Stowaway!

[kakihara]

Hi,

I recently lost my first Betta (yesterday in fact, it was a beautiful Red male by the name of Fancypants) and went out to by 2 females and a male today.

I arrived home and upon putting the bag into the 5 gallon tank (I think it's 5 gals) to acclimatise the new arrivals I noticed that the pet shop owner had unknowingly put a Glass Catfish into the bag too!!

I am wondering if there is any harm in leaving the catfish in the tank with the Bettas or if they are incompatible?

The tank has a few nice plats and plenty of cover from bogwood and a rock and an ornament (along with a decent amount of open swimming space) and it also houses two Ottos, so do you think any harm will come the catfish? (this seems more like a catfish forum question now )

any help will be appreciated

 

[devon_charm]

Sorry i'm not sure about the catfish but are you putting the male in with the females? As in, in the same tank?

 

[kakihara]

Sorry i'm not sure about the catfish but are you putting the male in with the females? As in, in the same tank?

yeah, I was told that it was okay to put females and a male together....is this not the case?

 

[afishdude]

nope you will have 2 dead females in about 10 minutes

 

[dmarie04]

Do not put the females with the male and do not put 2 females together. And don't put more than 1 of the fish in with the two ottos. I don't know a thing about glass catfish...best to ask in the catfish section about him. Males can not be kept with other bettas....male or female. Females can be set up in a sorority but it will need to be at least 10 gallons and you'll need at least 4 females to make it work.

 

[afishdude]

ive kept 2 females together

 

[dmarie04]

ive kept 2 females together

It's asking for trouble. Females are agressive, too. Usually they aren't as aggressive as the males, but you still have to use caution when putting them together or with other fish. The reason they need at least 4 is they need to establish a pecking order, so to speak. They need the hierarchy worked out so they know who's the boss. That is why it's also recommended to add them all at once, and when you add a new girl, to take everyone out, rearrange the tank and then add them all in together. 2 girls together may work for a little while if they are very calm but they will be stressed nontheless. Even if they aren't fighting. Eventually, though, they will start to fight. And one of them will probably end up dead. When there are only 3 girls then the two stronger girls will end up killing the weakest and then there will only be two and then eventually only 1. The more there are the more the aggression is spread out among them.

 

[afishdude]

it was in a 20g lol.

 

[I Love my fishies]

Hi,

I recently lost my first Betta (yesterday in fact, it was a beautiful Red male by the name of Fancypants) and went out to by 2 females and a male today.

I arrived home and upon putting the bag into the 5 gallon tank (I think it's 5 gals) to acclimatise the new arrivals I noticed that the pet shop owner had unknowingly put a Glass Catfish into the bag too!!

I am wondering if there is any harm in leaving the catfish in the tank with the Bettas or if they are incompatible?

The tank has a few nice plats and plenty of cover from bogwood and a rock and an ornament (along with a decent amount of open swimming space) and it also houses two Ottos, so do you think any harm will come the catfish? (this seems more like a catfish forum question now )

any help will be appreciated

I know for sure that glass cat fish will live happily with a male Betta (well I can't vouch for every male Betta but I know this combo has worked)..... as said above you def should not keep a male and female Betta together but the Glass Cat fish is fine in with the male. I have seen a great set up with 4 Glass Cat fish and a male Betta and they have all lived happily togther for a year or so however Male Betta do prefer seem to prefer to be on their own.

 

[starrynightxxi]

glass catfish are a shoaling species, they like to be with their own kind, and reach 3-4 inches so while I can't give any info on the betta/glass cat info, i don't think that one will be real happy in a 5 gallon tank.

2 girls can be kept together, but that doesn't always work out. It kind of depends on the personality of the fish. Some are more agressive than others - and this goes for males too. You MAY get lucky, you can certainly try the two girls in the 5 gallon and get a smaller tank for the male. Or, even better, put the male in the 5g, and get a 10g so you can keep a sorority tank (4-6 girls).

Generally, keeping males with females is not a good idea, but i would really not suggest it in a 5 gallon. It's just not enough room for three 2-3" fish to avoid one another no matter how densely planted.

 

[PoptartShop]

Please separate all the fish immediately!
Unless they've already ripped themselves up...
Whoever told you they can be together *yes, females can be but they can also be just as agressive as the males, so yeah you have to be careful*, ESPECIALLY males? Nope, never keep a male with another male.
Anyway, please separate them all.
I'm sorry someone gave you such wrong information; obviously they don't know the first thing about Betta fish!

 

[kakihara]

Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!!!

I thought that guy knew his stuff.

Damn I'm in work now and the earliest anyone will be in the house will be about 6pm this evening (9 hours from now). I didn't get a chance to check on the tank this morning but hopfully there hasn't been, or wont be any damage done to any of the fishes by then.

I have a 60 litre tall tank (as well as the smaller one) which currently houses 4 Harlequins, 3 Corys and about a million snails (damn their shelly hides!!) would it be okay to put the females in with them, or should I move the male in there?

I think I took almost all of the pet stores bettas yesterday (apart from another male anyway), so I don't know how long it will be before I can get my hands on another 2 females to balance the books.

I'll get probably 3 more glass catfish anyway as I hate having a lone fish of any type (as you can see by my desire to have a few bettas together) and I'll put the lot into the tall tank.

 

[xweeqtx]

I think it would be best to put the 2 females in the tall tank, then make sure to get another 2 girlies and a few more glass catfish. Leave the male betta in the smaller tank by himself, they prefer to be alone

 

[branjie]

Good luck. I hope the fish are o.k when you get home. Let us know how you go.

 

[blue_betta]

is it just me or do prety much ALL petshops rcomend the keeping of pairs or trios of betta together? my local shop was run by a woman who could tell you everything you needed to know about malawi chiclids, but anything else she was clueless. betas especially. i tried to give her advice but she didnt listen, she recomended a trio of 1male and 2 females so the male wouldnt be harrassing the same female all the time. she always had a male in with the females, and again ive told her time and time again. now her mother runs the shop and she is even worse!!! she knows more about marines than i do, but as i know squat about marines that aint hard. the other day i went in to see, as per, a male in the female tank, and male plackat that she thought was a female. i pointed out the differance and it took a bit of convincing but she eventualy took out the pk

Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!!!I thought that guy knew his stuff.Damn I'm in work now and the earliest anyone will be in the house will be about 6pm this evening (9 hours from now). I didn't get a chance to check on the tank this morning but hopfully there hasn't been, or wont be any damage done to any of the fishes by then.I have a 60 litre tall tank (as well as the smaller one) which currently houses 4 Harlequins, 3 Corys and about a million snails (damn their shelly hides!!) would it be okay to put the females in with them, or should I move the male in there?I think I took almost all of the pet stores bettas yesterday (apart from another male anyway), so I don't know how long it will be before I can get my hands on another 2 females to balance the books.I'll get probably 3 more glass catfish anyway as I hate having a lone fish of any type (as you can see by my desire to have a few bettas together) and I'll put the lot into the tall tank.

put the females in the larger tank, its big enough to allow them to keep out of each others way. when intorducing new girls ive found that putting them in one of those large plastic livebearer breeding fraps that can be split into two "betta displays" and leave each girl on her own in these in the main tank for about a week so that everyone gets aquainted. ive never had any problems introducing new girls this way