Hi I Need Some Help As I Want To Buy Betta Fish

[alannah]

oh 5L isnt the limit it was just an idea what type of smaller colourful fish could i keep with a male betta in a larger tank?

 

[Honeythorn]

oh 5L isnt the limit it was just an idea what type of smaller colourful fish could i keep with a male betta in a larger tank?

If you can get a larger tank then by all means get it! In a 10 or 15 gallon, you could keep a group of Male endlers with a betta. They are very small bright little fish , just under an inch long ( look in the species index on this site,in the livebearers bit ) and a group of 10 will do fine in tank that size. Make sure you only get Males if you choose these though , they are livebearers like guppies and the last thing you need is constant breeding.

The Khulie Loaches I mentioned are great fish, quite pretty, but they do prefer to come out at night . Although if the tank is heavily planted, you may see them come out in te darker areas of the tank.

The Harlequin Rasboros that have been mentioend would be suitable also . They like to be in groups, and around 8 would be fine.

If you want something really stunning , then Galaxy Rasboros will look great. They are small fish like enlders, and very pretty indeed They aren't all that common though so you may have trouble getting them.

It's best not to have too many species in one tank with your betta. You don't want to stress him out with loads and loads of little fish darting about. Try to stick to one or two other species in the tank and keep it at that.


If the tank is 10-15 gals, you will need a lot of plants and resting spots. With their long fins bettas aren't the strongest swimmers and will need to rest a lot. Plenty of tall soft plants or a tall smooth ornament or wood is needed.

If you want tankmates with the betta, ALWAYS add the tankamtes first if possible. If you add them after the betta, he may pick on them as he will see them as invading HIS tank. If they are there before him, he will be less likely to bother them as they will be seen as part of the scenery.

 

[alannah]

i have found a tank on ebay i really like so hopefully will buy in a few days it is 90L if i was to get that tank or a tank of similar size how many other small fish like you mentioned above could i keep in there with the betta? and how long would i need to keep the other fish in the tank before i introduced the male betta to the tank?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I find that the female bettas do much better in community settings than males do.

 

[alannah]

i only want one betta fish tho i heard females prefer groups

 

[Miss Wiggle]

it's fine to keep a single female in a community, the groups thing is to dissipate agression between them, if you want more than one female you need a group of something like 6+, but it's fine to just have one.

 

[alannah]

i really need help if i was to get a group of endlers and one betta fish should i get a female or male?

 

[alannah]

i wrote a post on the livebearers page and this is what my post said:


hi i am new to the whole fish loving hobby and am about to buy my very first tank but am still unsure about the fish i want to get. i am very keen on getting one betta fish and i heard that they are compatiable with endlers and i also like the look of the endlers as i wanted a nice bright colourful tank. could you suggest any othet small colourful fish to go with a betta fish and are the endlers really compatable or would it be a disaster?

this is the response i recieved from sivabiot

if u are going with betta, forget about the color of the tank mate because too much color and large fins will provoke the betta into aggression.instead go for schooling fish like tiger barb or bottom dwellers like loaches. one more important thing is that the tank mate should be larger and faster than betta



so now i am at a total loss as to what fish to get to go with a betta

 

[Miss Wiggle]

the same silvabot who told you to keep them with tiger barbs in a 5 gallon tank

the beauty of a forum is that you can gather lots of different people's experiences and end up with a wealth of information, the problem is that you do get occasional people who do not give good advice but you've no way of deciphering who the people giving good advice are and who the people giving bad advice are!

Listen to the advice from honeythorn above, she's given some really good suggestions and knows her stuff.

I've had a bit of a look at silvabot's advice and there's some dodgy things been said. Hey we're not all perfect.

The problem with consistent advice on betta's is that each fish has their own personality and temprement. some species they all act the same, betta's they all act differently. So we can't give a guaranteed suggestion for tankmates that will work every single time, whats fine with a mild tempered betta won't be with another betta. People talk from their own experiences and you just have to take a consensus and there's a certain amount of guess work in hoping your betta turns out tolerant of tankmates. Then you always have to have a plan b to seperate the betta if it doesn't work out.

So I know that doesn't help you decide exactly what to put, but it hopefully explains some of the differences of opinions.

I would personally go for a female betta, they are still agressive but much less so than the males so it gives you a greater freedom of choices with tankmates. It also means the tank will more likely be peaceful as no one wants loads of fighting in their first tank and , god forbid, one of their first fish to get killed.

 

[alannah]

haha yeh i know its hard to tell but i like the information i gained from honeythorn i like the endlers as the are colourful small and bright just hoping the betta gets along with them. i wonder if i was to get a female betta fish would i get all female endler fish and vise verser if i was to get a male betta? i know they each have there own personality and it will all depended but hyperthetically what do you think would be the best option?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i'd recommend you get all male endlers. they breed prolifically and you'll quickly become overrun if you let them breed as I explained in your thread the other day. if you get females there's a good chance they'll already be pregnant so an all female group quickly becomes a mixed breeding group, so i recommend an all male group. they're prettier as well!!!

I would go for a female in with them, i think it's the lower risk option.

 

[alannah]

alright so get all male endlers and a female betta?

 

[Honeythorn]

Yes that will work. I have male endlers with my new group of females and they get on fine. Get yourself a group of around 10 if you can ( I only have 2 endlers at the moment becuase 2 is all I could get hold of , I am on the hunt! ) and a really nice female as your centrepiece.

EDIT: Just noticed your other post about getting a 90 litre. That's about 20 gallons so you could easily have both the endlers ( around 10 ) and a group of females ( around 5 or 6 ), plus a group of 6 cories for the bottom. With a decent internal filter, and your 50% weekly water changes you could have a great setup that's fairly easy to manage .

 

[indir-emir]

bettas are awesome. get one!!!

 

[alannah]

hehe not sure about what tank to get as yet but really want a betta and some smaller colourful fish like the endler i dont want to crowd my tank as i want the betta to the main attraction but also want a few little colourful fish scurrying around. so you suggest a female betta and male smaller fish? i am confused as earlier you said to purchase a male betta and all male fish to go with it. so what will look the best and be best compatable?