new betta owners need tankmates

[andydzman]

Hi all, my girlfriend and me are new Betta owners. We have a tank at each of our houses, they're both 5.5 gallons but we want some tank mates as well so we're going to upgrade to 10 gallons because its the same price for the larger tank at Petsmart.

Anyways, my tank has a very young female betta and hers has an adult. Both seem very friendly so far. when putting our hands in they dont seem to care whether we're there or not or when we're using the nets they never get scared or try and fight. the young betta even had some goldfish in originally which my girlfriend bought with the betta and tank for me for my birthday, but the same day before i found out the goldfish actually died. the person at Petco told her so much wrong stuff about fish care that it was amazing. ill never be shopping there. ever. he even said the neon tetras were saltwater fish and that you could have male female bettas together and u dont need a heater or filtration. wth.

ok so now i found out about this site because i wanted our fishys to be happy and healthy. so finally... my question is, after reviewing many posts on this site, if i get a 10 gallon tank for our bettas, how many corys, tetras (perferably neon), and shimpys can we get in the tanks. i dont care about having neon tetras but my girlfriend needs em.

thanks for the long read.

[Jupiter]

Wow, that Petco employee...

Neons need to be kept in schools, at least 4. Or you could also get a small shoal of cories. I think adding both of them together would be overstocking the tank. You shouldn't have any problems with adding a few shrimp, though.

[doggyhog]

Gosh I hate petco employees sometimes!!!!!!!!!!!! There's a really weird one at the petco I go to and he's always talking to me. *Shivers eeeee*

I agree with Jupiter.

Welcome to the forum!!!!

[FishyFood]

You serious? I have yet to come across employees like that at my local Petsmart. The information found on this site is very reliable and trustworthy IMO.

Anyway, welcome to the forum! :D

[andydzman]

hi guys, thanks for the replys. gonna go with the tetras. so if i go 4 tetras, thats about enough for a 10 gallon, and were u saying i could add shrimp as well or its best to stick to just one of those sets tetras or corys or shrimp?

[1fish2fish]

I would be careful with the tetras... some times a betta will turn on tetras and hurt or kill them because they are both brightly colored.. I've also heard of tetras biting betta fins. You can definitely add shrimp too but you have to have a heavily planted tank or your betta will just eat them. Look up the AquaAdvisor stocking calculator and it will give you a good idea of what and how many you can add to your 10 gallon tank.

Do you know about cycling? Your going to want to do this before adding any fish.

[andydzman]

not sure what cycling is. edit: found cycling here: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread....hlight=cycling

gonna go today while i have time and purchase the 10gal, still have the 5.5.

[dramaqueen]

Bettas are also known to eat neon tetras.

[1fish2fish]

Since you don't already have the fish in the tank I highly suggest you do a fishless cycle... this is much less stressful on you and the fish. It is also very quick. I've never done it before but I know there is tons of info out there about fishless cycling.

Basically its the same idea except you add pure ammonia daily to the tank until you get good readings and then you'll start seeing nitrites then nitrates. Doing a fishless cycle takes about 2-3 weeks where as a fish in cycle (which I talk about in that thread) takes up to two months.

Its your choice and if you do it the right way, a fish in cycle can be very safe.. but you have to do the water changes and for some that is a big hassle. JMO of course :)