New Betta!!

[SunnShadow]

I've got myself a new Betta! He is grayish with pink fins speckled with dark pink dots. I've decided to name him Floyd.........
He's definately a younger male, as he still has the horizontal stripes down his body. Tomorrow he goes into the three gallon tank with my two Otos (Jason and Freddy) and the African Dwarf Frog (no name yet, but I believe it is a girl....). "Morsel," who my step daughter has renamed "teeny tiny" is moving to the "Baby Box" in the 20 gallon to prepare him for life with the adults. How long should I wait to let him go in the tank without worrying about him getting eaten? He's almost a month old and is showing color (black and yellow on his tail, some blue and yellow on his body), and is almost an inch long......

I'd post pics of Floyd, but they didn't come out.

S.

 

[chickadee]

Congratulations on the new little Floyd - the name fits a Pink Spotted Betta. He is a welcome new addition to our Betta Community. He is going to a new world for him with two Oto friends and a frog. He is going to be very curious and maybe not too friendly for a little while but I am sure it will all work out. I am going to await your comments with much glee. Young males are funny. Wait til you go through Puberty with this one!!

Congratulations again and the best of times with him. Welcome, Floyd.

Rose

 

[0morrokh]

Congrats on the new Betta! He will be so much fun!

 

[SunnShadow]

Congratulations on the new little Floyd - the name fits a Pink Spotted Betta.  He is a welcome new addition to our Betta Community.  He is going to a new world for him with two Oto friends and a frog.  He is going to be very curious and maybe not too friendly for a little while but I am sure it will all work out.  I am going to await your comments with much glee.  Young males are funny.  Wait til you go through Puberty with this one!!

Congratulations again and the best of times with him.  Welcome, Floyd.

Rose

"Morsel" (aka Teeny Tiny) the guppy fry is extremely unhappy in the baby box (playpen) in the big tank. Would it be safe for him to go back to the 3 gallon with Floyd? Or would Floyd eat him?? I personally think he's too big for Floyd to mess with, but am afraid to set him loose in the 20 gallon, as the fish are bigger.
Please advise me!!!

S.

 

[0morrokh]

Exactly how big is Morsel? You might want to ask about this in beginners or general discussion, you'll get more answers.

 

[SunnShadow]

Exactly how big is Morsel?  You might want to ask about this in beginners or general discussion, you'll get more answers.

Morsel is almost an inch long. He's about a month old, maybe a little older. He's started developing his color (black and yellow).
Floyd doesn't bother the Otos, but he is very curious about the frog. I tried to feed him brine shrimp, but he doesn't know it is food. The only food he is interested in is Betta pellets.

S.

 

[0morrokh]

If he's an inch long he'll be perfectly fine with other fish as long as you don't have any HUGE fish (not counting catfish).

 

[Boxermom]

Bettas have a tendency to shred the fins of guppies. I had one living in my son's guppy tank happily for quite a long time, relatively speaking, then suddenly one day, half of the guppies had shredded tails.  I've only been able to keep him with ADFs.  My other betta will only tolerate shrimp and snails, no other fish. Not even an oto. YMMV.

We've generally found that any fry who live past the first several days will be left alone by the other guppies and fish (aside from my puffers and bettas).  He'd probably be fine in the big tank.

 

[0morrokh]

Oh goodness how did I miss that? Bettas are definately NOT compatible with Guppies. The Betta is likely to confuse the Guppy for another Betta and attack him. Anyway both will find the other's fins too hard to resist nipping. It is definately not a good combo.

 

[Boxermom]

Oh, and brine shrimp aren't terribly nutritious. Should be an occasional treat, not a staple (don't know how you are using them). A better staple for bettas are their betta pellets, although once mine had a taste of live blackworms, it won't eat pellets anymore. He only eats the live blackworms and frozen bloodworms, and my other betta that's housed with the ADFs will only eat frozen bloodworms. Spoiled rotten, I tell ya! ;D

 

[SunnShadow]

Dante lives quite peacefully in the 20 gallon with three gupies (two female, one male). He's never shown any aggression towards them. Of course, the male doesn't have the really big tail of most male guppies..... perhaps he is not yet full grown?

I am very reluctant to release the little fry guy into the big tank, because I would feel awful if he got eaten......... he's the only one of I don't know how many fry that I found and saved, and both my step-daughter and myself are very attached to him. Perhaps i should leave him in the "play-pen" for another week or so??

S.

 

[0morrokh]

Well, everything depends on the individual Betta...some may live peacefully with other fish, while some will not. It is very risky though. One day he could suddenly turn on the Guppies and nip them to shreds or even kill them. It is possible to work but I don't advise it.

At one inch Morsel will be fine. He is too big to eat and if any of the fish try to eat him he will swim away plenty fast. I had two Guppy fry grow up in a tank with adult Guppies and Platys...even when they were small enough to eat they had very strong survival instincts and knew how to hide from the others. Certainly before even reaching an inch they had started hanging out with the others because they new they were too big to be eaten.

 

[chickadee]

any chance that the playpen will fit in the tank with Floyd for a few hours to try them out without a full fledged meeting of the two. I would hate to say that just because it works with Dante, it will work with Floyd. Bettas are ALL different and I hesitate to make a sweeping statement that it will work. I would much rather err on the side of caution. It would probably be better to leave the little one in the playpen even though it is unhappy. I think a little tantrum will be easier to deal with than a death.

Rose
???

 

[SunnShadow]

any chance that the playpen will fit in the tank with Floyd for a few hours to try them out without a full fledged meeting of the two.  I would hate to say that just because it works with Dante, it will work with Floyd.  Bettas are ALL different and I hesitate to make a sweeping statement that it will work.  I would much rather err on the side of caution.  It would probably be better to leave the little one in the playpen even though it is unhappy.  I think a little tantrum will be easier to deal with than a death.

Rose
???

Nope..... the playpen won't fit in Floyd's tank. So I will "err on the side of caution" and leave the little guy in the playpen in the 20 gallon. Hopefully he will be ok and not totally stress out...........

S.

 

[chickadee]

Just try giving him some extra attention now and again so he doesn't feel alone or is there one other fish you feel comfortable putting in there with him that you think he would be safe with. Some nice peaceful fish or even another guppy. I really believe another guppy will be okay with him in the playpen, I just don't know about putting him out in the whole community.

Rose

 

[SunnShadow]

Just try giving him some extra attention now and again so he doesn't feel alone or is there one other fish you feel comfortable putting in there with him that you think he would be safe with.  Some nice peaceful fish or even another guppy.  I really believe another guppy will be okay with him in the playpen, I just don't know about putting him out in the whole community.

Rose

He's much happier today...... he has two little friends in there with him. This morning I found two fry hiding in the floating plants. They must have been born last night, because they're really tiny! I can't figure out who the mom is though, because all the live-bearer females still look totally pregnant.
I'm gonna have to get another tank just for babies!

S.