Ten gallon tank + betta question

[Chirpy]

You've gotten lots of great advice above. Here's a great site to help with any fish questions: http://www.aquahobby.com/

I do want to warn you to be very careful about getting fish from a pet store. Pet stores don't usually take good care of their fish and have regular Ick outbreaks and other issues. If you don't have a good fish store to get your fish from then make sure you always quarantine any fish you bring home from pet stores before adding them to your tank. (Of course, it's always best to quarantine any fish from anywhere before adding it to your tank.)

Also, someone mentioned that bettas are often raised in quart jars (or small tanks); yes they can be but IMO it's cruel. It would be like throwing you in a small bathroom for your life. You could live there but it wouldn't be healthy or mentally stimulating.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Quote:
Thanks! What I plan on doing is adding the fish to the tank first and remove the betta for a while until things settle down. Since I have no other occupants in the tank, I won't have to worry about anyone else getting infected. I figure that way my betta is protected from illnesses and the new tank dwellers will establish the tank as their territory rather then the betta guarding it as his! I can keep him separated for as long as I have to.

When I was younger I used to keep bettas in very small containers. Many of my friends still do. It's very unfortunate and I haven't known many who live very long in those conditions. It just makes me sad because the bettas really do love swimming around!

I went to return my filter and finally managed to find one that wasn't cracked. I think something must have been wrong with that whole shipment! Hopefully this one will work out. I also bought a thermometer and after my birthday I will be getting a heater (I know, I should have one already for my betta, but it's one thing I never bought) I also looked at the platys (mind you, this was at walmart and I would never buy from there) but I really liked the look of platys. They had lots of different colors to choose from and they even had black and white ones that looked like smaller versions of the mollies i liked.

If I wanted to add three corys (Ones that stay on the smaller side) and the betta, how many platys would be safe to add? I was thinking three or four. Is that correct? If I do four, I will add them two at a time. If I do three, I will add three at a time.

Thanks for all the great advice!

 

[Cats Critters]

I had a male betta in a tank with Neon tetras, feeder guppies, and some catfish with no problems.

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

If you stick with non-aggressive fish ..besides the Betta.. and you adhere to the "inch of fish per gallon of water" rule (with exception of cichlids, goldfish and plecostomus) ...your tank should do well.

Good Luck!

 

[snowydiamonds]

Agree w/chirpy and Pat- When I was posting last night, I was thinking you had live plants but seeing the pics today, see they are plastic so you don't have to worry so much about the lack of oxygen. I wouldn't go w/more or less than four platy's.

Added: Though danio's live near the surface or top half, they are fast movers- not a good choice for slow movers, stressful...

 

[raindrop]

Oh, you guys make me want to set up my tank again!
I had a wonderful community tank that included a male betta, some tetras of some sort, and some other common fish I don't remember anymore. They all got along great.
I would repeat the advice to avoid a powerful filter, my tank had a lot of plants and rock in it (I build a rock wall up the back that kind of divided the tank a little) and one day I was cleaning and had the rock wall taken down and the plants out and I put the betta back in before I was done since he was looking stressed and he got sucked up the filter intake spout....

Sad. I learned a lesson.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Snowydiamond,

I actually do have a few plants, but they are cuttings of others from the master tank in the kitchen. They are too tiny to really see. I'm hoping to let them grow larger and have my room mate snag me some more. Eventually I was to replace the plastic plants with real ones. Is there anything special I should do for the plants?

I was going to purchase a heater but bought a thermometer first to see what the temp in the tank was. I'm glad I did because it is reading at a steady 78*. That seems to be the recommended temp for bettas and the other fish I am considering. The only time I may need to get a heater is during the winter when I have my break. The tank will be in the basement during the winter and it can sometimes get colder down there (heated, finished basement, but still a basement!). I will have to see when the time comes though. I'm glad I don't have to shell out $30 for a heater though! I would if I had to, but no use if the tank is already heated adequately.

I feel pretty set with four platys and three corys. I think that will be a neat little set up!

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Also wanted to add that the filter seems to be working fine. The tank has gotten a little cloudy since I have put it in, but that is to be expected. I'm going to borrow my friend's water testing kit just to run some tests. I don't expect anything out of the ordinary though.

Also doesn't seem like the current is too strong. I put it all the way in the corner and there are plenty of dead spots. The betta seems to be happy!