New Tank Advice?

[BrookLynn]

Hello! I haven't been on the forum in a while; last time i was i was still very new to the hobby, although i'm still relatively new, haha! I'm planning on moving my betta, Swim Shady, from his current little 5 gallon to a 29 gallon that I've recently purchased. Of course i want to set it up and cycle it first, and I was wondering if anybody had some good suggestions for plants to go with bettas and cycling with plants? Also, I'm planning on making it a community tank; a coworker of mine- i work in a pet store- suggested Neon Tetras because of their speed, does anyone have any other ideas? I'm really excited to start this new tank and will take all the advice I can get!

 

[Essjay]

I'll be honest and say to keep the betta in the 5 gallon. They are not community fish and do not appreciate tank mates. Yes, some people do keep them with other fish but often ends up badly. And speedy fish should not be kept with a betta as their swimming behaviour will stress him.

The 29 gallon would make a nice community tank without the betta. But before we can make any suggestions we need to know how hard your water is. For example, neon tetras are soft water fish which would not live as long as they should in hard water. Look on your water provider's website for hardness - you need a number and the unit of measurement rather than some vague words.

Or you could keep the betta alone in the 29 gallon tank, but it would look empty with just one fish.

 

[Colin_T]

If you have an established aquarium with an established biological filter, there is no need to cycle the new tank. You can transfer the filter into the new tank for an instant cycled aquarium. If you want to keep both tanks running, then move half the filter media/ material into the new filter on the new tank and leave the other half in the old tank. Instant cycled tank.

Bettas do better (little pun) in their own tank and you don't have to worry about them killing other fish or being killed by other fish. I would leave him in the 5 gallon and use the 29 gallon as a community tank.

However, before you get any fish, you need to know what the pH and GH of your water supply is. This information can sometimes be found on your water company's website or by telephoning them. Alternatively, test the pH and GH at work and post the results here, along with the tank dimensions (length x width x height), and a list of fish you like. We can go through the list and make suggestions then.

 

[BrookLynn]

Thank you for the advice! I'll look into finding the PH and GH of my water and post it before i look into getting any fish or plants. I appreciate the feedback!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I want plants, here’s a good beginner list:

• Anacharis
• Anubias
• Moss balls
• Java moss
• Christmas moss
• Salvinia
• Duckweed

And Java fern (lacy or regular). As @Colin_T said, if you have an already established filter cartridge, just move it over to the 29g filter. Give it 48 hours and your 29 will be cycled.

 

[BrookLynn]

Thank you!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

No problem!

 

[hobostu]

Hello! I haven't been on the forum in a while; last time i was i was still very new to the hobby, although i'm still relatively new, haha! I'm planning on moving my betta, Swim Shady, from his current little 5 gallon to a 29 gallon that I've recently purchased. Of course i want to set it up and cycle it first, and I was wondering if anybody had some good suggestions for plants to go with bettas and cycling with plants? Also, I'm planning on making it a community tank; a coworker of mine- i work in a pet store- suggested Neon Tetras because of their speed, does anyone have any other ideas? I'm really excited to start this new tank and will take all the advice I can get!

My male betta does great with my platy fish, they don't stress him out at all, and sometimes one of the females even sleeps with him in a little "bed" I made for him. The cory cats though...they drive the betta insane, accidentally swimming into him while he sleeps sometimes. They are getting moved to a different tank asap. Would not recommend cory cats with your betta. Posting a picture of him sleeping with his platy buddy

 

[PheonixKingZ]

My male betta does great with my platy fish, they don't stress him out at all, and sometimes one of the females even sleeps with him in a little "bed" I made for him. The cory cats though...they drive the betta insane, accidentally swimming into him while he sleeps sometimes. They are getting moved to a different tank asap. Would not recommend cory cats with your betta. Posting a picture of him sleeping with his platy buddy

Please don’t get a betta. They aren’t community fish and shouldn’t be kept as such.

 

[Essjay]

They've already got the betta, he lives in a 5 gallon tank but they want to move him to a 29 gallon tank with other fish.

 

[Metalhead88]

I vote to keep the betta in the 5 gallon and use the 29 for something else.

 

[Retired Viking]

Best for all fish involved is to keep the Betta in the 5 gallon alone with maybe a snail to keep him company at most. Betta can't get along with their own kind not even females except for mating and then when done he kicks her out too. Even if the Betta just sits there when other fish swim into his territory he is still stressed.

 

[Waterstrider]

I’ve done betta in community successful even without a community I would still get it out of a 5. 5s aren’t good for any animal in my opinion.
29 I’d look at ghost shrimp to maintain plants in the tank, plus they’re fun.
java ferns look nice with them imo.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Then don’t move him over, bad idea.

 

[JuiceBox52]

You could move him over and put ghost shrimp and snails with him. Even if they dont seem stressed they emit stress pheromones or aggression pheromone into the water which causes stress on the other fish. Another thing is bettas can turn on other fish at any moment and even if they seem fine the next day your other fish may be dead.