emily

Hi Everyone...

I've recently rescued my betta from freezing in 'winter water' and have put him in with my tropical fish. The betta is loving the warmer water but i have an aggressive clown loach who loves chasing him and biting his fins. I tried removing the clown loach because he is the aggressor- but he sulked and looked liked he was going to die (despite the fact that the moment i let him go he was fine... bbbiiggg wimp) but now I'm not sure what to do with the fighter!!!
I have a 10 gallon tank with 5 neons and 2 loaches and now the betta.

PLEASE HELP!!! I'm new to keeping fish!! (isn't it obvious )

Emily.

chickadee

I would say the best solution is to get a 5 gallon for the Betta by himself or with a snail or a couple of very peaceable little Otocinclus catfish. That is the best, now let's see what else is possible. Loaches and Bettas are not a happy mix. So I guess if there is someone who has an idea about keeping them in the same tank, let us know. I spent some time here researching and just cannot come up with a happy solution to the same tank question. but i have not owned Loaches before and there may be a trick to them that I am not aware of. In the mean time (I cannot believe I am going to say this) is there any type of temporary quarters you can put the Betta into? He will be fine alone and probably prefer it to being bullied. The only thing is that eventually he will need to be in a tank with full set-up (filter and heater). He can probably live in something smaller for a SHORT period of time without a proper hook-up but be aware that this means much more frequent maintenance and since there would be no filter probably, ammonia WILL build up no matter what. This means you need to test for the Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels in the water probably twice a day in a small tank or container (the smaller you go the more fragile the situation becomes) without a filter and do water changes with TREATED water on a very frequent basis. You do not need to worry about disturbing the nitrogen cycle because without a filter there is no Nitrogen Cycle. Just testing and water changes - frequently.

I am happy to have met you. Wish it was under better circumstances. Welcome to Fishlore.com. We will try our best to help you and see your little guy safe and happy.

Rose

fish_r_friend

If you don't want to get another tank for your betta you could get rid of the clown loaches b/c they will get 12in in size and your tank is over stocked because of them

0morrokh

Yeah the clown loaches will get way too big for a 10g. Clown Loaches and Neons are too nippy to really be compatible with Bettas.

inari

neons are nippy?! Thats news to me sorry just commenting i did not no that i always thought they were gentle fish

emily

Thanks for replying everyone! I have the fighter in a seperate tank until I can get another tank for him!!
Till next time,

Emily.

smillermom

I would still definitely remove the clown loaches as they do get big and will max out your tank as well as when stressed, are more susceptible to disease and being in a tank too small will definitely do that! If you like their colors, get a few Panda Cories instead, fun to watchm great scavengers, fun little fish! Good luck with the Betta, Petco still has the 5 gallon hex on sale for 29.99!!!!!

0morrokh

Most of the tetras are. That's not to say that tetras are not gentle...just they are active little fish and would find a betta's fins hard to resist. Bettas are so slow-moving (at least compared to other fish) they become easy targets.

inari

oic just a random thought about it i would think that would make the betta made and he would return the favor...like take a scale or something like that

random thought

chickadee

It is important to remember that the Betta is not really a good candidate for a community tank because of the difficulty in finding good tankmates for him/her. The list of problem tankmates is quite long and those who are truly good tankmates rather short. Just like the Bettas are not used to having ANY other fish around, the other fish are not used to having the long fins of the Bettas in there tempting them to see if they are "real". Even some little peaceful fish cannot help but nip. I would make it a rule at my house not to put Neons in with my Bettas.

Rose

inari

Probably the best rule of thumb about keeping bettas is males are loners don't put them with anyone else it won't work generally. Females are ok with other females but like chikadee said very few other fish. just a thought

0morrokh

Well, some fish will work fine...Cories and Otos are the best bet. It is my personal opinion that in the long term they might actually appreciate the company, or at least be glad not to be totally isolated. That's not to say that keeping Bettas alone is bad...they are perfectly happy living alone as long as you fuss over them plenty. Just you can't keep them with anything that may be even tempted to nip them, or may be tempting for the Betta to nip. Not a lot of fish that fit there. :P The only problem I see with small catfish is that Bettas are generally kept in 5 or maybe 10 gallon tanks...a group of Cories may overstock that small of a tank, and it is hard to keep the nitrates down in a tank of that size, which will not make Otos too happy. So in some cases it may be best to leave the Betta alone.

chickadee

If you have a Betta in a 5 gallon tank you can have a couple of Otos or a Mystery Snail in with him. I would not put the usual fish people think of adding to a community tank in there as they either: 1) nip the bettas fins or 2) are too much like a betta with long fins or related to the betta so causes the betta to become aggressive.

Rose