Betta Tank Mate

[sukies*star]

Tank: 5gallons, filter & heater, cycled, sand substrate, driftwood, watersprite (mainly floating, some held down by the drift wood), a pot thing on its side.


I've just finished re-cycling my tank after my last guppy died and I wanted to get rid of the snail population explosion so completely cleared it out and started again.

I'm going to be getting a male Betta tomorrow.

However, I'm playing with the possibility of getting a/some tank mate(s) in a few months time (around April) and want to hear peoples opinions and experiences about African dwarf frogs and Otto catfish.

Would an ADF be happy without other members of its species? Or would 2 be better? But would that then overstock the tank?

Again the same question about Otto catfish, how messy are they? would 1 be happy on its own? would 2 or 3 overstock the tank?


Also, I plan to put some salt in the tank before I get the betta, probably only a teaspoon per gallon (probably a bit more to start with though). Will this be ok with ADFs and ottos? (Also will it affect the watersprite if anyone knows?).



Thank you for any tips/suggestions/help

 

[fishprotector]

Ottos require mature tanks for grazing on the algae. They are also a fish which requires stable water conditions and at least another 5 of their own kind. You would be better looking at something like pygmy corydoras. Although in a tank that small, shrimp would be the best betta tank mates.

 

[Cazgar]

Oto's need to be in groups of 4/5 & can be quite fragile in a new tank.
As for mess, they poop like any other fish, though not as much as some

 

[Fishy friend2]

I would get 3-4 endlers if I were you

 

[soybean]

I wouldn't recommend an ADF and a betta together.

Otos, like already said, like to be in groups in a well established tank with a nice healthy biofilm and green algae. Also need a larger tank than 5 gallons, anyone who says otherwise obviously hasn't seen them zooming around a 3ft tank.

5 gallons is quite small for anything other than a betta, shrimp are an option but some bettas will see them as snacks (my female decimated a healthy cherry shrimp population in one weekend after living with them happily for a few weeks).

Endlers are a possibility, really only 3 or 4 I should think. Your betta may not tolerate other fish anyway.

 

[snake007]

Also how did you cycle the tank?

 

[sukies*star]

Thank you for the comments

I won't be getting any ottos then. Soybean, why wouldn't you recommend ADFs and bettas?

I cycled the tank by putting a bit of fish food in the tank each day. I've also used API stress zyme which is a 'biological filtration booster' but i'm not sure if that helps much or not

 

[Cazgar]

Fish food won't necessarily cycle the filter.
Do you have a test kit to monitor water quality?

 

[Essjay]

I used to have 2 adfs in a 25 litre tank with my betta. They are now in their own tank. I had an awful job trying to find a way of feeding the frogs so the betta didn't eat their food before they found it. But the reason they were separated is that the frogs could smell food, saw the betta's shadow (adfs are almost blind) and lunged for his tail. The betta ended up with a shredded tail, then finrot, probably brought on by the stress of living with the frogs.
The frogs were OK with my previous betta, but he was a plakat that didn't like frog food (he tried it and spat it out). When he died I got my current fish, a superdelta that loves frog food. The frogs never bit the plakat with his short tail, but the superdelta's tail was too big for the frogs to miss.