Decisions...decisions

[Raven_24]

Ok, I have a 4ft long UK 30gallon/110lt, old worn gravel substrate fish tank (with a background) with two silver sharks and 3 gouramis in it...my mollies died last year about a month apart (old age maybe) and I had to put my wee albino cory out of action 2 months ago, I thought he had swimbladder & was treating him for that but he didn't get any better and deteriorated really badly so the ugly job had to be done...

Since then I got a betta about 6 weeks ago, who is absolutely gorgeous - haven't had any trouble with him at all. He didn't eat anything for the first couple of days I brought him home so I was a little worried & I couldn't get online to check/post anything as my pc had crashed but he soon perked up & started munching away then I read online here that, that kind of behaviour was pretty normal so....
6 weeks on I would like to get some more tankmates obviously not lots at the same time but was wondering if you had any pointers on what would be suitable with the betta? I'd really like some loaches but I dunno if they'd be suitable what with the gravel vs sand thing...?

I know some of you will pick up on the tank size and say it's too big and the 5 other fish that are in there already might not be suitable but honestly they all get on fine and there has been no trouble whatsoever.

 

[BWBettas]

Ok... im not being mean but im going to pick a few things out

1: gouramies and bettas should never be kept together, whatever people say one day they will turn on eachother and the betta will fare of alot worse.

2: silver sharks, these aremost probably Bala Sharks and need tanks of 100 Gallon upwards as they grow large and need to be in groups....

Just My 6 Pennies

Other than that, got any pics of your betta ?

Bret

 

[thai]

One of my bettas has lived quite happily in a 180 litre tank with 1 honey gourami and 1 dwarf gourami and a mix of tetras.

 

[BWBettas]

That's exactly what i mean... but one day, someone will be out competed for food or going into territory and they will fight

Bret

 

[Raven_24]

No problem...6 pennies are better than none I did have another silver shark but it died not long after I brought them home it err...grew wings during the night & somehow got through the hole where the light cable goes in and landed on the floor...I saw it in the morning but not before one of my dogs decided to have a light snack needless to say I now have plastic slides on the top(!)

I think I'll take my chances with the tankmates at the mo, if and when it does turn into fins at dawn I'll change the fish around...while heeding what you said, my brother who I inherited the tank from had a betta with his fish that included some bala, red finned sharks and an angel and he never had any bother with the betta apart from the barbs which got moved....

On some piccies...noo not got any yet - I'm in the process of getting a new mobile which has a good camera so I'll try & get a pic of him then.

Erm while getting back to the point of this topic...anybody out there got some ideas for other tankmates???

 

[Raven_24]

ok managed to get some pics my betta Midnight with boyf camera.



http/img215.imageshack.us/img215/5952/image0042ib.jpg

http/img215.imageshack.us/img215/158/image0060kj.jpg

Sorry they're not very good but his cameras rubbish

 

[Raven_24]

Actually does anyone have any idea what type my betta is? I've had a look at some pics but I'm still not sure and when I got him at the LFS, it just had Siamese fighter on the name tag, some places are really bad for not giving you the specs. but there aren't that many aquatic shops in Edinburgh so I'm kinda stuck with what I have...

 

[Rynoah]

Well, the pictures are a little fuzzy, but he looks like a veil tail to me.

How long have you had the gouramis? They generally don't show aggression until they reach a certain age, so you might be safe for now. Although dwarf and honey gouramis are known to be the more placid of the gouramis, they can still get to be pretty angsty. I'm not saying it can't work, because some people have made it work before, but it's pretty high-risk.

Enough preaching, though. Betta tankmates should not have long flowing fins/bright colors, as the betta might mistake them for another betta and kill them, so whatever you do, don't get any fancy guppies. I've heard the smaller members of rasboras are suitable, since they're fast and relatively dull in color, but I don't know much about them, so I'd research them to see what they are compatible with.

The important thing is to keep a very close eye on the fish. If you see any signs of aggression, it's a good idea to separate the tankmates. Good luck!

 

[Raven_24]

I got the honey gourami last year but I've had the opaline & 3 spot for about 2.5/3yrs. They're the only original fish left from when I first started out I was going through a bad patch after a breakup & went to stay with my best mate for awhile...asked my mum to pop in every day & feed the fish (she only lived round the corner) but she hurt her ankle, didn't tell me & didn't come up for 2 days thinking the fish would be ok I could just give them a little extra as I was due back on the 3rd day, during which my electricity meter ran out...it was the middle of winter and in the minus...I got back the next afternoon to find them all dead apart from charles and cammi They're definitely hardy fish

Thanks for the veil tail guess I'm useless at trying to get him to stay still long enough to get a good pic, only time he remains still for long is when he goes behind the pump at night time, the rest of them just swim about quite the thing but he sort of retires to bed in a fishy kind of way

What you were saying about seperating fish - I'm sure you can get a sort of white net box thing to put them in but I don't know what they're called? Also I've heard of people partitioning some of their tanks off but how do you do that halfway through a tank when the air pump/filter rod goes the majority/whole length along the top of the tank? surley they'd jump over the gap at the top? just more random questions sorry

 

[Raven_24]

Rynoah Not that its got anything at all to do with fishies but I just noticed your avvy sean bean ahhh

 

[Rynoah]

Ah, yes, I'm all about the Sean Bean love.

I have very little experience in partitioning off tanks; that's a question you'd have to ask in the DIY forum. You could catch the fish in a plastic container, like tupperware, and float it in the tank, but I don't think it's a really good living situation for the fish. It could work as a temporary thing, if you plan to move the fish to another tank and need to hold him for a while.

Gouramis are very hardy. That's why I love mine so much. He's pretty forgiving of any mistakes I make.