Hi all, new here just starting out so need some help.

[Wind_Danzer]

Guess I didn't come to the right places when reading up on starting out with this hobby.

Anyway, I got an Eclipse 5 Corner and set up the tank yesterday with rocks (cleaned properly running it through water), a few plastic plants (did the same) and got it going. After 24 hours I decided to go out and grab a few neon tetras and a Crown Betta after reading things on the Internet.

All seemed to be fine for a few hours until one of the tetras dive bombed a few times into the rocks and decided it didn't want to live anymore. Actually the other two tetras got better after the first passed so maybe they sensed something was wrong with it. At that point things went well until another tetra went MIA. I found it missing an eye in one of the plants so I'm going to assume it tried to get a little close to the Betta and the Betta didn't care for that.

Now I'm down to one tetra and the Betta.

That said and all is well with the other tetra come tomorrow morning, do you think I should get another 2 tetras as I have read up that they are a community group so I'm sure just having one in the tank right now could be stressing it out.

Also as things go on I was hoping to add in a few male guppies and a algae eater. Basically up to 8 fish, 6 about an inch and the Betta and the algae eater. I have been told that with the Eclipse systems that this wouldn't be too bad as long as I did good upkeep weekly. If not, what do you more experienced people recommend?

Oh yea, what goes well with male Betta's? I've read and been told that as long as it's not another male, then I should be fine, but if it is plucking the eyes out of the other fish, am I going to have a lot of issues with it?

 

[DclownD]

is it a male beta? as there natorius for being a solo fish iv heard u can keep females with a community... but never a male...so he was pry killing ur tetras and so was ur uncycled tank... did u treat the water at all?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

The question is whether he ate the eye out once it was already dead, or if he ate the eye out and then killed/terrorized it. If he killed that tetra, you shouldn't add any more and probably want to return the remaining one.

It sounds to me like the tank wasn't cycled, and if this is the case then you shouldn't add any new fish for a few weeks... then, get your fish store to check the water before you buy fish and don't get any unless the ammonia and nitrites are zero (and thus the tank is cycled). Neons are not very hardy so they aren't recommended to cycle with (the betta should be fine though). Keep up with water changes during this time. It's also a good time to watch the betta with that neon and make sure he's not harrassing it.

If the betta's not harassing the tetra, you could go up to a school of 3-4 with the betta and an algae eater once the tank is cycled. I wouldn't put a male guppy in with a male betta, just because the long colorful tail looks like another male betta so the guppies tend to get attacked. The algae eater would be fine, make sure to get an oto and not a pleco because plecos get very large. Also, you need to either have algae in the tank or feed it algae wafers.

 

[Illyria]

Guess I didn't come to the right places when reading up on starting out with this hobby.

Anyway, I got an Eclipse 5 Corner and set up the tank yesterday with rocks (cleaned properly running it through water), a few plastic plants (did the same) and got it going. After 24 hours I decided to go out and grab a few neon tetras and a Crown Betta after reading things on the Internet.

All seemed to be fine for a few hours until one of the tetras dive bombed a few times into the rocks and decided it didn't want to live anymore. Actually the other two tetras got better after the first passed so maybe they sensed something was wrong with it. At that point things went well until another tetra went MIA. I found it missing an eye in one of the plants so I'm going to assume it tried to get a little close to the Betta and the Betta didn't care for that.

Now I'm down to one tetra and the Betta.

That said and all is well with the other tetra come tomorrow morning, do you think I should get another 2 tetras as I have read up that they are a community group so I'm sure just having one in the tank right now could be stressing it out.

Also as things go on I was hoping to add in a few male guppies and a algae eater. Basically up to 8 fish, 6 about an inch and the Betta and the algae eater. I have been told that with the Eclipse systems that this wouldn't be too bad as long as I did good upkeep weekly. If not, what do you more experienced people recommend?

Oh yea, what goes well with male Betta's? I've read and been told that as long as it's not another male, then I should be fine, but if it is plucking the eyes out of the other fish, am I going to have a lot of issues with it?

I would remove your last Neon Tetra very quickly. Neon Tetras do fine with Betta Splendens in larger groups than 3-4(over 12) only.

 

[revfred]

From your post . . . it appears you didn't cycle the tank. Either search this site on "cycling" the tank or get some Seachem's Stability to cycle your tank quickly if you are going to put fish in it right away.

 

[Iggy]

I would remove the betta from the tank and put him in his own tank ASAP. Bettas are solitary and prefer their own space. A 5 gal is not enough territory for a betta to share with any other fish, he will want to own it all.

If you want a tropical community, I would look at a 20 gallon (garage sale is fine), it will give you a whole lot more options, and leave the betta in the 5.

Your tank is not cycled, that is, it does not have the proper bacteria colonies needed to support the fish waste, so your levels of ammonia and nitrite will rise and potentially kill all your fish.

Bettas are pretty resistant to those forms of toxins, but not tetras. There is a begginers (see READ ME) section on how to 'cycle' a tank, either fishless (before you add fish) or how to manage your water conditions if your using live fish to cycle the tank.

Key points to remember:
- Water change... do it often (at least 25% weekly at the start).
- Add fish SLOWLY, let the bio-filter catch-up (2 to 3 weeks between)
- Fish Size, about 1" adult size per 10 gallon capacity is my rule of thumb.
- Keep reading and researching, your on the right track by asking questions here, keep doing that till you have a firm understanding of the hobby.

 

[Wind_Danzer]

I did treat the water before putting in any fish so I did right by that.

The other tetra is doing well right now but I will remove him from the tank and leave the Betta in tonight. The Betta seems to be leaving it alone just fine right now.

I stopped by an aquatic store today "Ocean Floor" for those familiar in Phoenix and was told that cycling actually doesn't begin until you start with the fish. He said what you did about the tetras and also said the Betta would be fine.

I did buy some Nitromax to jumpstart the bacteria and I got a heater too to keep the temp at 79/80 degrees for now.

As for a larger tank, space is an issue and so is the apartment lease. I figured 5 gallons would be good to work with.

We'll see how it goes. Newbies always make errors when they start out even after reading up. Hopefully I have made my last few for a couple of weeks.

 

[jumpfreak26]

Well, on the cycling note, there are 2 ways to do it. fish in cycle, and fishless. read the sticky on the top of the forum. tells you everything. dont ever listen to the fish store guys, come here first, saves you from a lot of mistakes, and you spend less too, no scams. just leave your betta in there and do water changes every other day or more, and you should be cycled in about a month ish. or take youe betta out and in a bowl or something for now(water changes daily) and just put a pinch of fish food in every day and have it tested every weekend, till your ammonia and nitrites are 0

 

[Wind_Danzer]

Update....

The last tetra passed sometime while I was gone but the Betta is doing fine. I tested again today, pH is the same as last time but the ammonia has gone up while the nitrite stayed the same too. The two important ones are above 0 so it'll be a while.

I did a 20% change this evening after the water tests and added Nitromax. The filter area is starting to get what appears to be white mold (bacteria I'm hoping). The filter is a week old so it's not due for a change yet.

I need to go buy a siphon for the rocks so I can clean the gravel area. I don't see any algae yet, probably won't with only one fish in the tank but I'm sure there are food particles around considering I saw some floating around after the change.