Tankmate for my Bettas?

[Parrothead]

I've got three male Bettas, each living in their own tank (I'm guessing somewhere between 1/2 and 1 gallon each). I've considered getting a tankmate for them, both to help with housekeeping, as well as for looks. I've considered a snail, I've considered an algae eater, and I've considered one of those african aquatic frogs. I know because of the size of the tank, I'm limited to probably only one "roommate" in each tank. *GOLDFISH* From the reading I've done on this so far, I realize that this is probably one of those "ask 10 people, and you'll get 10 different answers" kinda questions, but I thought I'd throw this question out to see what kind of feedback I get. Do I get three snails? three frogs? Three algae eaters? one of each, and if somebody doesn't get along, swap them around? Discussion?

*GOLDFISH*

 

[phOOey]

well in 1/2g tank you cant really put anything with a betta. the only this id reccomend would be a single snail

EDIT: welcome to MFT!!!

 

[Dud]

2 gal's only!!!

sorry you will *****NOT**** be able to have any other FISH if you have one gal or smaller tanks.

small tank stocking article


1 Gallon
*1 Male Betta
*1 Female Betta
*Shrimp
*Snails (good for raising snails for puffers, etc)
*Live foods (brine shrimp, etc)


how bout'
*one betta
*4 small shrimp
*one snail

sorry to burst your bubble

ps.some bettas dont get along with shrimp, but some do...

 

[Flare]

I just put mine side-by-side and let them look at each other and flare, though I do put cardboard in between them at times.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

A snail or some shrimp are probably your best bets. Shrimp might need to be fed algae wafers or some thing that sinks for them. I'm not sure about snails... if you have plants, a snail could probably find enough to eat.

An african dwarf frog really needs to be heated, and I think algae eaters do also (like otos). And if you don't have algae for the otos to eat, they will starve. If one of your bettas was REALLY passive, and the tank was heated, you could try a frog. And if you made sure the water stayed clean... frogs don't swim a lot, so they don't need a lot of room, but they will add to the waste in your tank so it needs more water changes and such.

 

[Parrothead]

I've been considering adding a snail, however as I'm reading about them I'm seeing all these sites talking about snails taking over a tank. Is it possible to have just one or two snails to eat the algae and uneaten food at the bottom of the tank without them taking over? Would it be better to use a mini african frog or an algae eater instead of the snail?

 

[twoluvcats]

all frogs do is put MORE waste in your tanks...you CANNOT put one in a 1/2 gallon cup w/your bettas. ANYTHING you put in that small of a tank is just going to make MORE waste and cause problems. 1/2 gallon is just too small to try to pack the bio-load...you'll end up with sick fish.

An african dwarf frog really needs to be heated, and I think algae eaters do also (like otos).

Contrary to popular belief...BETTAS NEED TO BE HEATED TOO!! They are tropical fish, they come from hot and humid temps...yes,. they can survive in a unheated tank, but it shortens thier lifespan, affects thier coloring, and is not a fun life. They truly enjoy being in a heated tank.

 

[Parrothead]

I think I was off on the 1/2 gallon measurement. What I have are, two of the Bettas are in those Penn-Plax bow front double tank kits, except since I have two of those, I have removed the center dividers, and have one betta in each tank.

The third is in one of those Betta-Tech round bowls with the LED light.

 

[twoluvcats]

nope, not suitable for tankmates at all

 

[Parrothead]

I've got... I'll have to dig it out and look, I think it's a 20 gallon tank, I've seen a variety of dividers to partition off a larger tank for bettas. Everything from sections of glass cut to size, to framed mesh dividers. What works best with these? If I take a bigger tank like this and split it up into 3 or 4 sections, as big a tank as that is, am I going to want to have filtration, I'm guessing a heater would be a must.

 

[phOOey]

you would do best to have heater. i would use the mesh dividers because then you just need one HOB or cannister filter for the whole tank, because the water can pass through the gaps. whereas if you had glass you would need a seperate filter for each section.

your bettas will be much happier in there, id divide into four and then get another betta so each would have there own little 5g space.