Setting Up A New Tank

[manbaby17]

For around 6 months I’ve had a 2.5G tank with a male crown betta, a golden dojo loach and a mystery snail. The loach has gotten bigger and my girlfriend was concerned about him not having enough room to swim (rightfully so). So I went out and bought a 10G tank but I am going to wait until I move back up to college in a few weeks before I do the changeover. With a bigger tank I’m hoping to be able to add some new fish to the mix, but I’m worried about fish not getting along with my betta.
 
            I’ve done some research and I’m liking the idea of this tank set up:
            1 Male Crown Betta
            2 African Dwarf Frogs
5-7 tetras (neon? ember? black phantom? Whatever is the least likely to nibble my betta’s fins)
1-3 Golden Dojo Loach
1-2 Mystery Snail
 
I’m mostly worried about the crown betta getting nipped at by the tetras, especially since his tail and fins are particularly stringy. I’m not too worried about the betta eating the tetra because even the few times when my dojo loach has done something aggressive my betta has never attacked him, and they have had no real problems.
 
So what do you guys think, should i forgoe the tetras or should they be ok? Are there any other smaller schooling/shoaling fish that would be sure to not be nippy? Or any other problems that I may have that I am missing?
 
Thanks.

 

[ncguppy830]

as for you tetra dilema do microrasboras smaller less agreesive fish need groups of 6 plus and you could do that with just a betta and the snails, because the bioload probaly couldnt hold the dojos and the adfs are kind of useless maybe you couild replace them with some RCS

 

[Ninjouzata]

I can't really say on the other fish but a 10g is much too small for a golden dojo loach, sorry I think the minimum tank size for them is 30g but bigger is better.

 

[biggerfish]

i would do
1 x betta
6 pygmy corys
6 micro rasboras

 

[Blondielovesfish]

i would do
1 x betta
6 pygmy corys
6 micro rasboras

 
I wouldn't do both, either choose from the Micro Rasboras or the Pygmys.
 
The Dojo Loach will unfortunately get too big for the 10g
I recommend that you either buy a 30 gallon tank or rehome it.

 

[biggerfish]

you don't think with A good filter and proper care she could have both? well I guess hes not to experienced. Sure i would stick with picking just one shoaling fish.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

If it had the correct footprint then it could work but if its a tall tank then it would be over stocked.
 
Could you provide the tank dimensions please ManBaby17?

 

[Wildbetta]

I would rehome the loach or get a much bigger tank.  They really need a bigger tank than a 10 gallon.  I also highly recommend not adding ADFs as they are a 50/50 with a betta.  They are harder to feed and the betta is more likely to eat all the food which causes constipation and bloat issues.  Plus the frogs could snap at the betta and mess with his fins.  For a 10 gallon, you might be ok with 1 type of very small schooling fish (6 of them) and the betta and maybe one mystery snail and that would be it.  A 10 gallon is really a small tank and you do not want to overstock it.  Micro Rasboras would probably be a decent addition to the tank as the schooling fish.  If you are worried about your betta getting nipped then I would forgo the small schooling fish and settle on 2 mystery snails and the betta as the stocking option.  Your betta could decide he doesn't like other fish in his tank and attack the small schooling fish even though he was ok with the loach.  Just be aware that you might have to move some stuff around if it doesn't work out and have a plan for this.  

 

[manbaby17]

The dimensions are 10x20x(12 high)
 
I had heard about the rasboras and i like the idea. I'm not a fan of corys, so that solves that concern.
 
I will think the Dojo plan, I definitely won't get any new ones and if he does get bigger and seem cramped I will look into upgrading in the future.
 
I dont know what you mean by the ADFs being useless, what do you need besides being cool and compatible with a betta?
 
I've read about RCS a bit and they seem like they too could be cool, I will definitely look into those.
 
Thanks a lot everybody, yeah I'm not too experienced with all this stuff but I'm excited to put a new tank together.

I would rehome the loach or get a much bigger tank.  They really need a bigger tank than a 10 gallon.  I also highly recommend not adding ADFs as they are a 50/50 with a betta.  They are harder to feed and the betta is more likely to eat all the food which causes constipation and bloat issues.  Plus the frogs could snap at the betta and mess with his fins.  For a 10 gallon, you might be ok with 1 type of very small schooling fish (6 of them) and the betta and maybe one mystery snail and that would be it.  A 10 gallon is really a small tank and you do not want to overstock it.  Micro Rasboras would probably be a decent addition to the tank as the schooling fish.  If you are worried about your betta getting nipped then I would forgo the small schooling fish and settle on 2 mystery snails and the betta as the stocking option.  Your betta could decide he doesn't like other fish in his tank and attack the small schooling fish even though he was ok with the loach.  Just be aware that you might have to move some stuff around if it doesn't work out and have a plan for this.  

I will certainly keep my smaller tank that i am currently using on hand if i need to move anybody out. If you think the frogs will be a problem then I can forgoe them, it's just hard figuring out what will work because the internet is so divided, full of success and disaster stories. I think I'm going to risk the micro rasboras though. Thanks

 

[attibones]

Typically, in a ten gallon, a betta is best by himself with maybe a few inverts. Your loach definitely needs rehoming, as you will need a much larger tank.