New Betta tank questions

[Bill Stock]

I couldn't bear to look at my empty quarantine/hospital tank any longer. So
it's soon to be a Betta tank. It' a 10 gallon, with a small Whisper filter.
I just started it up and I'm waiting for it to cycle. Since I've never had a
Betta, I've got a few questions.

1) Are Bettas dirty fish, like GF? I imagine they are since they have a
fairly large body.
2) Since they are likely a dirty fish, should I avoid gravel?
3) What's the favoured food, Blood Worms, Shrimp, Betta Pellets?
4) Can I keep a snail or other cleaner with it?
5) Any suitable tank mates or will he be happier alone?

TIA

[m]

>1) Are Bettas dirty fish, like GF? I imagine they are since they have a
>fairly large body.
I don't think they're too dirty. Goldfish are definitely a lot dirtier
in my experience.

>2) Since they are likely a dirty fish, should I avoid gravel?
I've had gravel in all my betta tanks. Just vacuum it once in a while.

>3) What's the favoured food, Blood Worms, Shrimp, Betta Pellets?
It depends on the fish and what it's used to. Some bettas are really
picky eaters, and some will eat anything. I'd say that if the betta
will eat betta pellets, that would probably be best. Other foods are
more likely to get lost in the gravel.

>4) Can I keep a snail or other cleaner with it?
Yup. My betta used to live with an apple snail for a while... they
totally ignored each other.

>5) Any suitable tank mates or will he be happier alone?
The bettas I've had got along fine with small tetras in a 10 gallon
tank. If you keep it lightly stocked it shouldn't be an issue. Just
avoid fish that look similar to bettas or are nippy. I think the
biggest problem with keeping other fish with bettas is the other fish
nipping them, not the other way around.
They seem to be perfectly happy by themselves as well, so if you want
to be able to have it so you can just pluck your betta out and put him
in a jar or something when you need the tank for quarantine or
something then keeping one alone would be fine.

-m

[MarAzul]

"Bill Stock" > wrote in message
...
>I couldn't bear to look at my empty quarantine/hospital tank any longer. So
>it's soon to be a Betta tank. It' a 10 gallon, with a small Whisper filter.
>I just started it up and I'm waiting for it to cycle. Since I've never had
>a Betta, I've got a few questions.
>
> 1) Are Bettas dirty fish, like GF? I imagine they are since they have a
> fairly large body.
No, waste-wise, they're similar to the average fish.


> 2) Since they are likely a dirty fish, should I avoid gravel?
Gravel, sand, large stones - any substrate is fine. Just depends if you have
other fish, I suppose.

> 3) What's the favoured food, Blood Worms, Shrimp, Betta Pellets?
My bettas love their pellets with occasional bloodworms.

> 4) Can I keep a snail or other cleaner with it?
Sure..

> 5) Any suitable tank mates or will he be happier alone?
He'll be fine alone, but *most* bettas will be fine with peaceful tankmates.
It was said before, but don't add any flashy or colorful fish as the betta
will probably attack them. I have one of my bettas in with a large school of
cories and he leaves them alone. He's had other small cichlid tankmates as
well with no problems. My other betta has lived alone in a five gallon for
quite a while with no problems.
It comes down to betta personality. Some bettas don't care what's around
them, others will attack anything in their territory. You'll have to see
what you get..

[John D. Goulden]

>I couldn't bear to look at my empty quarantine/hospital tank any longer. So
>it's soon to be a Betta tank. It' a 10 gallon, with a small Whisper filter.
>I just started it up and I'm waiting for it to cycle. Since I've never had
>a Betta, I've got a few questions.
>
> 1) Are Bettas dirty fish, like GF? I imagine they are since they have a
> fairly large body.

They are about average.

> 2) Since they are likely a dirty fish, should I avoid gravel?

I only do planted tanks, and have never had any problems with gravel in the
betta tanks.

> 3) What's the favoured food, Blood Worms, Shrimp, Betta Pellets?

I feed mine a mix of flakes, betta pellets, and bloodworms. Some bettas are
(or will become) very picky and will eat only one kind of food; to avoid
this feed them a wide variety. I also give them a bit of banana or green pea
on occasion to make sure they don't get constipated. Some will eat it,
others spit it out and glare at me. Some of my bettas know what they're
going to get based on the can or jar I pick up - if I put my hand on the
bloodworm jar they get pretty excited. If you're going to breed them you'll
need live food, like microworms.

> 4) Can I keep a snail or other cleaner with it?

Perhaps. Some of my bettas were snail-eaters, others ignored them. Some
would pick on my big beautiful mystery and apple snails and ignore the pesky
pond snails that sneak in with plants. Since I add a little aquarium salt to
my betta tanks, I don't put any snails or scaleless cleaners in with them.

> 5) Any suitable tank mates or will he be happier alone?

You already know that you can't put male bettas together. Conisider
tank-mates that (a) don't look like male bettas and (b) aren't aggressive
fin-nippers, like barbs. I have had good luck with neon tetras and
swordtails in with my bettas; they pretty much ignore each other, and if the
betta flares at them they just scoot away (but the bettas will eat your
swordtail fry if they can get them). Some male bettas do fine with
tank-mates and others really do prefer to be alone. Female bettas are fine
community fish.

A few notes: IMHO bettas do best in a heated (78F) tank with a bit of
aquarium salt, a few live plants, and calm, clean water. Give him a
broad-leaf plant or two that's tall enough to reach the surface; bettas like
to rest on the leaves and will be more apt to build bubble nests if there's
some structure to work with at the surface. With a ten-gallon, I'd put a
mesh divider down the middle and put a betta on each side. Most of my bettas
are in divided tens - I think bettas are "happier" if they have a flare
buddy as long as they have enough room and structure to get away from him
when they wish.

--
John Goulden
mostly guppies, goldies, bettas, and swordtails

[lgb]

In article <c6F9e.45460$A31.9888@fed1read03>,
says...
> I have one of my bettas in with a large school of
> cories and he leaves them alone.
>
Same here. There's also a Siamese algae eater and a male platy that was
banished for population control.

The betta occasionally chases the platy for a minute or two, but the
platy has also been known to hold his ground and glare the betta down.
I think it's all in play.


--
Homo sapiens is a goal, not a description

[Bill Stock]

"Bill Stock" > wrote in message
...
>I couldn't bear to look at my empty quarantine/hospital tank any longer. So
>it's soon to be a Betta tank. It' a 10 gallon, with a small Whisper filter.
>I just started it up and I'm waiting for it to cycle. Since I've never had
>a Betta, I've got a few questions.
>
> 1) Are Bettas dirty fish, like GF? I imagine they are since they have a
> fairly large body.
> 2) Since they are likely a dirty fish, should I avoid gravel?
> 3) What's the favoured food, Blood Worms, Shrimp, Betta Pellets?
> 4) Can I keep a snail or other cleaner with it?
> 5) Any suitable tank mates or will he be happier alone?
>
> TIA
>
Thanks for the hlp.

But I broke down and bought my Betta from Walmart. It's called a "Solid show
Betta". Just what have I got here?

It seems healthy enough, although the fins are a little small. I was really
hoping for a red one, but she (I think) is dark blue almost purple. It
seemed to be one of the healthier "bucket fish" they had.

It's trying to eat it's pellets, but they seem a little too big for it. :)

[Lisa]

I have 2 male bettas in a divided 10-gallon with an under-gravel
filter. One filter outlet is on each side, and the divider is a mesh
type.

Also, each betta now has one Oto (Otocinclus), who are doing a number
on the algae buildup that I had. My beautiful deep-red betta nipped at
the tiny oto at first, but then figured out that he wasn't food. Both
bettas completely ignore the otos, now. I've never put salt in the
water (I don't think the otos would tolerate it), but I do vacuum the
gravel and do a 20-30% water change per week. (Tank is heated, too.)
All seem healthy and happy - I feed the bettas a rotation of Betta
pellets and freeze-dried bloodworms, with frozen bloodworms also on
occasion. (If you add otos, don't forget to give them algae wafers or
zucchini slices when/if the algae runs out.) BTW, I didn't add the
Otos as companions for the bettas, but for algae control and because I
like them. I think the bettas are/were perfectly happy alone in their
divided sections.

Hope this helps!

- Lisa

[Bill Stock]

"Lisa" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>I have 2 male bettas in a divided 10-gallon with an under-gravel
> filter. One filter outlet is on each side, and the divider is a mesh
> type.
>
> Also, each betta now has one Oto (Otocinclus), who are doing a number
> on the algae buildup that I had. My beautiful deep-red betta nipped at
> the tiny oto at first, but then figured out that he wasn't food. Both
> bettas completely ignore the otos, now. I've never put salt in the
> water (I don't think the otos would tolerate it), but I do vacuum the
> gravel and do a 20-30% water change per week. (Tank is heated, too.)
> All seem healthy and happy - I feed the bettas a rotation of Betta
> pellets and freeze-dried bloodworms, with frozen bloodworms also on
> occasion. (If you add otos, don't forget to give them algae wafers or
> zucchini slices when/if the algae runs out.) BTW, I didn't add the
> Otos as companions for the bettas, but for algae control and because I
> like them. I think the bettas are/were perfectly happy alone in their
> divided sections.
>
> Hope this helps!
>
> - Lisa
>

Thanks Lisa,

I was considering some Corys to go along with the new Betta. But I was
reading that they prefer sand or smooth gravel. As rough gravel may damage
their barbels. The tank is filled with some rough gravel at the moment, so
it will have to go first.

The new Betta seems to be doing well. His/her fins were a little ragged at
first, but are recovering nicely. I bought the Betta some pellets and had
some Bloodworms left over that the Goldfish did not like. No Algae yet, but
I'm sure it will come.

[John D. Goulden]

> some Bloodworms left over that the Goldfish did not like...

I've yet to find ANYTHING that my gf woudn't eat :)

--
John Goulden

[Bill Stock]

"John D. Goulden" > wrote in message
...
>> some Bloodworms left over that the Goldfish did not like...
>
> I've yet to find ANYTHING that my gf woudn't eat :)
>
> --
> John Goulden

I was feeding the GF after a water change on Sunday and the big one kept
eyeing my fingers as I was messing around in the tank. He finally decided I
was just too big, maybe next year. :)