Wondering if i should get a betta...

Hey people!! haven't gone on fishlore for a while and wow! the changes are cool!

Anyways, after finally cycling my first 10 g (with a lot of unfortunate losses because my parents thought I should do a few complete water changes once in a while)... all but one of my zebra danios are gone... and now my folks are saying I should add some fish in there since there's only one left. I gave it some thought, asked a few ppl for suggestions, and came up with the idea of either a betta or a goldfish. here's the problem: i'm in high school, and I plan on going to a university in another province (that means in a few short years I won't be able to take care of the new fish) so goldfish is out of the question. BUT I 've always wanted a goldfish. plus bettas are just beautiful and I can't just buy it a half gallon, that's too cruel. and I can't keep them in the same tank. any suggestions? if you happen to be confused just tell me and I'll explain

 

A goldfish wouldn't be an option anyway cause the zebra danio you have is tropical and goldfish are tropical...plus goldies need way bigger tanks. A Betta would be a great fish for your 10g, but what about the danio? He needs to be in a shoal, and plus danios aren't compatible with bettas. So you either need to give away your danio or get another tank if you want a betta.

 

Well... firstly.. there are a couple of reasons why the goldfish would be out of the question. Goldfish are coldwater fish, so they require much cooler water from what danios and other tropical fish need. Generally goldfish are only kept with its kind for this reason. Aside from that.. your 10G would be too small for a goldfish anyway - the general rule of thumb is 20 gallon for the first goldfish, and 10 gallon per subsequent goldfish.

Your 10 gallon would be perfect for a bettas.. and you're right, they are beautiful. I can hardly wait for the new year when I get back from my holidays and I can finally go about getting this gorgeous blue betta into his new 5/6g home. They'd more than thrive in a 10G, but then you'll need to think about what to do about your remaining danio, because bettas don't like fish-friends Some of them will tolerate otos, but most don't. Your LFS may take it back, or even exchange it for a pretty little betta if they're so inclined.. give that a shot if you want to go with the betta.

Sorry to hear that you lost your danios.. and welcome back to Fishlore!

 

I see... in that case I think I will get a betta then (knew it'd be better to post on the betta forum ) now the hardest part: how to convince my folks to let me have a betta. and what to do with the remaining danio. I know its having a rough time right now and I feel so sorry for it. I don't want to give it back to the lfs after seeing what they do to them. I don't have any friends who already have danios. any suggestions?

 

Well you can't have a danio with a betta, so you'll have to find a new home for the danio.

A random unrelated tip: are you planning on having any catfish with the betta? If so the cats need to be added to the tank first.

 

yea, cycling is pretty hard on them. A Betta may live more than a few years, so i'm not sure what to recommend, but a good home for the Danio would be the first step.

 

I have a friend that actually wants the danio he says that he has a 10 gallon too and planned on getting danios so that'll be the danios new home so happy for it now, about the betta, my folks said that they'll help me take care of it if I do go the university in another province, so that worry is solved. last thoughts: I think I will put corys in with the betta and any more good suggestions for the soon to be new family member?

 

Wooohooo. Results!

 

I gotta say kudos for wanting the best for your fish! I had a couple of goldfish in my little 5 gallon, and it killed me to re-house them, but it came down to what's best for them.

Bettas will really only tolerate otos (otocinclus catfish) or corys.. again, depending on the betta. Both are happy with more of it's kind, so I would say to get at least 3 of either kind. And as Omorrokh said, if you decide to get otos, make sure to get the otos in there first - if you introduce them after the betta's been in there for a while, your betta will most likely see them as intruders and try to eliminate them Not sure about corys, but I would assume that the same applies to them - get the corys in first?

 

Glad to hear everything worked out with the danio.

Cories should be a good tankmate. Just make sure to add them first to the tank, which helps reduce any aggression from the Betta. Get at least 3 Cories, and you could have 4 or 5 if they're a smaller species (like Panda cories) or even more if you can get a dwarf species, although I'll warn you the dwarfs tend to be more delicate. Make sure you also have sinking food specifically for the cories.

 

glad to hear that it worked out with the Danio & the Betta. Otos & Corys are good, you have 7.5g to work with after putting the Betta in, so you could get 2 of each (2" adult size) or 4 Otos or 4 Corys.

 

I can't seem to find any otos OR cories near my place. and besides otos and cories, any more suggestions? and what colours do betta come in? I know there's red, blue, green, and that's about all I know

 

For a small tank cories and otos are about it. Dwarf loaches would work too but are hard to find.

Nowadays you can get bettas in just about any color--white, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, blue, green, brown, black--and most colors come in different shades and there are tons of different combos possible.

 

wow... never thought there were there many colors!!! yeah, just went over to the loaches forum and don't think their colors really appeal to me that much. i've always did prefer the betta colors. and now that I know there's actually that much, I don't know which one to pick!!=D

any color suggestions ppl?

 

I wouldn't pick a color ahead of time. If you go into a store your betta will probably pick you, not vice versa. Most betta owners will tell you the same thing, their betta gave them 'the look' and so they had to buy them.

 

I have never thought of it that way... I'll give it a try!!!

 

their betta gave them 'the look' and so they had to buy them.

That's so true! None of my bettas are what I had planned on, but I swear each one forced me to bring him/her home!

 

Yeah, I remember especially when I bought my boy Fuego...he came right to the front of the tank and just stared at me with his big eyes, followed me around, wouldn't go away...there was a pretty red ct I kinda wanted but no, Fuego made me buy him instead.

 

It's not a typical tankmate, but I think that a BN Pleco could work.

There's pretty much no color that Bettas don't come in.

I can't seem to find any otos OR cories near my place. and besides otos and cories, any more suggestions? and what colours do betta come in? I know there's red, blue, green, and that's about all I know

 

i'm wondering if I should remove the airstone I have in my 10g. b/c I know that bettas don't need airstones. and would it be better to only have one betta all by himself. cuz I don't want it to be lonely and I can't find any cories or otos. but if I do find either one of them, I should put the airstone back in right? or can just take out the airstone all together? thax for all the help so far!!

 

An air stone isn't necessary, with or without catfish.

Keep in mind that any other fish should be added before you add the Betta. If the Betta is already in the tank and you try to put in cories or otos, the Betta will probably see them as intruders on his territory and possibly attack them.

It's fine if he's all alone. What Bettas really like is attention from their owners, not necessarily from other fish.

 

so I can take away the airstone and just let the betta have 10 gallon all for himself?

 

I would recommend keeping the air stone in the tank for the Betta. We didn't until longtime Betta owners recommended it to us and now we wouldn't run a tank without some aeration (flexible bubble wands or the small wall decors with a small bubble wand in them at petsmart are my favorites). Quite a lot of Bettas even enjoy playing in the bubbles.

 

okay then, I'll keep the airstone in there... what's the diff between airstines and airwands?

 

I go to a university and they will let us have, a fish tank. No larger than a 10 gallon but that's not a problem for you. You should look and see if they allow fish in the doorms.

 

I go to a university and they will let us have, a fish tank. No larger than a 10 gallon but that's not a problem for you. You should look and see if they allow fish in the doorms.

yeah same here

 

I dunno... my marks are not that pretty right now, and I intend on studying my behind off during high school and make it to that university seeing that that's my first choice right now. so right now, no dorm problems but later, possibly yes. anyways, so the betta won't be lonely if he has the 10 gallon all for himself?

 

Nope, he'll be fine. Just make sure to give him/her lots of attention and maybe rearrange things once in a while so he doesn't get bored.

Oh and you could also do what I did in my 10gal- I divided it in half and have a male and a female. You could also have 2 females instead (but not 2 males as they'll stress out from seeing each other). It's fun watching them interact with each other since the divider is see through.

 

but doesn't that make them flare @ each other all day? the divided male and female idea that is.

 

They do flare at each other sometimes, but it's not like a fighting flare, more of a showing off flare (like when a female is introduced to a male to breed, he'll flare and show off to her). They were a bit overexcited the first couple days but after they figured out they couldn't get through the divider, they calmed down. There are several other people on here who keep Bettas in divided tanks, and I've never heard of anyone having to separate divided male/female or female/female combos because they were stressed out or anything.

 

Air wands usually release smaller bubbles than airstones, but there is so much variety in quality, size, materials and shapes that I feel like it's personal preference what type of aeration to put in your tank.

okay then, I'll keep the airstone in there... what's the diff between airstines and airwands?

 

And I like that airwands are flexible, so you can really do some awesome aquascaping. You can bend them in any shape you like.

 

sweet! I think I'll get an airwand! sounds like a fun addition to the 10 gallon and how hard is it to find female bettas? every time I go to a lfs, there's no female betta... there's only males. so would two males be okay?

 

Well, Walmart usually has female bettas in every colour of the rainbow, but it's a tough call to give the store money when they neglect the fish so badly.

If you go there, make sure there's a whole bunch of them so you'll know they haven't been sitting too long in ammonia and waste.

I got 3 girls there (our hearts do rule our heads sometimes!) One was very sick but is now fine, one didn't make it, and the 3rd is doing very well.

I'm now finding I prefer females. They're so stinkin' cute!!!

 

Petco and Petsmart also sell females now.

 

Yea, I love the flexible wants. They make changing the tank decor easier than a regular one would.

And I like that airwands are flexible, so you can really do some awesome aquascaping. You can bend them in any shape you like.

Your walmart gets females? The walmart here that carries live fish (I've not seen fish at other walmarts in Denver, but not been to them all since we moved.) doesn't ever get female bettas. and I know what you mean - once we got Angel, I was hooked on female bettas.. especially after rescuing Sweetie and then getting Kairi.

Well, Walmart usually has female bettas in every colour of the rainbow, but it's a tough call to give the store money when they neglect the fish so badly.
I'm now finding I prefer females. They're so stinkin' cute!!!

 

My Walmart sells females too. They're usually sick and look like poor quality stock even compared to Petco/Petsmart.

 

My Walmart sells females too. They're usually sick

Yes, they're usually sick with ammonia poisoning, but if it hasn't gone on too long, clean water can often return them to health. They're tough little devils!

 

Yes, they're usually sick with ammonia poisoning, but if it hasn't gone on too long, clean water can often return them to health. They're tough little devils!

True, the difference between how they look in a cup at a store and in a nice clean tank is amazing.

 

Betta's have Friends in each tank

What Started off with one Betta ( to replace Guppies that had gone beserk raising babies) ended up over time with 4 in separate tanks. But three of them have a Cory, an Algea eater and a Guppie in each tank. They don't bother with each other at all. They all sit on my office desk at home and are VERY Friendly. They really know who's coming too. If it's someone else they really aren't interested, but if it's me they are all up to the front of the tanks to see what's going on. The reason the Guppies stayed was because when I caught the rest to give away, these three were so tiny I missed them. Then grew like crazy and turned out to be two males and one female. So I just moved the males into the other tanks,with no problems?? I know everybody told me they would eat them and harass them. But that hasn't happened. Maybe just plain Luck?? Or Happy Betta's?? Take your Tank to college with you. When you get stressed and need to relax and think for a few minutes here and there, they are so relaxing! They aren't that much trouble! Good Luck.