Hello

[Rin68nyr]

Hi all…could have sworn I was already a member here from years ago…but oh well. Life happened and I had to store away my aquarium. I’m in the process of setting it up again now. I cleaned the tank (29 gallon), and have filled it with new gravel. I got a new filter and cover, and am currently testing the old heater, to see if it still works. I have my old fabric plants, and hard decorations…should I clean them, (how?), or should I just get new ones?

My plan is to stock it similarly to the way I had it before. Mainly with platys, a betta fish (can I have 2 if both females, or one male one female?), and possibly an otocat or 2.

We also have 3 cats, and I got a new cover to keep them out. We didn’t have any problems with our old cats, but these have never seen an aquarium (well one may have…we got him at an estimated 5-10 years old.

Excited to be back in the game!

 

[Lcc86]

Welcome! The fish you choose will depend on your water hardness if you know it. Re the bettas, imo there's a lot of mixed advice out there but they should ideally be kept alone with no tankmates (I know lots of people do put them in community tanks but it can end badly). Especially male and female, they would only "meet" in the wild to mate and will likely not tolerate each other at all. I've seen some people have success with sororities of females but more like 10+ in one tank. I don't keep otos but believe they need larger groups.

 

[Essjay]

It's usually recommended to leave otos for a few months. Many are on the point of starvation when they arrive at the store, and many will eat only algae until they learn that things such as algae wafers are food. The tank needs to have grown algae before otos are added, hence the 'wait a few months'. When you do get them, choose individuals with rounded bellies as this shows they've been eating. Not bloated, just nicely rounded.

 

[Rin68nyr]

Welcome! The fish you choose will depend on your water hardness if you know it. Re the bettas, imo there's a lot of mixed advice out there but they should ideally be kept alone with no tankmates (I know lots of people do put them in community tanks but it can end badly). Especially male and female, they would only "meet" in the wild to mate and will likely not tolerate each other at all. I've seen some people have success with sororities of females but more like 10+ in one tank. I don't keep otos but believe they need larger groups.

I had this exact setup (as above, with 1 betta), and since the platties are a calm fish (as long as you have the right male/female ratio), we had it for years with no issues. I was just looking through a book to refresh my memory, and it said you could have 2 bettas, but that didn’t sound right to me. I designed the original setup around the water hardness (except the betta…that was a centerpiece at a wedding so I had to do some quick research, but it’s hard water range fits our water). I’ll have to look into the otocats.

 

[emeraldking]

Hi and welcome to TFF...
Well, a betta will generally seek for a spot of his own in a tank. If it's able to do so, it will be fine to have a betta in a community tank.

 

[Rin68nyr]

Yes, I will be putting plants and hideouts as well as a hammock