pepetj

Edda, female betta (see my signature) my first fish in my comeback to fishkeeping (May 2008), has been living by herself in a 5.5gal tank since I had to use her 10gal tank as hospital (August 12th).

I have tried everything but adding some "friends" (changing her small home decor, reducing water agitation). I keep her in check her water parameters (ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates <10ppm, Temp 28C, pH 7.6) and feeding as usual (varying her diet). She used to share her tank with a school of eight Zebra Danios and three Fancy Guppies. She is staying most of the time inactive, sleepy, kind of depressed I would say.

I was considering getting her some ditter fish, like 5 juveniles neon tetras. I know I will be pushing the limits as bio-load (5.5gal), but then again, I have extra filtration available, and she's going back to her 10gal in 2 weeks if all goes well with the sick fish. Are Neon Tetras compatible with a female Betta?

Thanks for your comments (specially welcomed from Bettalovers of fishlore!)

Pepe
Santo Domingo

Alessa

I... dont know very well about females, but bettas in general dont like bright colored fish!

(guppies, neons, gouramis.... etc). Specially the tetras will be horrible fin nippers in that 5 gallon! (not to mention 5 tetras would be 7.5 inches of fish alone, and need a big space to swim).

if you want mates... try two ottos. Otos really need a school of at least 3, but they arent brightly colored and mostly stay in the bottom. Or you can always get her an air stone for her to play in the bubbles, since I wouldnt recommend adding anything to that five gallon other than a betta.

capekate

Hi Pepe
Is it possible that your little girl just has not adjusted to her move to the smaller tank yet? She may not be happy in the 5.5 and would rather be swimming around in her 10g that she was accustomed too? Hopefully she will perk back up once she is back in the 10g soon.

Harley

do you have a air stone in the tank? cause I always find that keeps my betta busy that and tormenting his tank mates!

Barbrella

I gave one of my bettas a wooden air diffuser, and he just loves playing in the gentle bubbles!

Also, you can try rotating decorations and plants, give her some bobbletoys to play with, prop up a mirror next to her...etc.

She might even enjoy watching a snail!

Tetras shouldn't be kept in 5 gallons at all, and especially not with a betta.

peacemaker92

Correct me if I'm wrong but maybe you could add another friend of the same species? I mean add another female betta. Then she'd probably won't feel bored. She's probably lonely and need a friend to play with. I love the other member's advices though. lol

Blub

They would rip each other to pieces. Betta are solitary unlike tetras - they prefer to be alone.

Allie

Yup female bettas if kept together should get in a 30g plus with at least 15 females and lots of plants & hiding spots. This would be for experience betta keepers who have lots of time to monitor the tank.
NEVER in a 10g or anything smaller.

pepetj

I read that a group of four female bettas might work in a 10gal. However, a plan B must be at hand. This will work if, and only if, a hierarchical structure is achieved between them. In some cases -maybe more than chance (>50%)- there will just be two or more temperamentally aggressive females that would not submit to another. If this happens, this attempt fails and they must be taken apart. Less than four females is trouble waiting to happen.

The owner of one of the LFS, experienced fishkeeper and breeder, has a 6footer stocked with female-only Bettas at his house. I saw pics of this tank, which is heavily planted, and it looks awesome. He got all of them as juveniles and he says it is one of the most rewarding tanks he's had.

After doing some searching, I found this place: ultimatebettas.com, where Neons are listed as potentially compatible (along with Zebra Danios and a few others) and I decided to give it a try since I will be home until Thursday (I took Monday off). I have good filtration in that 5.5gal, and they are likely to be there for three to four weeks at most. So I got five very young (1/2"-3/4" tops) Neon Tetras that passed quarantine in a LFS.

I could move them in a minute to the -for the time being- community tank if needed. I have been watching all day, Edda got curious right away, I thought she would go after them, but she didn't display the aggressive act she had shown when mad at other fish (e.g. young Convicts), she was just doing some inquiries to them all, after all it's her tank. As the day moved on Edda seems to be out of her lethargic mood, the neons go in and out of schooling.

It's almost midnight, no fin nipping so far, and I can tell she is back to the way she used to be when sharing her 10gal with the school of Zebra Danios and the three Fancy Guppies (I was tense with that arrangement, and my daughter helped me a lot in monitoring their behavior; however no fin-nipping episode occurred)

I know I'm pushing the limits here. Having an overstocked tank is a bit stressing, especially if a very small one, where a spike could happen with short notice. I'm counting on the two filters (a HOB with 35GPH with extra sponges and a inside the tank activated charcoal and fiber blanket for 10gal) to keep up with this bio-load.

So far no noticeable impact on water parameters (Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates <10ppm) in this mild-to-moderately planted lo-light little tank. I perform twice a week partial water changes on this tank (takes only like 5-10minutes).

Pepe
Santo Domingo