Betta mansion

[j_diaz01]

Got a fluval spec V. Going to set it up as a nice home for a betta. Was thinking to add maybe 3 pygmy cories or 3 dwarf frogs so the betta isnt all alone. What you guys think?


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[ZebraDanio12]

For a five gallon thats quite a bit. It also depends on the bettas behavior. He may be fine with the fish, he may not and could kill them. All bettas are different. Get to know your betta first.

[FRIENDLYFISHIES]

ive also heard dwarf frogs can really amp up the ammonia in a tank, If it were me id just get one dwarf frog, not 3, but im not really into them so I probably wouldnt get any in reality lol. The 3 pygmies may work though, depending on the temperment of the betta. Its usually best to quarenteen first for 2 weeks, then remove the betta, rearrange the tank (plants, decor), add the pygmys, let them explore for a while, then re-add the betta, this limits territoral behaviors in the betta, hopefully LOL. Good luck!

[lohachata]

the betta will not bother the cories..

[JasonR]

As stated it totally depends on the particular betta, mine couldn't live with anything as he killed lots of corys and other fish. If you do get pygmy corys tho they should be in groups of at least 6 really as they shoal together

[lohachata]

i just can't figure out where everybody gets all the evil bettas that kill everything...i have never had a betta that bothered cories..

[C. King]

My bettas were great with cories, too. In fact, I've had them in community tanks with success, just one to a tank. The frogs, however, have been fin nippers. I don't mix amphibians with my tropical fish anymore for that reason.

[FRIENDLYFISHIES]

Lol Loha, for the most part, I havent had a lot of exp mixing tank mates with my bettas...I have one thats ripped the antenna things off my snails and another who is very sweet to his snail...in the past ive had a male VT kill and rip to shreds several neon tetras within 2 days he had to be seperated. Just depends on the betta *shrugs shoulders* but for the most part ive heard good things about bettas and tank mates...i personally just play it safe with the introduction of the tankmates then the addition of the betta and be prepared to seperate if it doesnt work out. The more room and more hiding places the better

[j_diaz01]

Thanks for all the input. Just bought a nice stand for the tank. Heaters in, sand is in. Biological filter media is getting seeded in my main tank. I should have my new betta roommate very soon! Ill post pictures.


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[FRIENDLYFISHIES]

Nice, cant wait to see!

[NBBetta]

Are you planning on having live plants in this tank? I also have a Fluval Spec V that you could consider "overstocked." But I cycled it properly, slowly added fish, planted it heavily and had very good water quality (until one day, which I will get to in a second...).

In my Fluval Spec V I had a male Veiltail Betta, seven Neon Tetras (who were just as active an healthy as the Neons in my 32 gallon and being kept in a shoal kept them from nipping), one Amano Shrimp, five Ghost Shrimp and a Mystery Snail. Technically, it was overstocked. I did daily water changes, the filter in those things is waaaay over sized, and it was heavily planted with low-medium light plants.

The one day that I mentioned is when one Neon got sick. In hind sight I should have taken him out of the tank, but it was 11 o'clock at night, this was my first Nano tank, and I was hoping he could pull through. Also, my Betta was taking good care of him. Yes, my Betta. The rest of the school was off swimming around, but my Betta would swim down, gently grab the little Neon when he was too weak to swim, and bring him up to his favorite leaf (where he always built bubble nests), and set him there. It reminded me a lot of the behavior that the males exhibit when rearing fry. They fall from the nest and he goes and brings them back up. ANYWAY I don't mean to hijack this thread, I just want to point out that not all Bettas are vicious monsters. This Betta, Klaus, has been my absolute favorite.

Unfortunately in small tanks you have to be very diligent. If a fish seems sick remove it immediately. Small problems that are nothing in a big tank (like my 32 gallon) turn into huge problems in a 5 gallon tank. The next morning, the ammonia spike from one dead Neon caused the other Neons to die, which caused the shrimp, Betta and snail to die. One Neon dying over night wouldn't have been a problem in my 32 gallon, but in the 5 gallon it was devastating, so be careful!

Your Betta should be fine getting along with the Cories and probably the frogs, though, I don't know much about them--be aware of the Frog's ammonia. Personally I would choose either the frogs or the Cories, not both. My new Betta, Grumps, gets real cranky whenever something new is put into his tank, but as long as you get a quick species and keep them in proper shoals both your Betta and other fish should be happy and healthy. It also helps to have species like Cories who spend most of their time at the bottom and away from your Betta's main domain, the top.

[C. King]

NBBetta, I also witnessed a betta being strangely protective of a sick fish...in this case, I had introduced a chinese algae eater to my tank with a dwarf gourami, some neons & a betta. The algae eater was fine for a while, then practically overnight, turned into a psycho killer. Tore up one side of the gourami (Henri) before I could get him out of the tank. I thought Henri would surely die--he just layed on his side on tank bottom, or cowered in a corner. Meanwhile, Blue (the betta) herded him into the corner in his territory, and watched over him, defending against all who entered. He shared his corner with Henry until Henry recoverd, then kicked him back out! Bettas are weird little fish...

[NBBetta]

That is really interesting! Especially since it was a Gourami, which they are notorious for not getting along with. What a special little Betta

[C. King]

I know, right? Normally, Blue is not friendly with Henri--no nipping, just flaring his fins and all that betta bluster. But other times, I could swear Blue is trying to impress Henri, as if he thinks maybe Henri is just a really fat female betta! (?!)
Henri is not amused by those attentions, either way, and for the most part, they each stay on their own side of the tank. But Blue showed true concern when Henri suffered.

[Trout]

My first betta beat up my cories. Not too badly, but if I'd left them in there, there's a possibility they could've died. I didn't want to risk it, soooo... Yeah.

I'm thoroughly impressed with my new betta's behaviour with her other fish friends. though she *IS* a female. I was expecting at least a small amount of agression.