aj_1992

Hey people!! haven't gone on fishlore for a while and wow! the changes are cool!

Anyways, after finally cycling my first 10 g (with a lot of unfortunate losses because my parents thought i should do a few complete water changes once in a while)... all but one of my zebra danios are gone... and now my folks are saying i should add some fish in there since there's only one left. i gave it some thought, asked a few ppl for suggestions, and came up with the idea of either a betta or a goldfish. here's the problem: i'm in high school, and i plan on going to a university in another province (that means in a few short years i won't be able to take care of the new fish) so goldfish is out of the question. BUT i 've always wanted a goldfish. plus bettas are just beautiful and i can't just buy it a half gallon, that's too cruel. and i can't keep them in the same tank. any suggestions? if you happen to be confused just tell me and i'll explain

0morrokh

A goldfish wouldn't be an option anyway cause the zebra danio you have is tropical and goldfish are tropical...plus goldies need way bigger tanks. A Betta would be a great fish for your 10g, but what about the danio? He needs to be in a shoal, and plus danios aren't compatible with bettas. So you either need to give away your danio or get another tank if you want a betta.

AggieYen

Well... firstly.. there are a couple of reasons why the goldfish would be out of the question. Goldfish are coldwater fish, so they require much cooler water from what danios and other tropical fish need. Generally goldfish are only kept with its kind for this reason. Aside from that.. your 10G would be too small for a goldfish anyway - the general rule of thumb is 20g for the first goldfish, and 10g per subsequent goldfish.

Your 10g would be perfect for a bettas.. and you're right, they are beautiful. I can hardly wait for the new year when I get back from my holidays and I can finally go about getting this gorgeous blue betta into his new 5/6g home. They'd more than thrive in a 10G, but then you'll need to think about what to do about your remaining danio, because bettas don't like fish-friends Some of them will tolerate otos, but most don't. Your LFS may take it back, or even exchange it for a pretty little betta if they're so inclined.. give that a shot if you want to go with the betta.

Sorry to hear that you lost your danios.. and welcome back to Fishlore!

aj_1992

i see... in that case i think i will get a betta then (knew it'd be better to post on the betta forum ) now the hardest part: how to convince my folks to let me have a betta. and what to do with the remaining danio. i know its having a rough time right now and i feel so sorry for it. i don't want to give it back to the lfs after seeing what they do to them. i don't have any friends who already have danios. any suggestions?

0morrokh

Well you can't have a danio with a betta, so you'll have to find a new home for the danio.

A random unrelated tip: are you planning on having any catfish with the betta? If so the cats need to be added to the tank first.

COBettaCouple

yea, cycling is pretty hard on them. A Betta may live more than a few years, so i'm not sure what to recommend, but a good home for the Danio would be the first step.

aj_1992

i have a friend that actually wants the danio he says that he has a 10g too and planned on getting danios so that'll be the danios new home so happy for it now, about the betta, my folks said that they'll help me take care of it if i do go the university in another province, so that worry is solved. last thoughts: i think i will put corys in with the betta and any more good suggestions for the soon to be new family member?

armadillo

Wooohooo. Results!

AggieYen

I gotta say kudos for wanting the best for your fish! I had a couple of goldfish in my little 5 gallon, and it killed me to re-house them, but it came down to what's best for them.

Bettas will really only tolerate otos (otocinclus catfish) or corys.. again, depending on the betta. Both are happy with more of it's kind, so I would say to get at least 3 of either kind. And as Omorrokh said, if you decide to get otos, make sure to get the otos in there first - if you introduce them after the betta's been in there for a while, your betta will most likely see them as intruders and try to eliminate them Not sure about corys, but I would assume that the same applies to them - get the corys in first?

0morrokh

Glad to hear everything worked out with the danio.

Cories should be a good tankmate. Just make sure to add them first to the tank, which helps reduce any aggression from the Betta. Get at least 3 Cories, and you could have 4 or 5 if they're a smaller species (like Panda cories) or even more if you can get a dwarf species, although I'll warn you the dwarfs tend to be more delicate. Make sure you also have sinking food specifically for the cories.

COBettaCouple

glad to hear that it worked out with the Danio & the Betta. Otos & Corys are good, you have 7.5g to work with after putting the Betta in, so you could get 2 of each (2" adult size) or 4 Otos or 4 Corys.

aj_1992

i can't seem to find any otos OR cories near my place. and besides otos and cories, any more suggestions? and what colours do betta come in? i know there's red, blue, green, and that's about all i know

0morrokh

For a small tank cories and otos are about it. Dwarf loaches would work too but are hard to find.

Nowadays you can get bettas in just about any color--white, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, blue, green, brown, black--and most colors come in different shades and there are tons of different combos possible.

aj_1992

wow... never thought there were there many colors!!! yeah, just went over to the loaches forum and don't think their colors really appeal to me that much. i've always did prefer the betta colors. and now that i know there's actually that much, i don't know which one to pick!!=D

aj_1992

any color suggestions ppl?

0morrokh

I wouldn't pick a color ahead of time. If you go into a store your betta will probably pick you, not vice versa. Most betta owners will tell you the same thing, their betta gave them 'the look' and so they had to buy them.

aj_1992

i have never thought of it that way... i'll give it a try!!!

Barbrella

That's so true! None of my bettas are what I had planned on, but I swear each one forced me to bring him/her home!