mdw4950

my girlfriend bought herself a male betta the other day in a small vase shaped tank. probably no more than a gallon. the fish hardly moved and i figured it was going to die soon. i bought her a new 37 gallon tank and the fish is looking much happier and healthier. the only problem is now weve got a larger sized tank with one small betta. i was going to fill it up with other fish suspecting the betta was sick or old. would that tank be large enough to try and put some other fish into?

Alessa

first of all, congratulations on moving your betta it was the best thing you could have done gor him... wow, surely a betta would enjoy the large playing space!

The problem is not the size of the tank, but the compatibility of the betta. there are some that would argue bettas can live in community settings, but that is most of the time not true and it really depends in the personality of the betta (who would rather live alone), which is rarely compatible with other fish.

People that keep bettas with other fish succesfully, keep them mostly with bottom dwellers. Some small species of plecos, cories (corydoras catfish), ottos (otocinclus catfish) and the like. A cool tank setting would be a planted tank with a school of ottos, a school of cories (or various of different types), maybe some mystery snails and the betta. Make sure that the tank is heated, filtered and cycled (see below for article) . Also make sure you have a lot of tall plants (either fake or real), because bettas can get tired due to their long fins, and when they are on a deep tank, they need places to rest and have access to air, otherwise they may drown.

Please, before adding anything else to the tank, read this article. the information within is vital for the successful keeping of any fish:
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

Im sure betta lovers will come soon with other ideas for your stocking options. if you have any questions DO NOT hesitate and ask!
and...

Welcome to FL

Blub

Well done for buying such a big (by Betta standards) tank! Alessa has covered the nitrogen cycle, but here's a few other things you are going to need.

water change siphon,
Water change bucket,
API master test kit,
Water conditioner (Prime is best),

You need to do daily 50% water changes until you are fully cycled to help prevent Betta encountering toxins like ammonia and Nitrites.

Good tankmates for Betta are Corys, Otos, Snails and small plecos. In that tank, you could easily have a really nice little haven. Don't add anything yet until you are cycled. Good small plecos are Bristlenose and Clowns. When you do add new fish, re arrange the tank decor, so your Betta will not feel his territory is being invaded. For that reason, I recommend only using silk plants (plastic plants rip betta fins!) until you are fully stocked because lives won't like being moved around every 2 weeks.

When you are fully stocked, good live plants would be Hornwort, Anubias, Java moss, Java fern, Dwarf hairgrass, Crypts, Amazon sword and Vallisnera.

Also, if you want to get corys for tankmates, then the gravel will need to be vgery smooth to prevent barbell errosion. I've just added a lot of cory profiles to my Encyclopedia aquatica (See the link in my sig) if you want to learn a bit more about these small and cute catfish.

EDIT: A true Siamese algae eater would make a nice tankmate for a Betta.

Allie

Get your betta a 5g or add cories, ottos or a bn pleco to the 37g.
37g is too big for a betta but if you want to have it just for him, I am sure he won't mind at all, lol.

Martinismommy

I have one of my Betta boys in a 55 gallon alone.....He's been in this tank for 2 years....He is very happy but one thing I have noticed is that he is not as interactive with me as my other bettas who are in 10 gallon or smaller tanks..You may want to consider buying him a 5 gallon and keeping him in that alone...They really do best when kept alone.....

Here is my boys 55 gallon retirement home lol
http://www.fishlore.com/fishpicture-052008.htm

Blub

How can a tank be to big for a fish?

Allie

I have had betta who got over whelmed when bigger tanks(25,20 and even 10gs) alone. Felix was one of them and Holly was another. The just weren't happy unless in a 5g.

Martinismommy

There have been times when I thought about moving Will into a smaller tank.....I was just concerned he was too old to make the change...He's anything but overwhelmed.....In fact he is so mellow sometimes I think he's on drugs lol

Allie

Maybe he's been getting into your "tea"?
If you used the water from the 55g and made sure it was the same temp I am sure he'd be fine. Then you could use the 55g for a cichlid tank.

Martinismommy

Allie