Ten gallon tank + betta question

[helmstead]

I have always kept a beta in my community tropical tank. (all various types of tetras) As long as there isn't too much water movement, it will be fine. Just dont get gouramis - the betas will attack them.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Yeah, I had a gourami once and even though they are beautiful I think it would just get way too big for my little tank! Even though the ten gallon looks huge to me, any fish could outgrow it too fast!

I think the water current should be fine, but I can diffuse it if need be. There are plenty of places for the fish to hide and I will be adding more once I find them/buy them.

Mollies and platys get along, don't they? I'm gonna play around with different groupings for awhile in my head and probably pay a visit to the pet store one more time just to get a feel for the true size of the fish I want to add. I probably will not do any adding for a couple of weeks or so.

 

[amyquilt]

Stay away from other aggressive or semi-agressive fish.

My father used to have 2 tanks, one with just live bearers and the other with a mixed "community" type fish. The community type fish did best with a male beta. Zebra fish, Tetras and Neons. All were docile and did fine with the male beta. The live bearer tank...no babies ever(they got eaten) and even though they are pretty docile fish, they constantly picked on the betas fins.

I prefer to keep my beta in it's own 2 gallon octogon tank with the undergravel filter. I've constantly had one like this for the past 10 years. My beta will live for around 2.5-3 years. I'm on my 3rd in 10 years...I guess that's living pretty long. I keep the tank on m y kitchen cabinet where I can see him and talk to him off and on all day long.

 

[amyquilt]

Quote:
Mollies and Platies are live bearers, as are Guppies and Swordfish.

 

[patandchickens]

I've had (single) bettas in several community tanks over the years, 10-20 gallon. Agree with nearly everything said above: avoid anything with ANY tendancy to get nippy, and avoid anything that itself is a big 'nip me' target. And avoid anything you don't want its eggs/fry eaten, of course

I've not had good luck putting zebra danios with bettas, actually - swordfish either (nipping the bettas fins). I would discourage anyone from keeping Mollies in a community tank as they are such ick magnets and your other fish really don't need typhoid mary as a roommate

(Plus they do better with a bit of salt in the water, not ideal for most other community type fish such as tetras and corys)

If you have corydoras or loaches, PLEASE put in a nice small herd of them, they are NOT really solitary fish. Not only do they seem much happier and grow better when in groups, lone individuals sometimes get nippy. (Yes, even corys) I would suggest at least three.

Kuhli loaches are neat but be aware that they are basically hidey and nocturnal fish. I've had a lot over the years and a number have turned into fairly exhibitionist creatures over time, spending a decent amount of time out in the open during daylight... but some never do, and it can take as much as a couple years before others decide to show themselves on a regular basis. In a reasonably well planted and appointed tank that is. Actually I had one 20 gallon that I put 4 kuhlis into, only ever saw one, figured the other three had died somewhere, and then 4.5 yrs later when taking down the tank for a move, found the other three kuhlis still in there, big and fat and happy. NEVER saw them

This is something to consider in a small tank where you are real limited in the amount of total fish you wanna put in there.

I've not had problems with water current with bettas, but I have never been one for really big whoooooshing filter currents either

For your fish's health it would really be a good idea to let the tank cycle for at least a month EVEN WITH 'OLD' GRAVEL (which is definitely a good thing to add, unless there have been disease e.g. ick problems inthe tank it came from). And then load the tank gradually, over a period of a number of months.

And really, the fewer fish you put in there, the better. A 10 gallon with a betta and maybe 3 modest-sized corys (the pandas are nice, and stay small) and maybe 3-4 of one kind of docile hardy tetra or platies, would be a nice setup, IMO.

Have fun,

Pat

 

[hcammack]

This thread it making me miss my fish I had all different types of Mollies dalmation and orange were my favorites they were always breeding which was fun I had to get one of those fry tanks where they live.

 

[Hackles]

Khuli Loaches grow far to large and are far to fast moving for a 10 gallon tank. as mentioned before corys do best in groups. they are social. You do not want a molly ,They require a mild salinity, are very nippy, many hobbyist keep the in purely freshwater tanks , and that is why they break out with Ick, Do not add any fish to the beta's tank that look's like they even remotely resemble each other.(such as Gouramis, Paradise fish). neon tetras are an excellent suggestion, bare in mind these are grouping fish aswell. Unless you have a carnivorous fish to feed I would not recommend getting guppies they are VERY prolific breeders, and will quickly overrun your tank causing the nitrates to spike uncontrollably.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Thanks everyone!

I'm definitely going to go with three corys. I will have to scope out the pet store and see what kinds they have. I may be able to make a trip to this very large LFS down the road from the college. They may have more of a selection.

I think I'm going to look into the platys. I'm pretty sure I will stay away from the mollies. Just seemed like I couldn't get any information on them via the internet!

I'm going to return my filter today (and pick up a new UN cracked one!) and I will put some of the cycled substrate in the tank. I may even pick up a test kit so that I can keep an eye on the ammonia levels. That way I should know when it is a good time to add fish. I have no problem waiting a month though. My little betta seems happy with all his new room! He's been swimming all around and checking everything out.

I'm thinking of going with three corys and possibly three to four platys. I was looking up different colors and really like the look of them. I want to try and get fewer larger fish rather than more small fish because it will be easier to scoop them out when I need to transport the cage home.

Thanks again for all the advice. Any more is certainly welcome! I am very excited to get my new tank going.

 

[bufforps]

If you bring in a water sample, petsmart will test the water for you for free (or at least they used to).

 

[enola]

Gouramis are a definite NO NO. I have kept a single male betta in a 55 gallon tank with guppies, neons, mollies, cories. The tank was planted and had landscaping rocks amongst the plants. I also had 3 female bettas in the tank. He stayed at one end and the females stayed a the other end. I had another fast swimming, very active fish (a school of them) in the tank that I cannot remember the name of right now. I had to remove them though, them made the betta nervous. I guess he thought they were going to attack him sooner or later. For filtration, I had a filter on the back of the tank and an under gravel filter (20 gallon tank size) in the front clear part of the aquarium.