Wanting To Get A Fish Tank But Unsure

alannah · Feb 2, 2009

Hi im new to this whole fish thing as my boyfriend some how got me hooked on the idea as he too is just starting his first
aquarium. watching how excited he has been has also made me excited and eager to get a tank too thing is i am unsure of the
type or types of fish i should get. i am able to get either a small or medium sized tank to fit into my room but am unsure as to
what fish i want in order to decide how big a tank i will need. I am really liking the Betta fish but heard that a female and make cannot be kept in the same tank i was hoping to breed them and leave them in the same tank but the thought of one or the babies being killed makes me so upset. can any one suggest any fish or help haha

thank you

Miss Wiggle · Feb 2, 2009

hello, your not indir-emir's grilfriend are you?

yup, betta's otherwise known as siamese fighter fish did not get their name for no reason! The male will kill the female without a doubt.

unfortunately most easy to breed tropical fish will not fit into your nice image of a family unit of fish! They're rarely good caring parents and for the vast majority of them you'd need to seperate the babies/egg's shortly after birth otherwise their parents will eat them. So if your heart is set on breeding then you need to initially widen your expectations to at least 2 if not 3 tanks, you'll have to have the main tank for parents, a seperate one for egg's/fry and possibly a third for grow out of juveniles. Then bear in mind that fish don't have a family of just a few babies like a human family would, in nature the expectation is that very few would survive so you'll have a spawn of maybe 30 fish every couple of months. Now if you try to keep all the babies it's not hard to see how you would quickly become overrun, especially when the babies also start breeding with each other :blink:

So the other thing to do is speak to fish shops and see what juvi's they would take/buy from you on a regular basis. If you've nowhere to sell the babies on too then breeding is rarely a practical possibility.

So what you'll find a lot of fishkeepers do, and I include myself in this, is leave it up to natural selection, any babies born in my tanks have to make their own way in the world, just like in nature a few will survive meaning you don't become overrun, but the vast majority will be eaten by the other fish. I know it seems awful but when you look into the practicalities of breeding it's easy to see why we do it, and it is at least how nature intended!

I know that may sound awful and I don't want to put you off breeding, but want you to see both sides before you launch straight in with your first fish to try and breed. I would hate for you to end up with an overrun tank and all sorts of problems because of it.

indir-emir · Feb 2, 2009

Yeah that is indeed my girlfriend

I did suggest that we find a shop that would buy them off us if she is that keen on breeding them. Would a 5 gallong split in 2 by a divider be sufficient for them? and just remove the divider or move the female to the male and have them breed then put her back into her section?

Also, do the males care for the betta babies or will he eat them whenever possible?

P.S I am asking for her as she is in bed lol.

Regards,
Indir

Miss Wiggle · Feb 2, 2009

here's a good starter for 10 for your research http

/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=37944

in general husbandry terms you could keep two bettas in a divided 5 gallon (although i'd go for a 10 gal and give them 5 gals each, they just seem soo much happier with a bit of room), what extra room you'd need for breeding and rearing fry though I'm not sure.

indir-emir · Feb 2, 2009

Hmmm okay, i see. Ill let her know tomorrow

Anyone know if the male will eat the fry when possible? Like alot of other fish

Regards,
Indir

Miss Wiggle · Feb 2, 2009

if you read that link it explains it, dad needs to stay with the babies for a few days while they're in egg sacks, as soon as they're free swimming he needs to be removed as he'll eat them.

again as in the link you need at least one 40 gal tank as grow out if not more, you'll also need plenty of jars as the males and females will need to be separated before too long!

indir-emir · Feb 2, 2009

Yep. Great link and i thank you very much on Alannahs behalf

Ill let her know about the link tomorrow. Thank you MW

Regards,
Indir

waterdrop · Feb 2, 2009

MW, I'm forgetting, but isn't there an issue about needing a non-see-through divider possibly in addition to a see-through one with bettas so that one or the other or both bettas won't just bang themselves into the divider all day and night while there's another betta on the other side?

~~waterdrop~~