Tank Mates?

[Jue]

Hi

I'm after some advice please.

My son is currently cycling a 40 Litre tank with the hope of housing betta. It's a very long story but we have ended up cycling with 5 guppies so this might take a while to complete, however, when it is ready he would like to have some Siamese Fighting Fish. Would a male and female be happy in there along with the original guppies? Also, what else would be suitable to add or is that really at the limit?

Thanks in advance
Jue

 

[debiasir]

when its cycled i would return the guppies and buy one male fighter and a african dwarf frog.

the fighter and the guppies will not get on and will cause problems. the fighter anda frog will get on and will add diversity to the tank.

 

[Jue]

when its cycled i would return the guppies and buy one male fighter and a african dwarf frog.

the fighter and the guppies will not get on and will cause problems. the fighter anda frog will get on and will add diversity to the tank.

The frog sounds like quite a nice idea, but I know that he did want to have a small community tank. Are there any small fish that will get on with the fighter?

 

[soritan]

This article in the FAQ is worth a look over:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=96682

Note that bettas are not good tankmates for bettas. Male or female, unless in the instance of a female sorority. In that case, you'd need several, so as to establish a pecking order, as well as many hiding places. That probably wouldn't be suitable in your case. The frog and fish idea is a good one, and generally turns out well.

I own some African Dwarf Frogs. I think they're great little guys.

 

[debiasir]

cories get on great with betta but i am not sure if the tank is a little small for them. maybe someone can help with that.

 

[big mick]

Corries would need to be kept in groups of no less than 3 so it might be a bit small, fighters arent good community fish and will attack anyother fish with a fancy tail so your guppies would get it.

Frog idea is a good one, Id forget the fighter fish as it will limit what else you can get.

 

[Jue]

This article in the FAQ is worth a look over:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=96682

Note that bettas are not good tankmates for bettas. Male or female, unless in the instance of a female sorority. In that case, you'd need several, so as to establish a pecking order, as well as many hiding places. That probably wouldn't be suitable in your case. The frog and fish idea is a good one, and generally turns out well.

I own some African Dwarf Frogs. I think they're great little guys.

Thanks Soritan

I've just had a quick flick through the link you sent me and I'm wondering whether to get him a few females. His 40 litre equates to about 9 UK gallons. Do the overstocking rules not apply the same with Bettas? Also, are the females as bright and pretty or is it just the male that is stunning?

Thanks
Jue

 

[soritan]

40 litres roughly translates to 10.5 US gallons. (I googled this before your post said it was around 9 uk gallons)

I noticed in your sig you plan on adding a gold nugget plec. "Plec" in relation to bettas always sets off a little red light in my mind, because bettas are generally kept in smaller tanks, so I looked them up on planet catfish.

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loric...yanci/154_F.PHP

I don't mean to sound patronizing, but you do know they get to be over 7 inches long, right? In a 10g, that's a lot of fish for such a small space. I know he'll technically fit, but I can't imagine him thriving. Granted, I don't know much about plecs... it's just the first thing that pops into my head when I read his stats.

I have a 10g tank. In it, I have 1 female betta, 3 african dwarf frogs, 1 otto, and 4 ghost shrimp. I think it's an interesting tank, and I've had a lot of success witih it so far. It's fun to look at and generally easy to care for.

edit: To reply to your question... I'm pretty sure lots of females will simply peck him to death. The word 'sorority' definately means exclusively females. I like females, they aren't as showy but they have all the personality and color, depending on where you buy.

 

[Jue]

40 litres roughly translates to 10.5 US gallons. (I googled this before your post said it was around 9 uk gallons)

I noticed in your sig you plan on adding a gold nugget plec. "Plec" in relation to bettas always sets off a little red light in my mind, because bettas are generally kept in smaller tanks, so I looked them up on planet catfish.

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loric...yanci/154_F.PHP

I don't mean to sound patronizing, but you do know they get to be over 7 inches long, right? In a 10g, that's a lot of fish for such a small space. I know he'll technically fit, but I can't imagine him thriving. Granted, I don't know much about plecs... it's just the first thing that pops into my head when I read his stats.

I have a 10g tank. In it, I have 1 female betta, 3 african dwarf frogs, 1 otto, and 4 ghost shrimp. I think it's an interesting tank, and I've had a lot of success witih it so far. It's fun to look at and generally easy to care for.

edit: To reply to your question... I'm pretty sure lots of females will simply peck him to death. The word 'sorority' definately means exclusively females. I like females, they aren't as showy but they have all the personality and color, depending on where you buy.

I know you aren't being patronising and I really appreciate and need all the advice I can get. Did you notice that the signature has changed. Did it about 15 mins ago. Had some more advice earlier about the Golden Nugget not being suitable hence now looking at Siamese Fighters

I'll mention to him what you have got in your tank - it's a shame because he really wants some variety in there but has got his heart set on a centre piece eg plec or siamese fighter.

TBH it's starting to fry my head now

Thanks for all your help
Jue

edited to ask: Would 5 or 6 females be ok in a tank that size? or are they likely to be difficult with each other?

 

[soritan]

Well, there are 2 rules to follow for ADFs, the "1 gallon per frog" rule, or the "2 gallon per frog" rule. I prefer the 2, myself, simply because these guys are really active when they have the space to be active in. A male or female would be okay with tankmates, depending on their individual personality. That's the 'problem' with bettas. They've got all that personality, so you never know if they'll be tankmate killers, total pansies, or simply indifferent. They basically set the tone for the entire tank, and all your decisions must be based off them...but, you have to add them last, so that they don't come to think of the tank as 'theirs'.

I totally empathize. I have the same aesthetic bent. I like centerpiece fish. I planned my whole tank around these little guys. I think maybe my frogs stole the show for me, though. My girl is cute, but how can she compete when my frog is wearing a worm hat?


edit: Good question, I'm not sure. If you're of the inch per gallon class of thinking, each girl is 2" of fish, and you've got to have more than 3 to have a pecking order. By layman's math, you can probably have 5 in there if you've got nothing else.

 

[KevinM]

i got a male fighter.

heres the fish i got, all get along, no problems.

3 clown loach
anglefish
kissing gourami
dwarf gourami
opaline gourami
golden gourami
4 corys
swordtail
redtail shark
albino redtail shark
2 balloon mollys
pleco

and a little question from me, can i keep community rams with these fish?

 

[Jue]

Well, there are 2 rules to follow for ADFs, the "1 gallon per frog" rule, or the "2 gallon per frog" rule. I prefer the 2, myself, simply because these guys are really active when they have the space to be active in. A male or female would be okay with tankmates, depending on their individual personality. That's the 'problem' with bettas. They've got all that personality, so you never know if they'll be tankmate killers, total pansies, or simply indifferent. They basically set the tone for the entire tank, and all your decisions must be based off them...but, you have to add them last, so that they don't come to think of the tank as 'theirs'.

I totally empathize. I have the same aesthetic bent. I like centerpiece fish. I planned my whole tank around these little guys. I think maybe my frogs stole the show for me, though. My girl is cute, but how can she compete when my frog is wearing a worm hat?


edit: Good question, I'm not sure. If you're of the inch per gallon class of thinking, each girl is 2" of fish, and you've got to have more than 3 to have a pecking order. By layman's math, you can probably have 5 in there if you've got nothing else.

Thanks ever so much for the help. I'll get Ashley to read it after and then he can make up his own mind. I think the frogs sound great - I saw a couple of little albino ones the other day and they were stunning but I'm not 100% whether it's what he is after. Perhaps the Betta only tank might be a betta option for him.

Either that, or have just a really nice community tank with all sorts of peaceful fish in it. He's got really attached to the guppies in a week so I can't see him wanting to let them go either.

I've been really surprised by the way Bettas seem to be kept. Do they survive well in such small tanks as people seem to have?

Out of interest do they have to have filters/heaters etc as I've got another small tank that would probably suit one if everything I've read is correct.

Jue

 

[soritan]

Becareful of the albinos! Those are most likely African Clawed Frogs, which get up to 6 inches and eat fish. http/allaboutfrogs.org/info/species/clawedordwarf.html <-- article with pictures on how to tell them apart.

http/allaboutfrogs.org/info/mypets/dwarfs.html
http/davidcecere.pipidae.org/
http/flippersandfins.net/

 

[soba3d]

Hi - I have 4 female bettas in my 10 gallon tank. The problem is that there's definitely a pecking order and sometimes the less dominant ones look pretty miserable. Female bettas will also get quite nasty when they are in good condition. Torn fins will become the norm. - not a pretty sight.

 

[Jue]

I'm presuming that they were the albino ones because they were all a creamy white colour. I didn't see a label on the tank to know for certain. But obvously, they wouldn't be a good idea if they are going to eat their tank mates.

I think we have got a lot of thinking to do about this. If I can set the other tank up with or without heater/filter he could have one male betta in there and then still have his community tank with guppies and whatever else would happily live in there with them. I wouldn't want him to get 4 or 5 females if they are going to rip each other to pieces.

It makes you wonder how people manage to get it all sorted - I suppose everyone makes mistakes in the early days - but I'm trying my damndest to make sure that we can get it done without losing any fish.

Jue