Thinking Of Owning A Betta

[Connor Rimmer]

So, I used to own a tropical tank a while ago, i was 14, young, naive and not very knowledgable to what I was buying. I bought a Betta but I dont think it liked the tank mates it had.

im wondering, what fish can co-exist with a Betta? Or do they really prefer to be on their own?

Im going to home him into my old Bi-Orb 30 liter tank, I believe that will be large enough for him. Ill buy its some plants/ornaments for him to hide, too. Ill buy it bloodworm probably a couple of times a week.

Is this an ok tank? please help =).

 

[Dan-25]

i think in most peoples oppions that bettas should be kept alone, the tank sounds good for it though

 

[Connor Rimmer]

By tank mates, I mean like maybe 4-5 neon tetras, nothing large!

 

[smegforbrains]

My Betta is in a 100 litre tank with 6 Corys, 2 Upside-down Catfish and 2 Chocolate Doras. Perfect tank mates IMO

 

[LauraFrog]

It's not the size of the tank mates that matters but their temperaments. Neons are probably not a good idea. They have a tendency to nip fins. bettas as a rule should not be kept with anything that nips fins, so most tetras are out. In a 30L, you could have two or three platys, or two or three small corys or several otos. You could also think about white clouds or danios, but bettas are sometimes irritated by small fish, so if you were going tankmates, I'd go platys, bottom dwellers or snails.

 

[Connor Rimmer]

Thanks for the Info Laura.

I will look locally to see what types there are. Maybe I was going to add a Catfish as I don't think he would be any bother to a Betta?

Also, the only Bettas around my area are ALL Veiltails! I am wildly in love with half moons, the colour of their fins and scales.. sigh

 

[Truck]

i would never keep a betta with any type of live bearer as they can mistake them for one of there own kind. i learnt the hard way

 

[smegforbrains]

Just don't get anything too wildly colourful to go with the Betta.

I've been told of various occasions where a brightly coloured fish (like a Guppy) has been mauled by a Betta.


Apparently, Bettas freak out thinking they are another male Betta because of the bright colours.

 

[Connor Rimmer]

I will keep this in mind
Thanks for the info, I think ill begin reading more FAQ's today on Betta's. I want to understand them nearly fully before I take one into care!

 

[smegforbrains]

I want to understand them nearly fully before I take one into care!

Makes you sound like a Social Worker

 

[LauraFrog]

I have kept bettas with platys, but not with mollies (which require salt) or guppies (which will be attacked because of their colours and broad tail fins). Swordtails IMO are too large for a tank of the sort of size you're talking about. It's a lot about the temperament of the individual betta really, I have had some that will not tolerate even being next to a tank with other fish, and others that will live happily in any peaceful community (minus fin nippers).

Most catfish are tolerated by most bettas, there are very few that will not put up with catfish. You have to realise though that there are a LOT of different catfish. The two you are most likely to encounter are loricariids and corydoras. Corydoras are members of the same genus, they are schooling fish and you should keep three at a minimum. You can get pygmy ones that only grow to about an inch and a half, so obviously you could have three of these. You can get dwarf ones that reach about two inches, those are a possibility, but you have to watch that you don't buy some of the larger ones that oculd get to 4 inches.

The other sort of catfish are loricariids, which are basically the 'plecs', I used the technical term because the body shape is the same and because otos are in this family. I mentioned those in my other post, they are very small, schooling catfish. They are easy to look after once you've got them the right food. The other plecs are generally large, the smallest are about four inches and the largest over 2 feet, so I'd recommend you keep away from those in such a small tank. Personally I wouldn't keep even the smallest in a tank smaller than 15-20 gallons.

 

[Connor Rimmer]

So I went down to my local Pets At Home today (probably the equivilant of your PetCo or something) and I saw the woman refusing to sell fish because people had bad setups/no filters. I am surprised, and thought hmm, ill this strengthns my thoughts of buying a Betta from here.

I then asked another woman about some stuff I needed for my tank (Bi Orbs have like specific gravel/air pumps i believe) and then I asked her what types of Betta do you generally get then and the response I got waaas 'Well we usually get like blue pink and red ones but we dont really get the wierd ones we just buy them off the supplier'.

...

I think ill find another aquatics shop to buy from .

 

[ThePiggy]

If you have the money for the shipping, I'd suggest buying from one of the breeders on this forum.

 

[Connor Rimmer]

I was looking at one from the UK, she had many beautiful Betta's, but at maybe the equivilant of 35$. Im not too sure at the minute, the ones i've seen locally are all VeilTail's, I know of a man locally too who has his own fish shop so i'll possibly ask him, he'll steer me in the right direction :.

 

[nosoup4you]

Oops, nevermind, they've all been re-homed.