What Fish can I put Betta's with?

[anasfire23]

I'm getting a new 2ft tank (no idea how many litres or gallons it will take up but it's big!)tomorrow and I'm planning on planting it out and making it a tropical tank and was thinking of putting some guppies, tetra's (neon) and maybe an angel fish or two in it. I'm just wondering if there are any fish i SHOULDN'T put the betta in with? I know that fantail goldies like to eat betta's fins but seeing as this will be a warm water tank I won't be keeping them. Are there any other fish that will do the same?Nibble the betta's fins or perhaps he'll attack or that will attack him? He's a CT so last thing I want is his fins to be nibbled and damaged. Also can anyone give me some ph level advice? Do all fish including betta's like the ph to be nutural? I've never monitored the ph level in ANY of my tanks before and managed to keep fish for a while, but I want this new tank to be a major success so figured I should learn.

[Zoe]

I'm getting a new 2ft tank (no idea how many litres or gallons it will take up but it's big!)tomorrow

Is it 2ft x 1ft x 1ft? Then it would be a 15 gallon... Or is it 2ft x 2 ft x 1ft? Then it's 30gallons
Also, you may already know about this, but do some research on the nitrogen cycle. I don't know whether you're a "beginner" or not, but it's something everyone should know

and I'm planning on planting it out and making it a tropical tank and was thinking of putting some guppies, tetra's (neon) and maybe an angel fish or two in it.

If you're putting a betta in there, you can't put any fish in with big / long fins. This includes angelfish (your tank is likely too small, anyway), gouramis and guppies. Your betta will challenge / attack any fish that looks too much like another male betta. Your best bet is to stick with smaller fish like small tetras / rasboras. You can also get some large tetras (ie bleeding heart tetras, lemon tetras) - just remember the tetras school, and depending on the size of your tank, you can't get too many "types" of fish. For exmaple, if you have a 15gallon, you can have your betta, a school of ~8 neon tetras or black neons or glowlight tetras or harlequin rasboras, a couple platies and your betta. OR a school of ~6-7 lemon tetras and your betta. Obviously if your tank is 30 gallons, you can put more in it

Also can anyone give me some ph level advice? Do all fish including betta's like the ph to be nutural? I've never monitored the ph level in ANY of my tanks before and managed to keep fish for a while, but I want this new tank to be a major success so figured I should learn.

There are certain types of fish specific pH / hardness requirements, but for the most part, whatever comes out of your tap should be fine, unless your tap water is an extreme. Invest $30 in a test kit, so you'll know for sure your ammonia, pH, hardness, etc levels of your tap water and you'll be able to monitor your tank's levels later on.

Good luck

[Puffer Pita]

Anything with long flowing fins like fancy guppies should be avoided. I also wouldn't have it with anything that moves fast or likes a lot of current, as the betta will have a hard time getting food and likes calm water. Most fish can adjust to any pH level if properly acclimated as long as the pH is stable, so don't use chemicals to adjust your pH.

[anasfire23]

Ok I have my new tank and have it stocked with 3 male guppies and 2 neon tetra's. I put my betta in the tank once it was all set up and he was on for about 3 minutes until he spotted one of the guppies and began flaring at it and attacking it, so I removed him. Ah well.

[Damon]

Are you the same Anasfire that use to be here? If so then welcome back. Been awhile.

Is the tank cycled? If not the neons (which need to be in larger groups) will not fare well.

[Zoe]

Guppies are a fish that can't be with betta. Fins are too long and flowy.

[anasfire23]

Yes i'm the anasfire that used to come on alot. I went through a totally fish free period of about 8 months so there wasn't much use coming here! No the tank is not cycled and I know everyone says that's a big no-no but I set it all up over 48 hours ago and all the fish are doing very well and i've had fish before that i've put in uncycled tanks and they've been fine. I've been feeding them up on live foods like bloodworms and brine shrimp and they love it! Also been checking the ph once a day and it's all normal. So everything should be fine. Thanks for your concern though.

Mwah

[Christine]

Just because you have had fish in an uncycled tank before that were fine (you think - it can supposedly shorten their lifespans) doesn't mean it's always like that. If it was always like that, there wouldn't be a thing called new tank syndrome. People new to the hobby wouldn't get fed up after 2-3 months and put their tanks in the attic/basement never to be used again. Sometimes things are ok and sometimes not. You need to be monitoring your ammonia levels. It also can take 2 months for a tank to cycle not just a few days. The problem isnt usually encountered in the first few days. It takes time for the ammonia to build up and then the nitrites to build up. Thats where you can run into problems. You should read the sticky in the general freshwater section titled "The Nitrogen Cycle" Good luck with your tank.

[PaPeRo]

I've setup a 30 gallong tank with a big CT Betta with 16 male/female guppies with no problems whatsoever. Of course there are floating plants too for the Betta so maybe that's why he doesn't chase the guppies. Or maybe there are just too many guppies for him to bother. I also have a veil angel, 4 gourmis, two lyretail mollies, and hifin lyretail swordtail in the same tank and he doesn't chase them either. Sometimes he would flare up if fish get close or pester him, but he doesn't actually bite them. With their long fins they're too slow to actually catch up to and do any damage to the other fish anyway even if they wanted to. The other fish don't nip at the Betta's fins either. A 15 gallon tank is half the size of a 30 gallon so you may get different results with the fish I mentioned.

Originally Posted by Zoe

Guppies are a fish that can't be with betta. Fins are too long and flowy.

Wrong....the fact an old fish starts attacking a new fish may have nothing to do with the species of fish not being compaitble with each other.

In fact I've had a couple of *peaceful* gold barbs attack a new tiger barb 4 times their size. Are you telling me that gold barbs can't be put together with tiger barbs because they attacked the tiger barb?

[aaa]

Originally Posted by PaPeRo

I've setup a 30 gallong tank with a big CT Betta with 16 male/female guppies with no problems whatsoever. Of course there are floating plants too for the Betta so maybe that's why he doesn't chase the guppies. Or maybe there are just too many guppies for him to bother. I also have a veil angel, 4 gourmis, two lyretail mollies, and hifin lyretail swordtail in the same tank and he doesn't chase them either. Sometimes he would flare up if fish get close or pester him, but he doesn't actually bite them. With their long fins they're too slow to actually catch up to and do any damage to the other fish anyway even if they wanted to. The other fish don't nip at the Betta's fins either. A 15 gallon tank is half the size of a 30 gallon so you may get different results with the fish I mentioned.



Wrong....the fact an old fish starts attacking a new fish may have nothing to do with the species of fish not being compaitble with each other.

In fact I've had a couple of *peaceful* gold barbs attack a new tiger barb 4 times their size. Are you telling me that gold barbs can't be put together with tiger barbs because they attacked the tiger barb?

you have a picture of your tank? how many betta you have? all the fishes you can put in there with no problem sounds amazing to me.

[PaPeRo]

Originally Posted by aaa

you have a picture of your tank? how many betta you have? all the fishes you can put in there with no problem sounds amazing to me.

Actually there are a lot more fish in the tank that I have not mentioned. I setup a 30 gallon acrylic SeaClear tropical community tank for my sister a couple of months ago. It has a Emperor 400 Bio-wheel HOB filter and a Visitherm Stealth 100W heater and full spectrum lighting Hagen Life Glow 2 flourescent . Gravel is medium round pebbles. It also has a few pieces of Malaysian driftwood and live plants some of them I let float for now because I haven't anch0red them down yet. The inhabitants in the tank are:

2 cherry barbs
2 gold barbs
1 tiger barb
1 green tiger barb
1 albino tiger barb
3 white clouds
4 zebra danios
1 red eye tetra
1 black lyretail molly
1 platinum lyretail molly
2 topsail platy
2 mickymouse platy
1 tuxedo platy
1 sunburst platy
1 hifin lyretail swordtail
2 honey dwarf gourami
2 dwarf/powder blue gourami
1 marble veil Angel
1 CT betta
16 guppies
3 ghost shrimp
1 cherry fire shrimp
1 Amano shrimp

That is my sister's tank which I setup. My personal tank is only 2.5 gallons has driftwood, live plants, Red Sea Nano HOB filter and 25W Visitherm Stealth heater. The 30 gallon tank was originally mine but I sold it to my sister because I needed money.

I currently have a VT Betta in my tank and a ghost shrimp. I used to have other fish but they died from disease. I used to have a cherry barb, black lyretail molly, wag platy, two guppies, and black variatus. Smaller tanks are a lot more difficult than large tanks because the water can change very fast especially when you have so many fish in a 2.5 gal tank.

I will get some pics of the tank I setup for my sister when I go up to her house to rearrange the plants.

[Puffer Pita]

Sorry, I call shenanigans. No way all of those fish are residing together in a 30g tank without some major issues.

[Fishfirst]

"No way all of those fish are residing together in a 30g tank without some major issues"
At least not for long... the bioload has been way over exeeded here... a lot of incompatible species as well. Its only a matter of time.

[PaPeRo]

Originally Posted by Boxermom

Sorry, I call shenanigans. No way all of those fish are residing together in a 30g tank without some major issues.

Then tell me which ones should be fighting or not compatible since you seem to be so knowledgeable. If you haven't done it then you have nothing to really stand on except hearsay and theory.

BTW all of the fish that are currently in that 30 gallon tank are community fish and specifically selected for thier peaceful nature.

The trick is actually to introduce the fish at the same time or in groups. In fact I still remember the order in which the fish were stocked.

[PaPeRo]

Originally Posted by Fishfirst

At least not for long... the bioload has been way over exeeded here... a lot of incompatible species as well. Its only a matter of time.

Actually the bioload has not been exceeded but thanks for the tip.

The filter is good for up to 80 gallon tanks and the tank is planted with live plants. You're talking to an expert here.

Some people THINK they know everything but without trying it, it's mere assumption based on theory and not experience. I did it so I KNOW it's doable.

[Fishfirst]

Tiger barbs are in no way peaceful. Angels will eat small fishes (say good bye to your guppies, white clouds and danios). Gourami's of the same sex are territorial to one another... so you'll end up with one dominant fish... lemmie ask you something, how long have you been keeping fish??? I would be highly surpised that you've done this for as long as anyone here who has been responding to this thread. Also, do you have any idea what the "nitrogen cycle" is and what your "bioload" is on a tank? A 30 gallon cannot support that many fish for long.

[Fishfirst]

The bioload HAS been exeeded... doesn't matter the size of the filter... its a matter of space, 02 content, DISEASE from an over crowded tank and a bunch of other variables... none of which are relieved by a larger filter to the point that the bioload is increased dramatically.

[Lydia]

You need to tone down your attitude a little bit, PaPeRo. Almost all of your posts on this forum have been rude, know-it-all posts.

[Zoe]

I'm with Tina - no way all those fish are in that tank unless they are all fry.
If all those fish are in that tank, and have been for more than a couple weeks, then I have a dozen adult pacus in my 8gal.

[Fishfirst]

http://www.fishforums.com/forum/gene...ting-fish.html

I think this is all that can be said here. This is the fishforums final stand on the issue.