opinions on tank mates

[Labeledsk8r]

allright well i need some input from the gurus. have a 10 gallon thats been setting up for my betta nemo to go into (going from a 1.5gal) and have been wondering about a tank mate or 2, i was thinking mayby some shrimp or a catfish type tankmate scared about stuff like guppys and tetras. i know that putting anything with a male betta is only like a 50-50 chance of it working but i need to move those odds a bit higher, as my gf would be devistated if ANYTHING happend to nemo and i know she would be sad if nemo did anything to any other tank mate


some background on nemo, he has allways been by himself for the past year i have owned him, he will flare up alot at anything by the tank (includeing his own reflection that comes form the corner of the tank being next to the wall) but he allways flares and swims away quickly then swims back and does it again so i cant tell if he is over agressive or just trying to scare something off lol. besides that he swims normaly will chill at the bottom of the tank alot sometimes on a plant, and makes nice buble nests

the tank is 10gal, planted, heated, and filterd though i dunno if i didnt plant it enough, plan on doing something to slow down the filter current before he goes in and also need ot figure out something for the lights on the tank, if there on all day it can raise the temp about 5 degrees wich is way to much of a temp flux. heres some pics of the tank to get an idea and im open to any comments/sugestions/discussion. thanks

[gogolg87]

Your tank seems to have enough plants..maybe group them together a little more to create kind of an inlet for your betta or other fish to hide and get a better cave for your betta..the deco you have is ok but not really a place your betta can hide. cory catfish are great. ive also seen tetras but thats an iffy one because they can nip at your betta's fins or vice versa. snails are ok but produce a lot of ammonia and are boring IMO.ive seen glofish with them my dad used to keep placo's with his betta. ive never really placed tankmates with them besides the placo's you can always go to a fish store and i say fish store not pet store and talk to them. or some other people on here can give you an answer more helpful than mine..but i thought i'd offer what knowledge i do have on tankmates

[beat2020]

Maybe some cories or otos or shrimp

[Labeledsk8r]

Originally Posted by gogolg87

Your tank seems to have enough plants..maybe group them together a little more to create kind of an inlet for your betta or other fish to hide and get a better cave for your betta..the deco you have is ok but not really a place your betta can hide. cory catfish are great. ive also seen tetras but thats an iffy one because they can nip at your betta's fins or vice versa. snails are ok but produce a lot of ammonia and are boring IMO.ive seen glofish with them my dad used to keep placo's with his betta. ive never really placed tankmates with them besides the placo's you can always go to a fish store and i say fish store not pet store and talk to them. or some other people on here can give you an answer more helpful than mine..but i thought i'd offer what knowledge i do have on tankmates

true, i tried bunching them and it seemd really bare, dunno might mess with it a bit more. on the cave thing, i have mostly gotten scared to use full caves, i remember on my old tanks theyed somehow get stuck in them and die (and no it wasnt like a small opening to it either. its happend with a few. i also do plan ot put a backer on the tank before any fish go in.

Originally Posted by beat2020

Maybe some cories or otos or shrimp

yeah i was thinking shrimp will be the easyest, but i do know some fish like to snack on them. dont cories and ottos need like groupes of three or more?


another thing what have you all used ot slow down your filter, i picked up some cheepie sponge and was going to try that , just hopeing that they dont have some glue or something mixed in the sponge that could be harmfull

also im still haveing that lighting isue with it raiseing the temp, mayby i need to go cfls?

thanks for the input everyone

[javi]

I love compact flourescent bulbs. Not only do they keep the temp from getting to high, but they also do not have the yellow tinge that incandecent produce. Nice tank though.

[beat2020]

Originally Posted by Labeledsk8r

true, i tried bunching them and it seemd really bare, dunno might mess with it a bit more. on the cave thing, i have mostly gotten scared to use full caves, i remember on my old tanks theyed somehow get stuck in them and die (and no it wasnt like a small opening to it either. its happend with a few. i also do plan ot put a backer on the tank before any fish go in.



yeah i was thinking shrimp will be the easyest, but i do know some fish like to snack on them. dont cories and ottos need like groupes of three or more?


another thing what have you all used ot slow down your filter, i picked up some cheepie sponge and was going to try that , just hopeing that they dont have some glue or something mixed in the sponge that could be harmfull

also im still haveing that lighting isue with it raiseing the temp, mayby i need to go cfls?

thanks for the input everyone

That depends on the temperament of the betta and if there's enough hiding places.

The cories do need to be on groups of 3 or more and i'm not sure on the otos.

[Labeledsk8r]

Originally Posted by javi

I love compact flourescent bulbs. Not only do they keep the temp from getting to high, but they also do not have the yellow tinge that incandecent produce. Nice tank though.

good stuff. im actully now thinking about converting it to 12volt CFL's and running the tank off of my solar panel but that would take alota custom work, and right now i just wana get nemo into his new home. and thanks

Originally Posted by beat2020

That depends on the temperament of the betta and if there's enough hiding places.

The cories do need to be on groups of 3 or more and i'm not sure on the otos.

true, yeah i think ima look into a cave to add in there... sadly all of my spair cash got used up and my works cutting hours so it mit be a bit

[Neelie]

id try corys. a cave for the betta and 3 small corys would do it.
corys are also very entertaining and fun to watch so would deffo add to the tank. also, they're fast swimmers so no fear of the betta causing them problems and they are totally placid and friendly. no danger to nemo either

[bettacolors]

i think its an amazing setup

[CodeRed]

Nice looking tank (: As I was reading I saw someone mention plecos, and I just though I'd warn you (in case you didn't know) plecos can grow to be HUGE, and most require a 55 gallon tank. Somehow, pet stores manage to push them off as the ideal cleaning fish, choosing to ignore their size.
I'd say go with cories or ghost shrimp. While ghost shrimp sometimes get eaten, they're relatively cheap (so start out with one or two before buying a boatload of them!). I've also heard that both cories and shrimp are very sensitive to water fluctuations, so the tank must be stable before adding them in. Good luck on your adventure! It will surely be just that, seeing as bettas are always giving you a run for your money :P Everyone has given you great advice about the tank, and a little bit of extra tweaking will make it a home worth getting jealous over.