Betta in community tanks?

[mdlreston]

Again, thanks everybody for all the information!

It is frustrating not knowing what happened, but I really hate killing fish through ignorance so I want to try and figure this out before getting another betta.

I doubt he had dropsy based on the description - his scales weren't noticably altered, and his body shape was normal.

The only change in his environment recently was the new fish (2 months) and a change from feeding 3x/day to 2x/day. Since we can't feed him lunch, we divided the food from the midday meal between the other two meals.

Are the water test kits accurate enough to pick up ammonia problems? We could have been overfeeding the tank between the betta fish and the danios. We didn't think so because all the food was gone immediately - nothing left after 2 minutes of eating.

Thanks again!
mike.

 

[wuvmybetta]

Are the water test kits accurate enough to pick up ammonia problems?

Yes, provided it's a test kit for ammonia

Now that you say the danios have been in there for two months, the tank should be/probably is cycled already. But it can't hurt to test anyway.

Swim bladder is from too much dry food (pick up some Hikari frozen bloodworms ) but it's a slow developing disease and very noticable, you can't miss it and if it IS going to be fatal,it's a very slow death,not sudden. Maybe..it was just his time Bettas have a 2-3 year life span and most pet shop bettas are well over a year old by the time we bring them home.

 

[CackD]

Hey Mike!

I also have a male betta in with 3 Zebra D's...and I haven't had a problem yet ( knock on wood! ). Its a 10 gallon - the Zebra D's zip around all day, and my betta just kind of chills and does his own thing.

From what you described, I am pretty sure it was neither dropsy, nor swim bladder. Could have been some parasite, fungus deal...etc etc. Too hard to tell.

Moving him into a cup when you saw he was having trouble probably wasn't the best of ideas, but I would've done the same thing probably ( moved to a smaller tank, at least ). The stress from the move could have made things worse.

At any rate, like Wuv said...could've been an age issue.

Don't get discouraged! They are great fish - get another and give him a nice varied diet ( bloodworms!!! )

Peace
-CackD

 

[staredecisis]

I definitely think you should just test your water (they sell dipping sticks in a 25 pack bottle, that test for Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, Hardness, and Alkalinity all in one dip. Costs about $10 for the 25 bottle). If your water parameters are good, I think you should just give it another shot. It is true that he could have already been very old when you purchased him, especially if he had big long flowing fins.

I agree it's possible that you could've had ammonia overload, or internal disease, but the more I read the more I'm thinking it was possibly old age.

Btw, it wasn't dropsy. Dropsy is one of the most atrocious diseases in appearance. Their scales literally stick straight out of their body rather than laying flat against their sides.

I had a question about your 6g tank though, does it have a filter of any kind? I know some people keep small tanks with sponge filters or none at all.

 

[mdlreston]

More great advice - thanks!

Moving him - yeah, probably not the best idea, but he was clearly getting weaker and weaker as the morning went on. He did have large flowing fins.

Water testing - yes, I'm going to get some of the dip sticks that were suggested. I hope that wasn't the problem, because I don't know what else I can do to keep the water in good shape, except perhaps feed them less.

Tank filter - it has two. There is a replaceable mesh + activated carbon filter box that is supposed to be replaced every 2-4 weeks. In addition, there is a small rotating wheel that is supposed to provide a stable location for the beneficial bacteria to grow.

The tank did not come with a air bubbler, but I added one to increase the oxygen level after noticing the zebra danios didn't like to go very deep into the tank. After two hours with the air stone going, they went down to the bottom happily.

How much food do you recommend for these guys? I realized that we got advice from 3 pellets (pet store) daily to 9 pellets (other pet store) daily; we were feeding him 5 pellets.

mike.

 

[wuvmybetta]

Hi again
Sounds like you have a bio wheel filter, they're excellent and since the wheel holds the bacteria (as you said) the tank probably had no problems with ammonia (get a test kit anyway,they're good to have handy). I don't think moving him was too stressful, he probably appreciated a break from those long trips to the top.

Are you asking about feeding the danios or a betta? I don't keep danios but 5 or so pellets for a betta sounds good, try to give a wide variety of foods, avoid freeze dried. If you buy some frozen bloodworms or brine try to get Hikari brand. Just put a splash of tank water in a shot gass and drop a chunk in. After it melts you can either hand feed (bettas will eat right off your finger) or just dump them in .

 

[Morrgan]

I thought Bettas were okay in a community tank?

In my experience, it depends a lot on the size of the tank, the companions you choose and how you decorate the tank. The tank should in my opinion be at least 15 gallons to be on the safe side, have calm and friendly fish, and be heavily planted, and I do mean heavily. Open water is not something a betta likes in a big tank.

I've kept all my bettas in community tanks and they've been fine, lived happy lives as far as I can tell. There's nothing wrong with keeping them on their own either, and I can agree that some bettas are just too aggressive to be kept with other fish. I suppose you yourself know best how your betta behaves. Make the decision on a community tank based on that.

 

[Supersalmon]

I have always kept bettas in community tanks without any problems. At first they will swim around and chase the other fish, trying to be the king of the tank, but after a while they dont bother and seem very happy. I have a immature male at the moment in a community tank and he gets along fine after initially chasing everything. Also although his fins havent totally developed yet, they are in perfect condition, no ripping at all. Perhaps, if you try a young male he could grow up with other fish happily without any problems. Also I personally dont like bettas being kept in small tanks. I think they deserve as big a tank as any other fish.

 

[Loopyness]

in reply to everyone talking about keeping betta's separate:
Ive never seen my betta being aggresive towards another fish in the tank. i think mine is better being in a community tank, maybe ive got a big softy or something??? And i find that in my tank the danio's eat more than the betta, just to be abit backwards with mdl's problem.

 

[tuffers]

Well my betta is fine in my community tank, doesn't have arguements with other fish and seems happy, although he is very vein! he loves swimming about at the front of the tank making sure everyone can see him! he's great and gets along with all of my fish.

 

[Kiri]

We have had Betta's in our community tank and never had a problem. We have one male...crown tail... and he has 4 females to harrass. In this tank we also have 10 harlequins, 10 cardinals, 4 lge pearl gourami's, 2 rummy nose, 2 plecs, 2 clown loaches, 6 catfish, 7 black neon's and 2 black line flying fox. Never had trouble perhaps duw to teh Betta starting off smaller than the larger fish, or maybe we have just been lucky! I had a horrible incident with excessive nitrites, ammonia and plummeting pH but my Betta's all came through with flying colors....shame about the blue rams and neons who suffered.