GouramiGirl1221

I know that free-swimming fish aren't at all good tank mates for bettas, but I'd like to put something in with Flipper to "clean up" after him...mainly the algae that I'm sure will soon develop. I don't really want to try otos since I have them in my 55 gal and will soon add them to my 29 gal, and I would feel terrible keeping a single cory in there . My best friend's dad, who keeps fish also, suggested a snail. Would this be a possibility? I know every betta reacts differently to tank mates, but Flipper seems to be relatively calm, and if whatever I try in his tank doesn't work out I can always move it to either the 29 or 55 gal. Any input, or other suggestions, would be greatly appreciated!

Shawnie

there really shouldnt be any algae...out of all my betta's, and god knows ive gone overboard, only one tank needs my cories and thats because it gets direct sunlight...ive heard of bettas having snails for snack so some do and some dont ...goodluck either way

dacrax07

one way to control algae and make your tank look super awesome is to add live plants. not only do they deprive algae from nutrients but also add a visual appeal. i would recommend anubias and java fern since both do well with minimal light, which algae needs. for algae eating tank mate, try cherry shrimp or amano shrimp. i prefer cherries even though amanos eat more algae.

GouramiGirl1221

I've seen the cherry shrimp before and think they're beautiful. I may try those. I'm going to place an order with liveaquaria as soon as they get chocolate gourami back in stock, because my LFS can't order them in for me. I'll probably order some then.

pamelakt

I thought Betta's eat shrinp?!

I dunno about different types of snails, but my plants came with free snails attached which i thought was cute, til I realised they were eating the leaves!!!! They have since been evicted from the house of Hamish.

Shawnie

indeed they do eat shrimp

MeGustaUnaPez926

Whatever you add, try and put the betta in last, so it doesn't intrude on their territory.

GouramiGirl1221

I got a golden snail today, and so far so good. Flipper may be picking on her...he...it some-I've found it flipped over twice already. I don't know if that's normal or if they can flip themselves back over so I've been putting it upright when I see it. It's really enjoying climbing in the artificial plants though!

Mike19

As weird as this sounds, snails can drown, they need to be attached to something e.g gravel, plant.