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Home > Home & Garden > Pets & Animals > Other Pets & Animals   »   Betta fish and tankmates

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Old Oct 28, 2009, 03:17 PM
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Betta fish and tankmates

Hi, My old Betta fish recently died. I have an empty tank and i want to get a new one. The tank is a gallon.

When I get my Betta, I want to get it a tankmate. I was thinking about getting a snail, but I also want to get it another fish friend.

First, I know that Bettas are territorial, so the gallon may not be big enough for 2 fish. It's fine for just the betta, with the snail though. I read that the snails help clean up teh waste that the betta leaves, So I think that would be really good for keeping the tank clean. I also had a live plant, I want to get another one because it helps filter the water natrually and keep it cleaner longer. I think the plant, slong with the snail, would help a lot.

So now I just need to know what other fish, if any will fit in with a Betta in a gallon tank and not cause any problems. I want something interesting, and possibly colorful, something that won't cause conflict with my betta and will compliment it's colors.

Any suggestions?

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Old Oct 29, 2009, 09:59 AM   #11  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Altenweg View Post
The usual rule for fish is 1 gallon per inch. So, if you have a fish that's 5 inches long then you need a 5 gallon tank and can't add anymore fish.

Betas fall into the 2 inch category but are not very active fish. Still, I find it cruel that many people think it's okay to keep them in tiny little bowls, even cups.

My dad had a 30 gallon tank with many different fish, usually Neons (also betas) and angel fish, etc. etc. He always had a siamese fighting fish in the tank and there were never any problems.

Just keep to the 1 inch per gallon rule and you should be fine, but take into account the growth of the fish you buy. Ask the store how big they'll get before purchasing.

That sounds like a good plan. My Betta did pretty well in his 1 gallon, but liek you said, they're not overly active.
They are jumper though, So I had to keep an inch and a half of empty space between the lid of the tank and the water, also so he could breathe. They're really cool little guys.
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Old Oct 29, 2009, 04:48 PM   #12  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ohsohappy View Post
How many gallons was your 4 foot tank?
I wouldn't have a clue sorry!

We don't do gallons here and I couldn't tell you how many litres either lol

I agree with Alty on the snails!!!!! Bad joo-joo with them.

You had neons and angels together Alty?

My angels eat all my neons, I learnt the hard way lol
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Old Oct 29, 2009, 05:23 PM   #13  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shazamataz View Post
I wouldn't have a clue sorry!

We don't do gallons here and I couldn't tell you how many litres either lol

I agree with Alty on the snails!!!!! Bad joo-joo with them.

You had neons and angels together Alty?

My angels eat all my neons, I learnt the hard way lol
Our angels ate the smaller neons, then we wised up and got more mature neons, a bit bigger then angel fish mouth size.

It was my dads tank, that man really knew fish. Me, well, I have a gold fish that has lived longer then anyone ever though he would despite 4 tank relocations, a case of ick and many other things. He's still alive. I also have a feeder fish which we've had for around 6 months. He also went through the ick and lived.

J9 mentioned frogs. We've had them, they're so cute, but I've never had luck with them, neither did my dad. The longest a frog has lasted for us is 1 week.
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Old Oct 29, 2009, 05:28 PM   #14  
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Sorry to get sidetracked but that just reminded me of Vaughns evil cousins...
When we moved house we left the fish at his mothers until we settled in, his cousins came to stay with her and poured an entire container of food into the tank (!!!)
They were very sick so his mom took them out and put them in a jug of water.
She thought she was doing the right thing putting the water ager in.. she actually put the blue water tester in there!

One of them survived, the other goldfish and the catfish had a toilet funeral

My parents expensive fish Jack (the rabbit) killed by biting through the heater cable... needless to say he was banished outside after that.
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Old Oct 29, 2009, 05:30 PM   #15  
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Wow Shaz, your fish live a world of excitement.

Goldie was tiny when we got him, so small that we had to turn off the filter, he kept getting sucked to the little post thingy.

Now he's over 5 inches long.
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Old Oct 29, 2009, 05:58 PM   #16  
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You need to build a koi pond for him...
Good excuse to put hubby to work
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Old Oct 29, 2009, 06:15 PM   #17  
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Fish are really cool creatures.

As for the frogs, I'm really upset with wal-mart. Every time i go there, I see a bunch of dead ones. THey don't take care of their fish at all. it makes me sad. People tell me not to buy my fish from there because they don't treat their fish well, but that's exactly why i would want to, to save a fishie that otherwise wouldn't be well taken care of. I feel bad for them
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Old Oct 30, 2009, 10:40 AM   #18  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ohsohappy View Post
Fish are really cool creatures.

As for the frogs, I'm really upset with wal-mart. Every time i go there, I see a bunch of dead ones. THey don't take care of their fish at all. it makes me sad. People tell me not to buy my fish from there because they don't treat their fish well, but that's exactly why i would want to, to save a fishie that otherwise wouldn't be well taken care of. I feel bad for them
I just got a new tank and a whole wack of new fish about a week ago. They are all so cute. They are:
-An orange platty(flame)
-Male guppy( Atlas)
-Female Guppy(Honey)
-Black Mystery Snail(Speedy Gonzalez)
-2 African Dwarf Frogs(Chase&Echo)
-One small Pleco(Jaws)

I got them all from Walmart as there are no pet stores near my house. The frogs were scarce there most were dead and even the ones I acquired were moving very little. Thankfully when I got them home to my tank they started moving around a lot more. I love my frogs so much but I'd have to say that my pleco jaws is my fave.

Frogs are cute but they move around A LOT. They need lots of space. So I don't think they would be a good choice. You know us humans tend to think that fish and other pets get lonely but they don't. Well not bettas anyway they are pretty solitary fish, they like their space. The only thing I could suggest is maybe to get one of those betta tanks that are separated into two sections therefore you could have two.
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Old Oct 30, 2009, 11:42 AM   #19  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rex123 View Post
I just got a new tank and a whole wack of new fish about a week ago. They are all so cute. They are:
-An orange platty(flame)
-Male guppy( Atlas)
-Female Guppy(Honey)
-Black Mystery Snail(Speedy Gonzalez)
-2 African Dwarf Frogs(Chase&Echo)
-One small Pleco(Jaws)

I got them all from Walmart as there are no pet stores near my house. The frogs were scarce there most were dead and even the ones I acquired were moving very little. Thankfully when I got them home to my tank they started moving around a lot more. I love my frogs so much but I'd have to say that my pleco jaws is my fave.

Frogs are cute but they move around A LOT. They need lots of space. So I don't think they would be a good choice. You know us humans tend to think that fish and other pets get lonely but they don't. Well not bettas anyway they are pretty solitary fish, they like their space. The only thing I could suggest is maybe to get one of those betta tanks that are separated into two sections therefore you could have two.
I like that Idea, but I think most of those tanks are too small for them. Otherwise I'd get a huge double tank, I'd say 5 gallons each side, and then put the Betta in one side and the neon glo fish in the other. Fish are the best! Maybe if they have those tanks then I can save up for one, they're pretty expensive though.

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rex123 agrees: I love neon tetras... There so beautiful
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Old Oct 31, 2009, 09:59 PM   #20  
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Well I got my new Betta today. he's a beautiful blue and red Delta tail. Very pretty. I've named him Pandora. (Fish Fishy Fish Fish Fischer is what my boyfriend thinks I should name it.) I decided I would let that be it's nickname. Pandora is his real name.
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