Betta compatibility concerns

[tormo]

Long time reader, first time post.

I've got some compatibility concerns about my new Betta. I just added a male Betta to my tank, which has just finished cycling. I have 6 white cloud minnows (3 are still very small, very young) and a ramshorn snail in there already, in a fairly well planted tank. Before the arrival of the Betta, the 3 young wcm swam as a school at the top of the tank, and the other three swam around as singles, exploring their tank. The snail blazed around the tank, his / her long antenna flowing in the slight current.

After the arrival of the Betta, all 6 minnows school close together at the water's top, and the snail SLOWLY inches along, barely out of his / her shell, and I haven't seen his / her antenna out at all. The betta seems happy enough, swimming around, aggressively exploring the whole tank.

The betta is incredibly beautiful, but I fear I did the original tank occupants a great disservice... hopefully the minnows will eventually reclaim their tank once they get used to the betta. On the other hand, I'm kinda suspect the betta might have bitten off the snail's antennas... every time I see the big blue bastard wolf down some freeze-dried bloodworms I get shudders.

Well, now I'm thinking of adding 2 honey gouramis and a bunch of cherry shrimp. Will the betta attack the gouramis (especially those long hairlike fins)? Will the cherry shrimp end up being lobster buffet? Should I consider golden leopard danios instead of honey gouramis?

Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.

 

[Lotus]

Thanks for finally posting

Bettas and gouramis don't generally get on, and it's likely to turn into a bloodbath. The danios might work. What size tank do you have?

Some bettas will be OK with shrimp, others won't. I had a betta who would immedietly attack any shrimp I put in the tank, but some have had success.

I'm personally a fan of keeping bettas in their own tank, possibly with an African dwarf frog. I just think it's safer and happier for all the fish/creatures. Others have been successful with bettas in community tanks, though.

 

[Chazwick]

I second what Lotus asks about what tank size you have.... Male Bettas tend to be a little aggressive if they don't have much room to themselves, although some are pretty good in nature. I recommend, if things don't clear up, taking the Betta back and perhaps getting a female instead.

 

[tormo]

Thanks for the input. As for the size of the tank, it's an Eclipse 6, which is a 6 gallon tank with the Marineland Eclipse filter system. It came pretty highly recommended by the store staff at just about every aquarium store I went into, and a few of them said that I should have a bit more bioload available to me in it, so long as I carried out regular water changes (every week or two).

Things are starting to settle down in the tank now... the minnows are starting to spread out a little, although the smaller ones are still staying near the surface for the most part. The snail is still missing its antenna (eyestalks?), but still getting around... I dropped in a fragment of an algae tablet for it and it was happy as a clam for awhile.

The betta is very very active... my wife and I went to a store that specialized in bettas (the owners are award-winning betta breeders, although they carry fish of all kinds), and picked out the betta that seemed the most active (thus the healthiest, by our reasoning). He loves to swim all over the place, poking through the plants, under the rocks, up and down in the corners, etc. It's this activity that may be spooking the minnows a bit, but he doesn't seem to be trying to establish territory, just having fun swimming (who can blame him, after being in a 3/4gallon cube at the store). Man... he's a beautiful sight, with his sweeping blue fins shimmering in the aquarium lights.

That being said, I kinda agree with you Chazwick... I've considered trading him in for a female betta. However, my plan right now is to prep my old 1 gallon desktop tank and have it ready for when I finally add the next fish. I'll sit and watch how things develop for a bit, fish net in hand. If there's a problem, I'll scoop up "Big Blue Bastard" and give him the 1 gallon all to himself (perhaps upgrade him to a 2 gallon tank at a later date). Ideally, I'd like to see him in the same tank as the others, but not at the expense of making EVERYONE in the tank miserable. So far, it's looking promising... minnows and snail are starting to look less nervous.

Lotus, I hear what you say, but I'd LOVE to see the bright red gouramis contrasting with the brilliant blue betta, and I've heard assurances from the staff of two different stores that the red honey gouramis should be compatible due to their generally peaceful nature. I don't know, maybe they're just saying that because they're worried about losing a sale... I just don't know. The gold leopard danios are kind of a backup choice for me, altho they look nice in their own way. Like I said, I'll give it a shot, fish net in hand, eyes glued to the tank, backup tank at ready.

Update to follow. Opinions?

 

[Chazwick]

Good luck, whatever you do If all goes wrong, i'm sure Big Blue wouldn't mind a smaller tank to himself... if you feel like upgrading, i recommend a 2.5 gal from the 1gal, so much more roomy and you could even get an african dwarf frog in with him

 

[tormo]

Just added an otto and 3 cherry shrimp. The betta just HAD to check them out, taking a tip at a shrimp, and headbutting the otto a few times. After that, he settled down a bit, but he's such an agressive swimmer around the mid-level of the tank that he kinda spooks the other fish.

So..... I've decided to move him to another tank. There was an Eclipse Explorer 2 on sale at the pet food store around the corner (unfortunately, only in a bright blue trim, I would have preferred black, but if anyone asks why I chose blue, I'll tell them it matched the betta), which I will pick up this week and start cycling. I can't emphasize enough how much I like my Eclipse 6, so I saw this sale as a heavy handed hint from above.

So, the new plan is to move the male betta to his own 2 gallon tank, and possibly add a mystery snail and perhaps 2 tiny shrimp (the wife doesn't like the aquatic frogs much), and of course, one or two plants.

As for the Eclipse 6, I'm thinking of replacing the male betta with 2 sunset honey gouramis and a female betta, but are female bettas THAT much less aggressive?

 

[FroggyFox]

I think a 6 gallon is way too small to put two gouramis into...let alone adding a betta and with the white clouds and the otto?? Like Lotus said...you pretty much dont ever put gouramis with bettas, they are in the same family and treat each other like they would if you put more than one betta in a tank...its not going to be pretty so I would just not even think about it. I would pick ONE fish to add if you have to add something...but I'd say you're pretty near full as it is. Whether you've gotten assurances from a pet store or not...read up on all the gourami horror stories there have been on this forum and you might start doubting their validity...I know I would.

 

[DEADLIFT]

Yep i would agree Honeys are the good little guys of the gourami world. They could mix with something peaceful like pearls (which I have done) or something like croaking gouramis but with a betta its not gonna be a fight............its gonna be a slaughter*thumbsdow poor guys.

 

[shift_9k]

How do you tell the difference between male or female betta?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Female betta and a gourami might work, I think two gouramis and a female betta would be really overstocking that tank. I've got a female betta with a female opaline gourami and they're fine together. You're gonna have a full tank without the danios.

Um, if you think the betta chewed the antenna off the snail, why would you want to put another snail with him?

Shift: Males are the ones you normally see. They have the longer, flowing fins, females have the same colors but they have short fins.

 

[shift_9k]

So Petsmart probably wont carry any females huh? Also would bottom dwelling fish like corys work?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Probably not... mine doesn't. Will cories work for what?

 

[MOsborne05]

Pet Supplies Plus and Wal-Mart in my area normally have female bettas. They are normally very drab looking though, with very little color. Sometimes you can find a nice one. I didn't have a very good experience ordering online from www.aquariumfish.net, but they did send me some really nice colorful females.

Don't know what your question is, but cory's are great little fish. They are very active and are constantly scouring the bottom for food. They should be kept in groups though, no fewer than 6.

 

[echoofformless]

Pet Supplies Plus and Wal-Mart in my area normally have female bettas. They are normally very drab looking though, with very little color. Sometimes you can find a nice one. I didn't have a very good experience ordering online from www.aquariumfish.net, but they did send me some really nice colorful females.

Don't know what your question is, but cory's are great little fish. They are very active and are constantly scouring the bottom for food. They should be kept in groups though, no fewer than 6.

Generally speaking, female bettas will not show any real color until they're happy. I actually prefer them to the males, and I always pick one up whenever she's in a cup looking sad. Then I get her home, give her some good water and some yummy food...a little attention and some of whatever else seems to happen...and I get a beautiful fish with an interesting little attitude.

 

[Tsunami]

Well, I have to confirm that male bettas and gouramis are a bad idea, I learned the painful way. I had a beautiful purple and white betta in a four gallon tank and about 2 weeks ago, I added a dwarf fire gourami. Yes, I was thinking of the colors. Splash, (the betta) met a sad and untimely death yesterday. He had been hanging around in the plants quite a bit, and my partner told me she saw the gourami harrassing him. Well, he harrased him to death. I feel so bad. Now I am trying to decide whether I should add another fish, but am perplexed as to what may live peaceably with the dwarf fire. Any suggestions?

 

[longtyme68]

I just pulled one of my three Bettas out of my 75 gal community tank. He and my new red-tail shark got into it and I woke up the next morning to a missing red-tail shark. I have still yet found him, and am concerned that he may have been eaten by the Betta...don't know how or why, but is it possible?

 

[Sandtiger]

Not likely, bettas are carnivores but they usually don't go after large prey. Every betta I've ever owned only attacked things smaller than him. One betta I had was scared of my cories! How big is your shark.

 

[longtyme68]

Not likely, bettas are carnivores but they usually don't go after large prey. Every betta I've ever owned only attacked things smaller than him. One betta I had was scared of my cories! How big is your shark.

The shark was about 1.5" and so is the betta minus his flare. I have a feeling the red-tail just jumped out near the filter. I need to replace the old plexiglass cover for the lights.

 

[tormo]

Quick update on the betta and gouramis from the beginning of this thread:

Betta doing well in his own 2gallon planted tank. About a month ago, I got him a roommate in the way of an aquatic dwarf frog. There was a brief scuffle when the frog first got in there (betta wanted a taste of frog legs, then frog wanted a taste of betta tail fin, after they both figured out that the other was not suitable food, they got along just fine... they even hang out together once in awhile).

The 6 gallon tank now has two sunset honey gouramis in it, one male and one female. Each of them is probably less than 2inches in length, altho the female is a bit bigger than the guy. The male is fairly shy, and likes to hide amongst the plants, while the female is fearless, and chases the male around whenever she feels a bit "randy". There are also a few cherry and japonica(sp?) shrimp, 2 snails, an otto, and a few tiny white cloud mountain minnows. A weekly water change keeps the nitrate levels very minimal (read: barely registering with my water testing kit), which came as a bit of a suprise... everyone keeps telling me that my tank is overstocked, but it's been going like this for about a month with no problems.

At this point, I figure I'm done fiddling with things. Everyone seems happy, and nitrate and ammonia levels look good. I was a bit disappointed that the betta didn't take to being in a tank with other kinds of fish (especially since I've seen plenty of single bettas in community tanks in many local fish stores around here), but my particular betta seems to be a bit too active and aggressive compared to some. However, I'm pretty happy with how things are now... he loves his new digs, and gets along great with the frog... they'll even nibble at both ends of the same block of frozen bloodworms at the same time (a la "The Lady and The Tramp").

Thanks for the input all.

 

[ninamarie]

so froggies are good roomies for bettas what dothey have to eat?