Naughty fish, need ideas.

[TallPaul]

Hi everyone. As some of you may know I am the proud owner of a blue and red betta called Spike. He has a nice 9 gallon nano cube to roam that is well planted and also is home to 4 Otocinclus catfish.

90% of the time this is not a problem but over the last few days he has gone from the occasional flaring to now chasing them round and I am worried he is becoming more and more aggressive towards them.

I have already made the decision to remove him from the tank and his new home is being prepared right now.

My question is, what fish would be more suitable tank mates for the now vacated tank? The dimensions are 34cm x 34cm x 34cm but the back has a partition for filtration equipment and is inaccessible to fish. The only inhabitants are the 4 Otos.

Water hardness is moderately soft at 5.7dH, pH 7.0.

I had been looking at either a pair of blue and red dwarf gourami, a pair of 3 spot gourami or a reasonable shoal of ember tetra or chili rasbora.

 

[Colin_T]

The tank is too small for blue or 3 spot gourami (same fish), and dwarf gouramis (Trichogaster lalius) are riddled with diseases including the Iridovirus and Tuberculosis (TB). Subsequently dwarf gouramis should be avoided until the Asian breeders clean up their act.

There are other small gouramis like the honey dwarf, sparkling, Indian banded, thick lip and chocolate that are normally free of these diseases. There are also some small Bettas including Betta imbellis that are peaceful.

 

[TallPaul]

I was already under the impression that I would not have room for gouramis.

So boraras or a micro tetra is most probably what I will get. I do like the chili rasbora and am hoping to add enough to see some schooling behaviour.

Would 10 be too many in my tank, considering the 4 Otos, or is that reasonable?

 

[Byron]

The only gourami suitable here would be the sparkling pygmy gourami, in a group of three; males like all gourami are territorial however, and sometimes individual fish can bee more aggressive than others at defending this. They can be housed with any of the "dwarf" rasbora species in Boraras. The bright red of these fish is lovely in a planted tank with a black background. Or Ember Tetra, for an orangish colour. Whichever of these, a group of 9-12. If you have sand substrate, one of thee dwarf cories will also work here, again a group of 9-10.

 

[TallPaul]

The only gourami suitable here would be the sparkling pygmy gourami, in a group of three; males like all gourami are territorial however, and sometimes individual fish can bee more aggressive than others at defending this. They can be housed with any of the "dwarf" rasbora species in Boraras. The bright red of these fish is lovely in a planted tank with a black background. Or Ember Tetra, for an orangish colour. Whichever of these, a group of 9-12. If you have sand substrate, one of thee dwarf cories will also work here, again a group of 9-10.

Hi, the substrate is JBL Manado, some sort of reddish clay like stuff. It's super lightweight, about 2-3mm so I assume unsuitable for Corys.

I am leaning on Chili Rasbora or something similar. I will be clipping some existing plants to use in the betta tank so when they have regrown and I've added a few extra bits of drift wood I will probably go for them.

 

[seangee]

You could also add red cherry shrimp. They have a negligible bioload and are quite fascinating to watch. They will be fine with all of the species you mention.

 

[NickAu]

90% of the time this is not a problem but over the last few days he has gone from the occasional flaring to now chasing them round and I am worried he is becoming more and more aggressive towards them.

This is why Bettas are best kept on their own.

 

[TallPaul]

This is why Bettas are best kept on their own.

He is on his own now. The tank is a bit smaller (approx 4 gallons) but it's all his own now. He's just exploring it all, seeming to find all the ridiculous places he shouldn't go, like the corner of the filter.

I took some clippings of hygrophilia from the old tank and planted it up, took a few scoops of water spangles too and also the decoration with the java fern.

Next week I will buy a few more plants to round out both of the tanks, thinking some mid sized crypts, and then add the chili rasboras to his old tank

 

[NickAu]

When it comes to placing decorations in a Betta tank there is 1 rule, if it dont fit snug against the glass, then make sure your thumb can fit between the object and the glass, same thing applies to decorations with holes in them.

Bettas are notorious for trying to squeeze into tight places just like cats are.

 

[TallPaul]

When it comes to placing decorations in a Betta tank there is 1 rule, if it dont fit snug against the glass, then make sure your thumb can fit between the object and the glass, same thing applies to decorations with holes in them.

Bettas are notorious for trying to squeeze into tight places just like cats are.

They have amazing personality. As soon as he sees any of us he comes right up to the glass and expects to be fed

 

[NickAu]

Yes he sounds perfectly normal to me and he seems to be training you well.