Jesserr20

My plan for my tank is 6 rasboras , 6 cherry barbs, 7 neons, maybe 6 zebra danios to go with my pleco and aquatic frog .. maybe a platy or two and a couple of those bottom feeders .... I would also love to be able to put my new lovely young betta into the tank once all the fish are added.. but i'm gun shy after my other betta i tried putting in my tank ate the tail off and killed one of my neons...

so far i have 5 rasboras, 1 neon, pleco and frog .... started with 6 neons a while back but only 1 lasted a tank wide ICH which is now finaly cleared... Bought 6 rasboras couple days ago but one got himself all caught up in a net i had wraped around the filter to keep the frog out i removed it, and hopefully the frogs big enough now it won't go in ...

Janmitch22

0morrokh

how big is your tank? that is a lot of fish you are planning to add. I wouldn't put a Betta in there with barbs. They will most likely nip his tail up.

Jesserr20

Cool .. I jus added 2 cory cats and 1 more harlequin rasbora to replace the one that got cought in the netting i had around the filter ... rasboras are cool lil fish, very quick .. and my one neon schools with them and thinks he's one tries his best to keep up ....

My tank is a 35 Gal

0morrokh

ok good, your tank should be big enough for all the fish you listed. But once again I wouldn't get the barbs if you plan to put a Betta in there.

Jesserr20

are the zebra danios a problem as well ?? barbs would still be a problem even if kept in a school of 6 ?? .. if so what would be a better schooling fish that arn't as nippy.. thx

0morrokh

I think danios are fine. Even as a shoal (school), barbs can be very nippy, and I would not risk keeping them together. The Neons may be a problem too. I'm not sure about the Harlequins, I think they would be ok but not sure. But these are generalizations, some individual fish are less nippy than others, and some Bettas are more or less tolerant of other fish. I would personally not put a male Betta with all the fish you have listed. I usually recommend to people to just get some Oto or Cory Cats if they want other fish with male Bettas, and them MAYBE if they have a large tank a shoal of danios. It is possible that a male Betta, Harlequins, Neons, and Zebras would get along great...and it is just as possible it could end up a disaster. I would recommend considering a female Betta instead of a male in this situation--they are more peaceful towards other fish *usually* and have less tempting fins. As far as shoaling fish that aren't nippy...well, barbs are nippy, and the majority of tetras are nippy...which leaves danios and I don't know about rasboras, and then a few tetras...I've heard that Lemon Tetras are very good natured. And of course the danios aren't a guarantee. Those are pretty much the more common shoaling fish...not a lot of options as you can see. Let us know if you come up with a new plan.

Jesserr20

cool, think i'm gunna go for the Lemon Tetras insted of the cherry barbs if i can find them at my LFS ... since i put the cory cats in yesterday the tank is just crazy, there just flying around like mad fish

0morrokh

So your list is now Harlequins, Neons, Lemons, and Cories, right? Are you still planning to get a Betta? With this many other fish I would still recommend a female one.

Jesserr20

ya... i can't see any of my bettas fitting in.. the tanks so active and i havn't even added the danios lemons and neons yet whenever i have some extra money i'm gunna get myself a nice lil 10 gal for my new young betta .. for now they all seem happy in there bowls, and i have a nice warm room ... 2 of them i've had for 1.5 years and were full grown when i got them .. they've had great healthy long lives in there bowls so i'm not gunna mess with them.. my new ones a young crown tail, he is doing fine as well but i would love to set up a small tank for him sometime in the near future...

thx

0morrokh

Yes please do buy tanks for your Bettas. Even a 5 gallon would be fine. Here's why I don't like keeping fish in bowls:

PLEASE DON'T PUT YOUR BETTA IN A BOWL!
Problems:
*Can't be heated--Bettas like a temp of 78-82 degrees; with low temps diseases such as ich are very likely to strike
*No space to swim--yes they DO need to move around, would you like to be confined in your bathroom?
*Small volume of water--almost impossible to maintain the water quality they like; too much of a shock if new water after water change is different temp, etc; not enough room for hiding places/plants
*Can't be filtered--they need excellent water quality
*Can't easily be lighted--fish need 12 hours of light to make enough vitamin D or they will get sick and eventually die
I could go on and on...but basically a bowl, a BOWL for pete's sake, is not suitable for keeping any type of fish. A betta should be kept in at least a 5 gallon tank.

I typed this up, just copy it when I need it...it sounds like you've been giving them great care, but if you can they would greatly appreciate even a small tank.

chickadee

Please do not spread the word that Bettas live healthy lives in a bowl. They will have their lifespans shortened no matter what! The conditions in a bowl are not proper conditions for Tropical Fish and will weaken the fish's immune system and make it more likely to contract diseases such as fin rot, ich, or velvet. Just because a betta MAY live that way does not mean it is the way it SHOULD live. It is not the right thing to let other new fish owners believe that bowls are proper places for the Betta. They are just a step up from the little cups in the pet stores. If you put a betta in a proper tank after having them in one of the Betta Bowls, you will see the change in his/her manner that after they get used to having room to move around will more than compensate you for the cost of the tank. They are such beautiful creatures they deserve to live the way they were made to. (and that is not in an unheated, unfiltered BOWL). I am so sorry if this offends anyone, but I want the BEST for these lovely fish who have such great personalities, not just what they can stand and get by with.

Rose

Jesserr20

was not what i intended to say.. I know a heated filtered tank is a better setup for bettas, thats why i said i plan to buy a 10 gal for my new young one.. I only mentioned my 2 old bettas are 1.5 years old and i'm sure were over 6 months when i got them, with an average life expectancy of 2 years, and i'm not about to buy two more 10 gal tanks for each of them ... I'm not promoteing bowls for bettas, of course a tank is better I'm planing on putting a lovely female betta in my 35 gal .. I really wanted to be able to put one of the males in but i don't believe it'd work out..

The reason i have all the bettas I have is because my local pet store takes horrid care of them, i've seen first hand the guy aggressivly changeing the water in there lil cups before (once it gets to the point u can't see through it) and most of the time he ends up breaking the fish.. It's very common to walk in and see a couple dead and a couple trying to swim off the bottom but there fins are broken .. so when I see a healthy gorgious fish I do my best to save it.. I never had the money to have the best possible homes for my two old ones.. but i know there personalities and i know when there happy, and there always very active and curious.... If I had left them at the store i'm sure they would have only lived a couple days more, so I like to think i've done the best I could i giveing them good lives..... So please don't view me as this evil fish nazi who has torture chambers for all his creatures and has no knoledge about what he's doing : :P

Thanks for your concern

0morrokh

I guess your right that a decent home is better than the horrid pet store conditions, and at least you know how to take care of fish...
You don't even need a 10 gallon tank for a Betta...you can just get little 5 gallons. Please do buy them tanks if you can.
And do us a favor and don't tell people that you are keeping Bettas in bowls...a lot of beginners think that they can just stick a betta in a little bowl because one or two people manage to keep them in one...really sorry if I offend anyone. Like, please take off your signature that you are keeping them in bowls. It kind of sets back our mission to free bettas from bowls--no offense to you, you are obviously giving them the best care possible--if someone does keep them in bowls and people know about it...

newbie101

but bettas really need heated and filtered tanks! I doubt you keep the room temp at 80 all the time! Sorry...