Suitable Mates For A Betta? Neons?

[jenny6165]

i went to my lfs the other day, its a decent one that i go to.
i asked what would be a suitable tank mate for a betta, and they said some neons would be ok.
so i bought 6 neons, over night 3 died and the 4th one has died this morning. all my water stats are ok.

ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 10
ph: about 7.5

could the betta be attacking them? i saw him chasing them at first, but has since left them alone, and now i only have 2 left. im wondering whats best to do? could it just be that they were ill? or is the tank not suitable for them? its an aqua -40 5 gallon tank.

i really wanted somethin colourful like the neons, but if thats not something thats going to be suitable, can anyone recommend anything else?

 

[discus dreamer]

Neons are said to be particularly sensitive to changes in Ph so it could be that your shop has a lower Ph and it was just too much of a shock. A lot of people on this forum say you shouldn't keep neons with a betta as the neons can be fin nippers. Never had a problem with it myself, but perhaps I was just lucky.
DD

 

[xscape]

i have a male betta in a community tank. there are 7 neon tetras in there.. they get along fine.

biggest problem i have is the balloon molly nipping on everything else in the tank!

 

[jollysue]

Do you have a heater in the tank? It really sounds like failure to thrive, although if they are little tiny neon babies/adolecsents, it could be the Betta. If they weren't acclimated well at the move it could be that. They could have had something already. It is hard to say. You could take one to the lfs and if they can tell they will tell you.

Did you spend any time acclimating them?

Oh sorry I see you are not a beginner, so I doubt you just threw them in an unheated tank.

Harlequins wouldn't bother the Betta like Tetras might, but I won't vouch for the Betta.

 

[PaPeRo]

I really doubt the betta killed your tetras unless you have a tiny tank. Bettas are curious fish so they always follow/chase new fish when you put the new fish into a tank with an existing betta. After a short period they get bored and just leave the new fish alone just like what you experienced. Did you check the dead tetras to see if there were any fin or damage to the body from a betta attack? Reason why I think it's highly unlikely that your betta killed the tetras.

1. bettas are too slow to do any damage to neons
2. neons are not stupid enough to repeatedly loiter around the betta

Neons are delicate fish anyway so they die pretty easily regardless whether there is a betta there or not.

 

[jenny6165]

hi yeh the tank is heated and filtered. i floated them in the bag for about half hour, adding small amounts of the tank water gradually. then gently let them loose and left the tank lights off for about an hour.

the betta doesnt seem bothered with them... i went to a diff lfs today and asked them what they thought, and they also said that perhaps the neons had something or just didnt cope with the move. he said to wait a few weeks to make sure they survive before adding more. cos i know they do best in small groups, and there is only 2 at the mo. so am leaving them to see how they get on

 

[jollysue]

Could six have been too many at once for the tank bacteria? A Betta isn't really very dirty--I don't think. Maybe there was a spike that killed them. If one died from the move it can cause a cascade overnight if the tank is marginal.

I just started a tank with transfered media and biowheel. Everything tested fine for a week. I thought we had got it. Didn't look for a day or two. I lost all four Badis badis and some Rasabora. I put more media in, moved the Rasabora, and the tank stabalized, and the Botia straita and ADFs survived. But I lost all the Badis badis and then the Rasabora started a crash in the Cory tank I transfered them to. So another fire to put out.

All it takes is one too many and one death.

 

[IxBettasxI]

you should go buy a crawfish and put it in the fishtank with your betta
when i first got the crawfish, i didn't realize how aggressive it would be...
i woke up one morning and found out that it ate my mollie xD but it left the betta alone
Great mates... we'll imo

 

[Anwil]

i went to my lfs the other day, its a decent one that i go to.
i asked what would be a suitable tank mate for a betta, and they said some neons would be ok.
so i bought 6 neons, over night 3 died and the 4th one has died this morning. all my water stats are ok.

ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 10
ph: about 7.5

could the betta be attacking them? i saw him chasing them at first, but has since left them alone, and now i only have 2 left. im wondering whats best to do? could it just be that they were ill? or is the tank not suitable for them? its an aqua -40 5 gallon tank.

i really wanted somethin colourful like the neons, but if thats not something thats going to be suitable, can anyone recommend anything else?

Hi there
Iv got a small community 40ltr tank with a betta splenden male and female in it, they share happyly with a pair of paradise fish male and female, 6 neon tetra god knows what sex, a small bristle nose plec and two male cherry barbs all getting on well plenty of real plants and a couple of small caves today I added a fire newt and he is setling nicely.

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

Hi there
Iv got a small community 40ltr tank with a betta splenden male and female in it, they share happyly with a pair of paradise fish male and female, 6 neon tetra god knows what sex, a small bristle nose plec and two male cherry barbs all getting on well plenty of real plants and a couple of small caves today I added a fire newt and he is setling nicely.

Can I cry now? You have bettas with paradise fish?! You have a male and female living together!
You have impending disaster just waiting to happen in that tank hon, really.
P.
P.S:Neons can be very weak fish, so it's probable they simply died because of being moved. Chances are they hadn't been at the store very long so they had a highly stressful time. Give it a week or so to let the others settle then try adding another two and see how they go. Might be better to add a few at a time to let the bacteria adjust in your filter too. Little tanks are notorious for being a little unstable, although it sounds as though your readings are excellent.

 

[zoekin8yg]

Ive just got apple snails to live with my bettas they are quite fun to watch moving about!

 

[gsta13]

Dont think it would be a spike cause of tank load tbh, neons dont put out tht much rubbish i dont think, could be wrong, jus my two cents.
Greg

 

[jenny6165]

well 5 of the neons have now died i have one remaining and hes lasted the whole week. he seems ok, but i guess hes probably feeling a bit skittish now being on his own. do u think the neon will be ok for another week on his own? just so i can make sure hes ok first? or is it unfair to leave him by himself?

ive noticed he's keeping by the surface alot... perhaps theres not enough oxygen in the water. i had this problem in my community tank a while back and found adding an airstone sorted the problem. i dont really want to add an airstone to such a small tank tho... ive added an oxygen tablet and hoped that would work. i cant change the direction of the filter pump so its not agitating the surface. so ive just now moved the pump so the outlet is just at the surface providing some agitation, hopefully that'll help.
heres a pic of the tank

 

[jollysue]

IMO let the tank mature a little. Don't put any more neons in for a while. Like Miss Dib Dabs said neons are not as stable a fish as some. Neons are often bred in huge fish mills (like puppy mills.) Give the tank a few months before you try neons again. Or try a more hardy fish.

I have Apples and ADFs with Bettas. I have 3 ADFs in the Sorority with 3 Botia straita.

 

[jenny6165]

silly question, whats an ADF?