds, then start copying him? She swam up right next to him, and started doing the same strange wobbling movement as him.



I shared that annoyingly long paragraph to show the fact that the balloon molly seems extremely friendly, almost desperate for some company. She and this baby betta have been seeing each other through the net for a few weeks, so they have gotten used to each other I think. On top of that, like I said, I am planning on changing the entire layout of the tank today, so there will be no territorial business going on...



With all that said, now comes my question (about time right?!) What do you all think about me releasing her into the tank and seeing how it goes? Of course I will keep a hawk eye on the tank. But I really wanted some opinions on this.



Thank you for any suggestions you can give me, or I can ask any other needed questions.



I am really sorry for such a long post, I just really don't want anything to go wrong. I love this little betta and I ADORE my balloon molly.



Thank you all!

Meg

Is the tank cycled? Does it have a sand bottom? Are there real or fake plants? And why is your temperature at 82*F? That's not healthy for the fish you have in your tank.
I would turn the temp down slowly. For now, set it to 78*F. Then tomorrow, 76*, and leave it there. That is a good temperature to have for your fish.

 

[Meggie :)]

Okay, thanks. I raised the temp up a bit for the baby betta. They need a higher temp and there was no where else that I could have put her. I have been keeping a very close eye on the other fish, they seem okay, but I will turn it down a bit anyway.

The tank is cycled, it has been running for....maybe 4 or 5 years?

It is a planted tank with wood.

And the tank does have sand

Thank you for your quick reply! What do you think about trying the release of the betta?

 

[Crossfire]

Okay, thanks. I raised the temp up a bit for the baby betta. They need a higher temp and there was no where else that I could have put her. I have been keeping a very close eye on the other fish, they seem okay, but I will turn it down a bit anyway.

The tank is cycled, it has been running for....maybe 4 or 5 years?

It is a planted tank with wood.

And the tank does have sand

Thank you for your quick reply! What do you think about trying the release of the betta?

I've never read anywhere that baby bettas need such high temperature. Maybe you misread an article on betta breeding, since anabatnoids like them and gouramis only breed at such temperatures. It would be safer to turn the temp down.

I would get 3-5 more pygmy cories, as they like to have big groups.

You could also get more mollies, but unless you plan on breeding them, check the genders.
Does your molly have a rounded fin by its anus, or a pointed fin?

 

[thereverendturtle]

As long as the Betta isn't bite sized, she should be just fine. Add a couple of more female balloon mollies, they are schooling fish by nature.
I disagree with cf about the temp, although it is at the high end of your inhabitants tolerances. I would lower it but only to 78, 76 is just to low for mollies. They tend to get the shimmies below that.
Your cories will be at the higher end as will the shrimp, but not detrimentally so.

 

[Fish Lover Forever]

Just a tip on re-doing the tank, if you are going to get any plants I would suggest ones with fine leaves because others may fall about and make your water green. This is me speaking from personal experience.

 

[Baccus]

As long as you keep the water salt free (most mollies, etc do like almost brackish water and many pet shops advice to add aquarium salts to their tanks even though mollies, sailfins, platties and guppies can all live long productive lives in pure fresh water), then it should be fine for the betta to live in the tank.

I know you said the tank is planted and I just wondered is it a mix of low growing and high growing plants? The fighter will love having some weed or even an artifiial leaf at/ near the surface that it can sleep and rest on or under. One of my fighters all but wraps himself up in a clump of floating plants in one of my tanks, almost like a sea otter in kelp . I worry that one day he really will get tangled but he always squeezes his way back out of his floating bed. Also some floating plants or plants that reach the surface of the water will provide a sheltered area for the betta to rest away from currents produced by the filter.

 

[Meggie :)]

Thank you all for your help! I have kept bettas for a while now, and IME and research they all prefer higher temps..78 being the best lowest temp, 80-82 being more ideal. And especially baby bettas need (or do much better) with the higher temp. Particularly this baby betta as it was in a cold, dirty cup for who knows how long. I want to encourage quick growth and full recovery

Thank you for the tip on the pygmy cories! I did have 6, but they got wiped out in that episode with the parasite the other 3 were killed...I am planning on getting more when I can, so it's just the three until then.

And there are 4 shrimp, not 3...just found another one while I was cleaning hmm interesting

The betta is a decent size. I don't think nearly small enough to get hurt or eaten or anything. Espcially with the character of this molly; she just wants to be around any fish she can find

I will lower the temperature a few degrees, thank you all.


And thank you for the suggestion, fish expert forever. All of my tanks are planted, and this one as well..I didn't go buy new plants, just switching out the wood...moving it all around between a few of my tanks...long story haha Are you talking about plants like hornwort?

I think I will try releasing the betta tomorrow...turns out the wood doesn't sink and I could NOT tie it down to a rock for the life of me...it is such an awkward shape...so my dad and I ended up smoothing out the bottom of the wood and siliconing it to a piece of slate to weigh it down...unfortunately I have to let it cure overnight, so my tank is in disarray right now I just threw in all the plants so they are all just floating in there right now. Oh well...when I get it all set up tomorrow, I think I will try to release her..

Thank you all for your help! Any further suggestions or corrections needed on my part are greatly appreciated!

 

[Meggie :)]

Sorry, Baccus, I didn't see your post!

The tank is salt free..no brackish here! The betta has been floating in a breeder in this tank for a few weeks, so the water is healthy for her

I will try to list all the plants I have: java fern, anubias, hornwort, some kind of bacopa I think? not sure, amazon sword, some smaller different varieties of sword (again, not completely sure on the exact species), moss, crypts, and I think there are a few more...

I know what you mean! All of my bettas have the strangest sleeping places! I always know when Walter (my king male rescue) has been sleeping because he lays in the sand a wakes up with sand all over his face and body...not sure about Rory, my other king rescue (named after Rory from Doctor Who)....it seems like he never sleeps! I have 2 other bettas besides these two and the baby betta. I had another female that just recently died...last week I think. (Amy, also named after Doctor Who)...bettas probably have to be one of my favorite species of fish

 

[Baccus]

Sorry, Baccus, I didn't see your post!

The tank is salt free..no brackish here! The betta has been floating in a breeder in this tank for a few weeks, so the water is healthy for her

I will try to list all the plants I have: java fern, anubias, hornwort, some kind of bacopa I think? not sure, amazon sword, some smaller different varieties of sword (again, not completely sure on the exact species), moss, crypts, and I think there are a few more...

I know what you mean! All of my bettas have the strangest sleeping places! I always know when Walter (my king male rescue) has been sleeping because he lays in the sand a wakes up with sand all over his face and body...not sure about Rory, my other king rescue (named after Rory from Doctor Who)....it seems like he never sleeps! I have 2 other bettas besides these two and the baby betta. I had another female that just recently died...last week I think. (Amy, also named after Doctor Who)...bettas probably have to be one of my favorite species of fish

Always pays to double check if people have been adding aquarium salts to the tank .

Unfortunately I have forgotten the name of the plant that one of my fighters likes sleeping in, its usually used as a carpet plant but my corys kept uprooting it so I left it floating. As a floating plant its doig well and is an interesting jumble of small leaves and stems that the shrimp also like hiding in. A fighter will find moss nice and cozy to bed down on, I have even seen one of my males balance himself half way up an elodea stem between the leaves. Parrots feather is another good tall plant, nice and soft and leafy that will reach the surface of the tank and make a nice resting place for a fighter.

 

[Meggie :)]

Thank you for your help! I fixed up the tank and released her..she is loving it so far it seems and she comes right up to the medicine syringe for food whenever I put it in the tank for her She is swimming all over the place! I keep losing her She has swam up to a few of the shrimp and snails and kind of checked them out, but no problems (considering the amano shrimp are double her size... ) As for the molly, no problems as of yet! I will be keeping an incredibly close eye on them, however!

 

[Meggie :)]

I leave a handful of hornwort floating neglectfully at the top of my tank But I pulled it out a few weeks ago and each strand was easily 3-4 feet long if not more. I have had it die out for no apparant reason, and some of it just grows like a weed!

The baby seems to be doing well still...I have fed her twice already today (brine shrimp) and she came RIGHT up to the feeding tube. I have trained her well She seems like she is already improving at a faster rate than she was in the net!

 

[Fish Lover Forever]

Ok, and yes hornwort is an example but sometimes it just depends how it has been tied together. I had a couple of plants like that and they fell apart into pieces.

 

[Fish Lover Forever]

Thats good.