delyall

Hello, my name is Danielle and Im new to the forums and owning freshwater tropical fish

I currently have two male betta fish in those horrible small tanks, but I bought a rather large tank (137x20.5x41) tank yesterday. Strange dimensions, I know..

After spending about 6hrs cleaning the tank, its almost ready to start adding the water, rocks, plants etc. as well as the filter (which I might need help with later..), air pump and heater.

Anyway, sorry for ranting, but I want to separate my tank into sections for maybe 3 betta fish, and the rest maybe for some oscar fish.. I also would want some tetras in with the bettas and something in with the oscars, but Im having trouble thinking of what and also how large to make the sections.

Anything Ive missed, please ask, also any advice for a n00b like me, Id really appreciate! After all, Im here to learn

Thanks,
delyall

iloveengl

Hello and welcome delyall!

I'm assuming that's in cm, but I'm still having trouble figuring out the size. Is it about 55g?

I think it would be difficult to separate that size tank (especially with 3 dividers), but I think it's great that you want to give your fishies more space! And a single oscar needs a minimum 55g. Could you seperate the bettas into some 5gallons or separate a 20 long. Then you could have one oscar for the 55g.

Before any fish are added, though, have you cycled your tank? Do you know the water parameters?

What did you clean the tank with? Any bit of soap is absolutely toxic to fish.

Lots of others will have more advice.

aquarist48

Hello Delyall and Welcome to Fish Lore. Keeping Oscar Fish - Care - Breeding Oscar Cichlids - Tankmates - Information on Oscars
Congrats on the new tank! I posted a link above for Oscar care. I agree with Ilovee that the Oscar will need 55g's and all that room to swim. Too, should one of your Betta's escape into his part of the tank, it will end up being dinner for the Oscar. Good tips from Ilovee about housing the Betta's as well

I see in your aquarium information that you "are" aware of the nitrogen cycle. If you have any questions by all means don't hesitate to ask.
Best wishes and I hope you can share some photos with us during the process.
Have fun and enjoy the site.
Ken

Lucy

Hi Welcome to FishLore

Congrats for wanting to move your betta into a proper home!
How many gallons is the tank? The dimensions, are they inches or centimeters?
I agree with the above posters. I wouldn't divide a tank for bettas and an oscar.

Best of luck whatever you decide to do.

bolivianbaby

Welcome to Fishlore

ynaggo

When you bought the tank did you get a filter, lighting, hoods?

delyall

Ahh yes, cm, sorry, Im hopeless with remembering to convert cm to inches.. In inches my tank is 53.94x8.07x16.14 and is 30.41 US gallons .. the measurement converter on this site is extremely helpful

Used no soap, just hot water and hard work Thankfully I knew that much

And at first I knew nothing of the nitrogen cycle, but after joining this site, it was the first thing I researched about, thank you! And thank you for the Oscar fish information! Extremely helpful, I will definitely consider another fish, as my tank is not right for them

I will also have a look around and hopefully buy a tank for just my bettas, as right now, they are my first priority

The tank came with an apparently working filter, lighting, air pump and I bought a 150w heater, thermometer and a pH tester yesterday, Im trying to gather up a nitrite, nitrate and kH tester now.

Thank you for the welcome and wonderful advice! Is there another fish I will be able to keep in my 30.4 gallon tank? I have researched a few, but really so far you have been much more helpful than any of the fish-stores in my area

aquarist48

Good morning Delyall. Hope you're doing well this morning. Lots of possibilities stocking wise for your tank. A pair of Angels might be nice with some Cory Cats for your bottom feeders. You could have several types of tetras, mollies, guppies, platties just about any of the small fish. Gourami's are beautiful and quiet a few to choose from. It's suggested only 1 of these per tank though and they do make a great center piece fish.
I'm sure you'll get more responses as more people start waking up
Take into consideration the adult size of the fish. A guide line (and not written in stone by any means) is 1" of fish per gallon of water. This will help to prevent being over stocked. As I said this is flexible.
Snails make a nice addition
I'm glad to read that you're going to get your Bettas a home of their own.
Have fun creating your stocking list!
Ken

ynaggo

Be aware that test strips don't always tell the truth and are highly inaccurate,
Shoot for the old bottle dropper and test tube :],
Love to see pictures :]

callichma

Welcome to the forum. I am a fairly new member and learn valuable information every time I log on. I have a betta in a 14 g tank. He is peacefully coexisting with corries, plattys and a bristlenose plecostomas. You mentioned in your first post that you might like to put tetras in with your bettas. I have read elsewhere on this forum that tetras will pick at a betta's fins. My LFS told me the same. Blessings to you and your new fish.
Marianne

peacemaker92

Hi Danielle and welcome to Fishlore!

Great advice from everyone above Right now for your current tank, it's great that you're adding dividers for your bettas. I support your effort to make them first priority. I wouldn't suggest adding any other fish with your bettas. Snails would do great or maybe some bottom dwellers like Corycats. Keep us posted yeah?
Best of luck!

thorpbrian

Welcome to Fishlore:

Personally, I'd get two 5 gallon tanks and put a betta in each one of them (if you can afford it). Then I'd make the 30 gallon a tropical community tank.

There are lots of different possibilities for stocking a 30 gal community so researching to find fish that you'd like, will work for your water parameters and will get along with the other fish you want to keep will help a lot.

A good combo for a 30 gallon could be:

10 to 15 tetras (or other similar shoaling fish)
6 corydoras catfish
1 gourami (or other similar sized pretty showcase type fish)

delyall

Yep, Ive heard that too, dont worry, Ill be sure to get only the dropper and test tube
Thanks!

Ahh yes, I am now thinking the 30g tank will be a nice community tank, and my bettas will have a tank of their own. Ive seen a nice 3ft tank which I can easily divide
Ill certainly look up information on the bristlenose plecostomas! They look amazing, and I believe my grandfather used to have one when he had fish
Thank you, Ill reconsider my idea of having the tetras with the bettas


Question about the gouramis, Ive started a bit of research, but am confused. Ive seen them in a few pet shops and aquariums living in a tank together, apparently peaceful.. is it possible to have more than one in a tank without fighting?

Heres some photos of my tank, before and after cleaning




Sorry about photo quality, it still has a bit of cleaning to go.. but mostly now I just need to figure out this filter and get some things for the water when I put it in

delyall

After more research, please ignore my question about gouramis Its clear more than one will be too much for me