Fish compatibility for a new tank

[landrumdh]

My 55 gallon has FINALLY started to cycle, the ammonia isn't at 0 yet but it's dropping and I've got nitrates with no nitrites.

I spent a bunch of time fish watching at the LFS and am I'm trying to put figure out what I wanted to get for fish. I was thinking about the following :

1 Betta
10+ Tetra's
some guppies (how many for a good school?)

Maybe some swordtails also for some larger fish. According to a fish compatibility chart all of the these fish are compatible with each other.

Ideas / thoughts / concerns?
*BOUNCINGS

 

[d3sc3n7]

Well, that looks pretty good but you will still have a ton of room for fish. I dont think guppys are a schooling fish though. Mine dont, they just do their own thing. Careful with the guppys, they will stock that tank up faster than you'd believe. baby baby everywhere!!! Especially if you have alot of plants and stuff for the fry to hide in. To avoid that, get all males.

 

[landrumdh]

Yeah I don't want babbies all over the tank, so I'll have to go all single sex. They didn't appear to school but they were a lot of activity at the LFS tanks.

 

[d3sc3n7]

Oh they are a very very active fish. They have tons of color. If your going for a non agressive tank, guppys will be a good addition. With mine, I have about 15 fry right now, and 2 more prego females!!

 

[landrumdh]

The betta is aggressive, but the compatability chart I found shows that it won't bug the guppies? I'm hopping that's true! Both are very pretty fish, and I think a beta would make a great top fish for the tank.

 

[pwrmacG4]

guppy males have the most vibrant colors.. and yes they breed like nymphos!

 

[d3sc3n7]

Betta can be aggressive yes, but the Betta will probably choose a territory and keep it. Long as the others stay out of there, everyone should be happy.

 

[landrumdh]

My tank has a full cover with only a tiny bit of exposure where the canister filter inputs are (along with the wires for heater and powerhead) and I'm hoping my cat doesn't start fishing. She's already decided that the top of the fish tank is a good place to chill out so I think she'll get a lot of enjoyment out of this also.

 

[TabMorte]

I wouldn't put guppies with a male betta. The male will beat the crap out of them because their bright tails make them a 'threat'.

If you want a similiarly bright colored fish I would look at endlers live bearers? Thier color isn't on their tails so they're a little less likely to be nipped. For tetras you could go with something a little less standerd too and more likely to stand out like the red eyes or something. There's a wide variety if you look around.

If you really like the guppies you could go with a gourami instead of a betta. I think they're less prone to tail nipping.

 

[MissFishy]

I wouldn't put a betta in a tank that large, they can often be disoriented in large tanks since they are often raised in small cups. This can lead to them not being able to find food, get sufficient air, or be able to swim properly since they are not adapted to have currents. The rest seems fine, but I suggest you only add the tetras and a few guppies first, then sit down and think about what else you might want to keep before stocking. You also want to give the tank a few weeks to catch up with the bio-load.

 

[TabMorte]

Bettas do do best in 5 to 10 Gallons you're right. I didn't think of that.

 

[roark fishies]

I didn't know that about bettas in a smaller tank. But I had decided on my own not to mix a betta with my guppies. I have one that could almost pass for a betta with the long flowing fins. I would be afraid the betta would take offense.
As for guppies schooling, I only have 2 but they always hang out. At one time I had 3 and they all hung out most of the time. Until an uncycled tank wiped em all out.

What about a pair of angels? Or a gourami?

Tab, how do you have 2 bettas in the same tank? Females?

 

[pwrmacG4]

you could go with a pair of dwarf gourami's, but I wouldn't put more than that in any one tank.. I had 3 and one was playing tough guy to the other 2.

angel fish require softwater conditions..and are delicate from what I heard.

 

[roark fishies]

Dwarf, I was going to ask you how your 2 gourami's got along. I want to get at least one eventually. Possibly 2.

 

[pwrmacG4]

they get along with all the fish I have in the tank.. I did have 3 of them. and no matter how much hiding space there was he would always seek them out to nip at them and chase them. but after I removed him.. no problems.. I also have a blue paradise fish. beautiful fish. I think that I will get one more of them. they are part of the gourami family.

 

[d3sc3n7]

Yeah, before I lost one of my gourami they got along great...they would swim and play all the time. I think, as dwarf said, more than 2 is to many.

 

[RoxnSox]

when are you gonna get another gourami?

 

[landrumdh]

Wow thanks everybody! I knew beta's didn't like other showy fish, but the compatibility chart I found showed that they would be ok. I wasn't aware that beta's didn't like larger areas, I figured s/he'd appreciate a nice large tank to play in!

I'm hoping my cycle finishes this week (almost there!!!) and I was going to pickup 1 school of tetra's (the LFS had several varieties) with 1 group schooling really well, so I might try to buy that school . I was also going to pickup a couple guppies then go hunting for some other fish, but was going to wait a bit (cost a bio load as mentioned).

 

[iapetus]

I would actually be concerned for the betta for another reason. Bettas aren't that fast; and, I've heard that those flowy fins are attractive to fin nippers. Some tetras might pick on the betta for that reason.

 

[TabMorte]

I have a male and a female in one tank roark which I know is totally wrong but every time I try and remove one from the tank they both get totally stressed out and my massive black skirts start picking on the remaining one. So they stay together. My fish are freaks of nature I tell you.

As far as Tetra and Betta compatability I"ve never had a problem (except when I screwed up the pecking order of the tank) with them being picked on I HAVE had problems making sure the Bettas get their food though because the Tetras are super fast and aggressive. I wound up having to use two seperate feeding rings.