What Eats What? Stocking Can Be Hard...

[quantumnerd]

I've wanted a betta in my tank, But woop-de-doo, lookie here...
Will a betta eat my planned tetras? Or will it be bullied by my swordtails?

Even more aggravating, I dont know whether I can mix and match my tetras, instead of having to fuffil the species-only shoaling requirement of six!

Any help? Thanks!

P.S. My fish have calmed down: looks like some minor issue like the T.V. or something was making them freak.

 

[Pleccy]

I wouldn't be concerned about the betta eating your tetras (it's virtually impossible) but rather I would be concerned about the tetras nipping the betta's fins, especially buenos aires tetras. All tetras posess a set of very small teeth, just like pihrana.
Also I would recommend keeping each species of tetra in a group of at least six, different species won't shoal together.

Could you provide a few more details about your tank and what sort of tetras you are planning to get?

 

[Davo86]

I've wanted a betta in my tank, But woop-de-doo, lookie here...
Will a betta eat my planned tetras? Or will it be bullied by my swordtails?

Even more aggravating, I dont know whether I can mix and match my tetras, instead of having to fuffil the species-only shoaling requirement of six!

Any help? Thanks!

P.S. My fish have calmed down: looks like some minor issue like the T.V. or something was making them freak.

Hi there, firstly what tanksize do you have?

bettas are risky with anything tbh and depends entirely on the temperament of the specific betta,
some will eat small tetras and harass other fish, whilst some will get totally ripped apart by tetras and chased by larger species.
now and again they get on ok but personally you are best off keeping the betta in a 5-7G tank on its own.

you can mix the majority of tetras no problem, just keep them all in shoals,
not one of these and one of those, by doing this the fish don't seem to know how to act and will often become much more aggressive than normal

 

[quantumnerd]

I have a 29 gal, and I have room for 12 tetras in my stocking plan.

How many species of tetra can I keep in there? four species, with three fish shoals, or two species, with six fish shoals?

 

[Davo86]

2 shoals of 6 will look and act much more naturally

 

[Pleccy]

I would go with two shoals of six specimens, or even better one shoal of one species, the larger the group is the more natural they will behave.

 

[quantumnerd]

Hmmmm...

-sigh-

So much for mix and matching those beautiful breeeds =P

I guess Im still stickin with the Cardinal tetras.

Oh, and I heard barbs needed to shoal too...

Can I mix three rosy barbs with nine golden ones?

 

[Pleccy]

I think golden barbs would be a bit big, considering that they grow to 8cm/3" and are quite active. How about six rummynose tetras and six cardinal tetras?

 

[quantumnerd]

I think that I'll be sticking with cardinals, cause the other species don't look all that colorful compared to them, and the golden ones would look too much like the barbs.

P.S.Edit But can I mix the three rosy barbs with the nine golden ones?

 

[Pleccy]

Yes you can mix the barbs, but I wouldn't do it in a 29 gallon tank.

 

[quantumnerd]

hmm, very interesting, watson!

Actually, would this fit in my tank?

1 betta, 7 golden barbs, 3 rosy barbs, 10 cardinal tetras, a male swordtail, and two female swordtails?

The online stocking guide sayyys so....
But forgive me, I'm a bit skeptical =P

 

[pirate monkey]

I think that I'll be sticking with cardinals

cardinals are beautiful, and more stunning the larger the shoal IMHO. I had a bad experience with them however, I put some in my tank when it was very new, and they didn't survive. Unfortunately, like many other species, cardinals require a mature tank, so you'll be best waiting a few months before getting some.

It's terribly frustrating setting up a new tank - you want 2 of those, one of those, 3 of those, and then you find out you really should have them in large groups so you have to choose one or 2 different shoaling species and stick to those. Then you get told you have to wait a while before you can have them - I went through the same issues!

Believe me, your tank will look amazing if you stick to one or 2 shoals. If you would like a hardy species to put in a new tank, I highly recommend silver tip tetras, they are really fun to watch, very active and playful. I'm sure there are other species that are also hardy, but I have had mine since day 1, and they're brilliant. You could then add your cardinals later on.

HTH