How do I keep my water clear??

[Brian2]

So Brian, does that mean that you are going to take your fish back? That's really hard, but you are doing the right thing. I'm sad for you, but, kinda sorta happy for your fish. Good on you. Very much the right call.
And now, yay! You get to think about an awesome betta living in that tank. Keep us posted!

I was going to take them back, but luckily my girlfriend has a 20 gallon tank at home with nothing but a plecostomous in it and she was looking for a few fish to go with him. So I can still see my fish when I go over to her house!!!

But I went out and I bought a very pretty blue male betta and suprisingly the creatures that I thought did nothing but sit in a tiny little cup of water all day actually swim around a lot! But something that I was going to consider was putting a small cory in with it due to the fact that the pet store I bought the betta at said that they could live in something as small as a 1 gallon tank. Is this a possibility for a friend with my betta??

 

[lauraf]

Yay Brian! I'm so happy that your fish are going into a tank that you will be able to follow! And bettas are very interesting when they are not just sitting in a cup of water. All fish when they have room to move are delightful!
Cories really want to be with other cories, and have room to race around in, so a cory in a 3g is way way way too small. Your lfs saying, and I'm quoting here: " they could live in something as small as a 1 gallon tank" - is just the wrong way of thinking about fish.
Anyhoo, your betta doesn't really 'need' a friend - he's probably happiest without other fish - but a couple of shrimp or a snail would be okay in that tank. And a plant or two would be nice.
BTW, I am so not a betta expert - let the other betta experts chime in here please.

 

[bassbonediva]

Laura, you're right. 3 gallons is WAY to small for even pygmy cories. Some bettas are okay with shrimp and/or snails. I have a couple of boys that would love to make a snack out of some shrimps, but I have one other boy (Aidan in my Hex5) who has two otos in with him (that tank is prone to algae for some reason) and he completely ignores them. So, it depends on the betta boy. You could try some ghost shrimp and if they work, upgrade to red cherry shrimp once your tank gets really established and settled down (RCS are a little more sensitive to water parameters than ghost shrimp). I'm thinking about getting some shrimp for my 5gal bowfront tank, actually.

 

[littletankbigworld]

Your girlfriend should definitely rehome her pleco. A pleco belongs in a 55 gallon or larger tank and 20 gallons is way too small.

Good luck with your betta. He will be happiest alone (or with a snail) in your tank.