Stocking a 10-15 gallon: Bettas or Barbs?

[littletankbigworld]

Awwww...cute! 4 bettas and 2 or 3 ottos sounds like a cute little setup.

 

[bassbonediva]

Bass, are you going to do a thread on your breeding? Swipe that fancy D5000 and document your head off!QUOTE]

Yeppers, I am! It won't be for a couple of weeks since I still have to condition Alice (the female). I've got the breeding tank pretty much set up (need to run to Wal-Mart and get a replacement bulb for my hood since it just burned out yesterday*ALL*) and I've got which male I'm going to use as "bait" picked out (little Garrett, the first male in the pics I posted in this thread, is VERY fiesty, so he gets the job of being Al's "rival"...Al being the CT male in the second pic I put in this thread). I'm very excited! Newman bred his plakats and was very successful, so there is hope for me yet! *SUPERSMIL

 

[littletankbigworld]

Thank you for the advice about the petco rocks. Now, whenever I rearrange things, is it always best to place each betta in a little cup?

 

[littletankbigworld]

Good luck breeding your fishies! I'd love to see pictures as well.

 

[bassbonediva]

Thank you for the advice about the petco rocks. Now, whenever I rearrange things, is it always best to place each betta in a little cup?

I went to Goodwill and bought myself several 1gal vases, like what people usually keep bettas in mad:...yeah, can you tell that irritates me when people do that?). That way, as your females get bigger, you don't have to worry about them being all cramped in those little cups. I got most of my vases for $1 (or less if they were having a half-price day). I still saved my little cups for other things (scooping out water to put in the vases, that sort of thing).

 

[littletankbigworld]

I know how you feel. Those itsy bitsy little betta bowls that are the size of a human fist make me want to smash all betta bowls against a wall.

 

[bassbonediva]

I know how you feel. Those itsy bitsy little betta bowls that are the size of a human fist make me want to smash all betta bowls against a wall.

AMEN!!!*celebrate

 

[Doomhed]

i thought wrong when my plakat female demolished an LFS VT female.

]

I told you, plakats are crazy. They are so close to the wild caught strain they can be mega mean.

Yes, some female bettas would do better in a group of 4, but with a 12 gallon there really isn't room for that many bettas when you don't already know their personalities.

 

[littletankbigworld]

How do I make sure I'm not getting plakats? What's the difference?

 

[Newman]

chances are that if youre buying from an LFS, youre not getting plakats. King bettas from petco are as close to plakats as you can get, commercially available on a mass scale.
Plakat bettas have shorter fins to the point where an untrained eye will mistake a male plakat for a female betta.

 

[bassbonediva]

chances are that if youre buying from an LFS, youre not getting plakats. King bettas from petco are as close to plakats as you can get, commercially available on a mass scale.
Plakat bettas have shorter fins to the point where an untrained eye will mistake a male plakat for a female betta.

Totally OT, I know, but since you mentioned King bettas, I have to bring this up. Went to Petco today to get frozen bloodworms for Alice and Al and saw the PRETTIEST King betta! Most of the Kings I've seen have been darkly-colored, usually looking black with a reddish or bluish tinge. This guy was metallic blue and red, but looked more like Kenny's Heron (not sure if he has a pic of her up on here, though :/). He was incredible! If I'd had a place to put him and $14 to spend on him, he would have been coming home with meeeeeeeeee!

 

[littletankbigworld]

Ah, I see. Thank you for the information, Newman.

 

[littletankbigworld]

Totally OT, I know, but since you mentioned King bettas, I have to bring this up. Went to Petco today to get frozen bloodworms for Alice and Al and saw the PRETTIEST King betta! Most of the Kings I've seen have been darkly-colored, usually looking black with a reddish or bluish tinge. This guy was metallic blue and red, but looked more like Kenny's Heron (not sure if he has a pic of her up on here, though :/). He was incredible! If I'd had a place to put him and $14 to spend on him, he would have been coming home with meeeeeeeeee!

I know what you mean! It's hard to resist fishies sometimes!

 

[paperdog9]

I really like the Idea, good luck, and the corries would be cool to have, only if you think you have enough space!!

 

[ValRasbora]

now I want to use my spare 10 gallon for a betta sorority too

 

[littletankbigworld]

I really like the Idea, good luck, and the corries would be cool to have, only if you think you have enough space!!

I have a cory and an upside down cat in my 30 gallon, so I know how much fun they are. I think I'll get 2 or 3 ottos.

 

[littletankbigworld]

now I want to use my spare 10 gallon for a betta sorority too

Haha. If you feel confident, do it. I am really excited. At the same time, I'm also very worried.

 

[bassbonediva]

I have a cory and an upside down cat in my 30 gallon, so I know how much fun they are. I think I'll get 2 or 3 ottos.

You won't regret the otos! Mine are so freakin' adorable! When I had the 18gal tall (and less places for them to hide), they'd go nuts when I'd walk by the tank, trying to get away. I swear I could hear them screaming "Godzilla! Godzilla!!!" in that cheesy B-movie Japanese accent. They were a funny contrast to the laid-back, "Hey what's up?" female bettas.

 

[littletankbigworld]

I cannot wait to get them. They certainly do sound cute.