How big would i need?
and yes cherry barbs, cheers. The price difference is only a bit when you get big. the small one i was looking at was almost as expensive as a big one. I dont know tank sizes but i want a fairly big one. might as well invest.
What treatments would be good to get his fin in the best shape i dont use anything differnt for him now than the different fish so i need to get a few things just dont want to go into the fish shop and not know because their advice can be terrible. ie. a betta in a cold tank thats too small. ...
and yes cherry barbs, cheers. The price difference is only a bit when you get big. the small one i was looking at was almost as expensive as a big one. I dont know tank sizes but i want a fairly big one. might as well invest.
What treatments would be good to get his fin in the best shape i dont use anything differnt for him now than the different fish so i need to get a few things just dont want to go into the fish shop and not know because their advice can be terrible. ie. a betta in a cold tank thats too small. ...
Choosing tank mates that match his color could even provoke him to attack them (if he's that way inclined). Having said that, however, my sister and I used to keep a single male in our tropical tanks - even in the fishpond, with Goldfish, Jewel Cichlids, Guppies, Platys and Swordtails. Never had any trouble with them attacking tankmates but we may have just been lucky not to have scored particularly pugilistic males from our LFS. Basically, what I am suggesting is that if you really want your Betta to thrive, perhaps you could read up on what his natural environment would be like and go about creating a home for him based on that, rather than just going on what you think he should like and want in a home?
While Bettas will often get along very placidly with other species of fish, the other species can often be more of a danger to your Betta. Barbs, especially, and Bumble Bee Gobys will nip the fins of their tank-mates, causing annoyance to the victim and the damage can cause fungal infections. If they shred enough of the victims fins, they can't swim and die. Bettas especially rely on their lovely finnage to support and balance them in the water. We found Sailfins, Guppies, Platys, Swordtails and Mollies to be mostly inoffensive toward the Betta though you get the odd rogue who will have a go. Other larger fish, like Goldfish (which shouldnt be in tropical tanks because they're coldwater species anyway but you'd be amazed how often I see it here) can buffet and knock the slower moving species around. Bettas, because they aren't built to move quickly or travel distances, cannot escape harassment from faster, nippier species and cannot dart out of the way of bigger, bulkier species. They don't like strong currents in the tank either - their natural environment is still, oxygen-poor water. They've developed labrynthine breathing apparatus in their head which allows them to utilise oxygen directly from the surface when their gills cannot get enough from the surrounding water. They can live a long time out of water as well, for this reason. We had one jump out of the tank and was still alive when we found it on the ground half an hour or so later. Put it back in the tank and it was ok again after a day or so. 
