Thinking Of Getting A Betta

Jacob Da Jew

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Right now I have a 10 gallon Tank with 2 black Tetras, 2 zebra danios and one cory. Tank is cycled but I will probably wait a few more weeks before doing anything, let it stabilize. I've had the tank for about 3 weeks now.

I've been thinking of swapping them out and getting a Betta. They are just so pretty! And with my size 10 g tank, I can't really get much of a crowd.

I read the pinned articles but have some more questions.

Heres my questions:

1) How many Bettas can I put in the tank?

2) if more than one, which breed and how many, male or female?

2) Can my cory stay in?

3) if I get only one Betta, can I get another cory or 2 ? Any othe rfish can co-exist with the Bettas? I know I'll have to swap out the current crowd.

Not much of a current, just a hush elite 10 filter going. I don't think its too strong..

5) I have lots of fish flakes cans, can the Betta eat that?


Last, anyone in the NY area have Bettas for sale?

I'm trying to get as much info as I can, as the LFS will probably screw me.

TY

JdJ
 
Hi there, ok so i'm gunna do my best to answer your q's but firstly i have to say good for you on asking first, before jumping in, thats a bit of a rareity.

ok so here goes
1. you can only ever have one male in a tank alone - as in no other batta at all inc females. If you have females you could probably have about 6 together as long as they had places to hide from each other.

2. basically same as 1. any breed of female is fine though you mainly only get Splendens from the shops which are the fancy showy betta

3. With one male yes it can though i suggest you get at least 3 more corry as they prefer to be in groups, if you had less females you can also keep cory in with them. Some males can get a bit aggressive so you will need to keep a watch on the cory to be sure he is not attackin them

4. again see q3. Betta are happier alone to be honest esp the males so corys and plecs are sort of it

5. Betta will rearly eat flakes, a betta pellet food daily and some frozen bloodworm a couole of times a week are best.

The filter sounds ok but if you go for a male and he starts to seem stressed out try turning the filter off, if he gets "happy" again then its too strong

I can't help with the Betta for sale as i am in England lol, but good luck with that.

I hope that lil bit of info helps you out
 
2. basically same as 1. any breed of female is fine though you mainly only get Splendens from the shops which are the fancy showy betta

if you can get imbellis or mahachai, they can stay together quite nicely (males and females)
 
2. basically same as 1. any breed of female is fine though you mainly only get Splendens from the shops which are the fancy showy betta

if you can get imbellis or mahachai, they can stay together quite nicely (males and females)

Hey Nemo, given the fact that you're in NYC, where can I get some decent specimens?

I'm considering getting 3 female Bettas and 4 cories total, in my 10 gallon tank.

I don't have any live plants, just fake but I read on the pinned post that fake cuts their fins.

Is there something wrong with the Splendens from the LFS>? I don't really want to spend major $$$ on them.

I'm doing my research as the last time I didn't, a local LFS screwed me over and sold me 6 cichilds for my 10g tank. Learned my lesson.
 
fake plants are fine as long as they are silk. there's nothing wrong with the splendens in local fish stores. its just that mahachai and imbellis have extremely calm temperaments and males and females can be kept together (you want to have a higher female:male ratio though). both mahachai and imbellis are in the splendens complex. if you want to keep lfs specimens together, buy a few female splendens and put them into a well planted tank with places to hide (such as caves).

if growing the plants is difficult, i would suggest java moss. it's very hardy and doesn't look half bad. as for getting females, the lfs should have them. if not, there are a few petcos and petland discounts around the brooklyn queens area. you can also try traversing around flushing or chinatown. they have decent ones, but make sure you know what you're buying so you aren't overcharged. females should run from $2-5.
 
I think devon pretty much answered everything, but since I'm bored.. I will too :D hehe

1) How many Bettas can I put in the tank?
With no divider.. only 1 male betta, OR you could have a sorority tank with female bettas. 4+ females would be best so long as there are lots of hiding places for them to get away from eachother. If you decide to try a sorority though, it's a good idea to have another tank on standby just in case there is a female that's just too aggressive to keep with others.

2) if more than one, which breed and how many, male or female?
see answer to #1

2) Can my cory stay in?
Really depends on the betta. Some bettas are very tolerant of other tankmates, while some don't like anything else to be with them. You just have to keep an eye on it.

3) if I get only one Betta, can I get another cory or 2 ? Any othe rfish can co-exist with the Bettas? I know I'll have to swap out the current crowd.
Cories do prefer to be in a larger group... at least 4.. so yeah. definitely get a few more cories. Any sort of peaceful fish can go with bettas, so long as they're not tempted to nip the betta's fins. We used to have a female betta in our main tank and it was totally fine with the fish we kept in it. Rasboras, cories, danios, blue ram, hillstream loach.

Not much of a current, just a hush elite 10 filter going. I don't think its too strong..
Just so long as the entire tank doesn't have a current the betta should be fine. It might get blown around at first since it most probably doesn't have the swimming muscles it needs since its life was probably only in a little cup up until you got it, so don't worry if the betta gets pushed around by the current a little bit. Just make sure it has places it can go to rest and avoid the current. Also make sure that it can go up to the surface for its breathe of air.

5) I have lots of fish flakes cans, can the Betta eat that?
Some bettas will eat flakes, but it's not the best food to give to them. A small pellet food works really well. You could also vary their diet by giving them live food if you want or frozen worms or shrimp or whatever. Just make sure you don't overfeed your betta.
 
I'm considering getting 3 female Bettas and 4 cories total, in my 10 gallon tank.

I would get a minimum of four betta, three could be trouble and as others will tell you is not recomended as you are likely to end up with two remaining and eventually one. It will be great to see pics once you have it all set up
 
Thank you all for responding to my questions :nod:

Here's a picture of my tank:

[URL="http://i4.tinypic.com/7yhg4ur.jpg"]http://i4.tinypic.com/7yhg4ur.jpg[/URL]


Is there enough hiding spots there? I have those 2 rocks and the castle.

Don't know if the plants are plastic, I'll just get 2 new ones of silk.

I do not want to bother with a male at this point, so I guess 4 female bettas and 4 cories are the way to go.

Should I buy them all at once?

Maybe I'll just stay with my tetras and danios and just add the 4 bettas? Its going to be hard to unload my tetras and danios.

Also, as recommended, I will try to get mahachai and imbellis but do they all have to be the same breed or can I get 2 MH and IM etc?

What is the pH level for Bettas?

Currently about 6.6 or so.

TY

JdJ
 
Thank you all for responding to my questions :nod:

Here's a picture of my tank:

<a href="http://i4.tinypic.com/7yhg4ur.jpg" target="_blank">http://i4.tinypic.com/7yhg4ur.jpg</a>


Is there enough hiding spots there? I have those 2 rocks and the castle.

Don't know if the plants are plastic, I'll just get 2 new ones of silk.

I do not want to bother with a male at this point, so I guess 4 female bettas and 4 cories are the way to go.

Should I buy them all at once?

Maybe I'll just stay with my tetras and danios and just add the 4 bettas? Its going to be hard to unload my tetras and danios.

Also, as recommended, I will try to get mahachai and imbellis but do they all have to be the same breed or can I get 2 MH and IM etc?

What is the pH level for Bettas?

Currently about 6.6 or so.

TY

JdJ

Hi, if it helps, i'm new to betta keeping too! I've currently got 2 tanks, with a male betta in each one! My peaceful betta is in with 9 tetras and 4 guppies and i've had absolutely no problems with them at all! my fiesty betta is with 2 mollys but i dont think i'll put anymore fish in that tank for the moment because he's a bit too aggressive at the moment, he's not aggressive towards the mollys but he's certainly not peaceful like the other one! it totally depends on the betta's personality what you can keep with them i believe!

pH levels for bettas tend to be between 6.5 and 8.0 from what i have read, my pH is currently 7.0 as it suits all fish i have in both tanks!

hope this helps!
 
Yeah, I'd get a few more hiding places/caves.

I'm not sure if you should add them all in at once though. I'd say...split it up. Get the cories first, then get the bettas after about a week or so to let the bacteria settle again.
I've never had a sorority tank so I'm not sure if it would be best to add the bettas in all at once or what.. I'm sure someone will have an answer for that one.

As for pH... bettas are pretty hardy and will tolerate a pretty wide range. 6.6 is a good pH though so you're alright.
If you're still worried about it though, just acclimate the bettas slowly. Take out some of their water (making sure not to get any into your tank of course), and then replace what you took out with your tank water. Do that every.. hmm.. not sure.. 15mins? (might want to look that up)... for an hour and by the end your betta(s) should be good to go.
 
i agree with what Amunet said about adding the cories first and waiting, but when you add the female bettas add them all in one go. they need to establish the pecking order and if you add a few later they will get picked on by the existing fish.
 
Thanks for responding. I feel good about buying Bettas now that I know how to proceed.

I just have to wait until the tank stabilizes. It fluctuates between .25 and 0 ppm of nitrite, all other tests are within range.
 

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