Suitable Companions for a Betta

Hi All,

I have a Betta in a 20L tank (around 5UK gall) in the Kitchen. He shares
this tank with a rather stunted Platy but from what I have been thinking and
what I have just observed the time has come to move the Platy.

Mr Bluey (the Betta) was watching me working in the Kitchen when the Platy
nipped his tail fin. The Betta then turned on the Platy and chased him off
into a corner (no injury to the Platy just scared him).

Should I just leave Mr Bluey on his own after moving the Platy or are there
any suitable companions that anyone can suggest?

Thanks
Gill

I had to return my siamese betta cos it was chasing my flying fox like
mad!

I had to return my siamese betta cos it was chasing my flying fox like
mad!

I had to return my siamese betta cos it was chasing my flying fox like
mad!

On Sat, 20 Aug 2005 12:56:37 +0100, "Gill Passman"
gillspamattaylorpassmanspam.co.uk wrote:

Hi All,

I have a Betta in a 20L tank (around 5UK gall) in the Kitchen. He shares
this tank with a rather stunted Platy but from what I have been thinking and
what I have just observed the time has come to move the Platy.

Mr Bluey (the Betta) was watching me working in the Kitchen when the Platy
nipped his tail fin. The Betta then turned on the Platy and chased him off
into a corner (no injury to the Platy just scared him).

Should I just leave Mr Bluey on his own after moving the Platy or are there
any suitable companions that anyone can suggest?

Thanks
Gill

When I was a kid and had guppy tanks I sometimes had a male betta in
with the guppies. They seemed to get along fine; I never noticed any
fish chasing after the other fish or doing any harm to each other.
Except: some of the smaller guppies which someone had dubbed "males",
would sometimes be chasing after the larger guppies which were called
the "females". Why the hell are they doing that? I wondered at the
time; Leave those other guys alone, you meanies!

-Derek

Gill Passman wrote:

Should I just leave Mr Bluey on his own after moving the Platy or are there
any suitable companions that anyone can suggest?

Good companions for even a particularly aggressive betta don't
necessarily have to be fish. Various types of snails and shrimp can be
kept with them, just make sure there are rocks and crevices that the
shrimp can hide under because they're soft and vulnerable to attack when
they're molting.

- Logic316



"History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of
aggression is cheap."
-- Ronald Reagan

"Logic316" wrote in message
news
Gill Passman wrote:

Should I just leave Mr Bluey on his own after moving the Platy or are
there
any suitable companions that anyone can suggest?

Good companions for even a particularly aggressive betta don't
necessarily have to be fish. Various types of snails and shrimp can be
kept with them, just make sure there are rocks and crevices that the
shrimp can hide under because they're soft and vulnerable to attack when
they're molting.

- Logic316



"History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of
aggression is cheap."
-- Ronald Reagan

Hmmm - saw some shrimps yesterday that looked quite cute. Certainly worth
thinking on...

Thanks
Gill

I don't recommend Ghost Shrimp anymore, nor do I keep them with fish
anymore either.
I, for many years, kept Ghost Shrimp without any problems. However, one
day one of them decided to catch a 2 month old, female Betta fry and
start to eat her alive. The only reason she was saved from it was
because I saw it happen and wacked the shrimp and he let her go.
I would not have believed it for a minuted, had I not seen it with my
own eyes. The shrimp just snatched her right out of the water as she
swam past it. The Ghost shrimp was a typical good sized one you see in
any tankfull of them.
I used to keep a few in my fry tanks for clean up, but never again.
After having this happen to me, years later I read about somebody else
that had this prob...a ghost shrimp catching a fish and eating it.
So think twice about the Shrimp.
If you then think about Fiddler Crabs, just remember that they need a
place to climb out of the water and dry out.
Some shops will tell you that they're 100% aquatic, but they are not.
If they don't have a place to get out and dry off, they will eventually
die off.
If you then think of African Dwarf Frogs...make sure they (better when
kept with their own kind..they do not like to be singles), they can't
be too small. I've seen some that are so tiny they look like they
should still have their tad pole tails, hehe.
Those little guys would look more like food than a tank mate.
Now a regular sized ADFrog's should be just fine as long as the tank is
large enough to support their added waste, has good filtration and they
get enough food (better to be hand fed bloodworms, as the most common
reason for their death is starvation).
I have 2 ADF's now. Had 3, but it was an ity bity one that found an
escape crack, wriggled through it and out onto the counter. Crispy
critter by morning.
These frogs will also become tame to you if you hand feed them, and
they will quickly associate your face with food....so in no time just
by sticking your mug near the front of the tank they come out of hiding
to greet (and beg) you. Too cute.
*side note for those that are new to ADF's....they shed their skin and
will even eat it, so don't be alarmed if you see their "skin peeling".
I find it so cute when they peel it off their heads with their little
hands and then shove it into their mouths like piggies.

Tynk wrote:
I don't recommend Ghost Shrimp anymore, nor do I keep them with fish
anymore either.
I, for many years, kept Ghost Shrimp without any problems. However, one
day one of them decided to catch a 2 month old, female Betta fry and
start to eat her alive. The only reason she was saved from it was
because I saw it happen and wacked the shrimp and he let her go.
I would not have believed it for a minuted, had I not seen it with my
own eyes. The shrimp just snatched her right out of the water as she
swam past it. The Ghost shrimp was a typical good sized one you see in
any tankfull of them.
I used to keep a few in my fry tanks for clean up, but never again.
After having this happen to me, years later I read about somebody else
that had this prob...a ghost shrimp catching a fish and eating it.
So think twice about the Shrimp.

Come now. Ghost shrimp are fine roomates for fish, but you missed one of
the cardinal rules of nature which states "among aquatic creatures,
anything bigger will likely eat anything smaller". For this reason, it
is wise to only keep aquarium inhabitants that are roughly the same
size. Fish and most other aquatic animals also tend to be cannibalistic,
another point to keep in mind - adult bettas will eat betta fry as well.
Ghost shrimp are scavengers, but even a scavenger will on rare occasions
eat a live animal if it's capable of catching it. For instance, whenever
I feed live brine shrimp to my betta, my ghost shrimp also catches and
eats them once in a while.

- Logic316



"The best minds are not in government. If any were, businesses would
hire them away."
-- Ronald Reagan

And in your logic ghost shrimp are the same size as a Betta?