Okay, so I'm thinking about upgrading to a bigger tank for my betta, Ciel. Right now, he's living in a 2.5 gallon tank that kinda looks like a gigantic margarita glass. He doesn't have a heater, but I do weekly water changes and make sure the water isn't too cold for him. He's really happy and swims around like crazy all the time. But I want to get a bigger tank for him. So I went to Walmart and looked at what they had, and I found a 10 gallon fish tank set that comes with a hood and a filter. If you need specifics, it's the Aqua Culture Home Aquarium Starter Kit 10, for like, $30. I'm planning on buying a heater, and some Tetras to put in the tank with him, and maybe a female betta. What kind of tetras should I get, and how many? How should I introduce them? Should I put the tetras, or my betta in the tank first?
Are you going to put the female in another section? You should only put a female and male together if you are, and they are, ready to breed. If neither are ready, they will usually be aggressive to each other.
Tetras are nice in a 10 gallon, especially cardinals or neons, but every Betta is different in terms of tank mates. Some people's Bettas are horrifyingly aggressive and will kill anything that it sees in its tank. If you are going to get tankmates, make sure they have a lot of hiding places. I think Neons are the easiest to care for, I would recommend getting a smaller school at first just in case your Betta decides to kill them...
Alright. How many tetras should I get, then?
What about dwarf corydoras? I was reading another thread, and someone suggested them. I've heard tetras tend to tail nip, and I'm a little worried. Which would be better? Neons, or the corydoras?
Corys are a great option. You could get four regular cories or 6-7 dwarf or pygmy cories in a ten gallon. They won't bother your betta, the only potential problem is if your betta is aggressive toward them. How it handles tankmates depends on the individual betta, but generally corydoras tend to be a good fit.
I think 50 watts heats up to 15Gallons, at least that's what it says on the box I have. I'm using a Marineland Stealth Pro heater. You can adjust the temperature yourself, and has a nifty light that tells you when it's on and heating, and when it's off.
I think it cost me around...$25-30 CAD? Then again, when I hear people on this forum saying that hey can get heaters for $10.................
A lot of people recommend adjustable heaters vs the pre-set ones, but I personally found no difference unless your house is really cold or something. :D
I'll admit I'm not too sure about the additions, nor the number of tetras, but I think a "small" school is 5-7. As my guess for the additions.......hmm.....I can't really say! I would personally add the betta first, though...Maybe somebody with more experience can help out :D
I have and adjustable 50 watt Jebo I bought on ebay from someone who sells them for $10.00, so plus shipping it was like $15.00, not bad! I definitely recommend an adjustable heater. If you get cories, they are best in temperatures at the low end of the betta range, so you may need to do some tweaking to get a temperature suitable for both species.
I just stocked my ten gallon with four panda cories. I have not yet added a betta. I don't know if it really matters what you add first, but my thinking was, if I put the cories in first, the betta won't have a chance to establish a territory and it might reduce the possibility that he will be hostile toward them. Also, it's a lot harder to quarantine cories than bettas, so I figured it would be so much easier just to add them to the empty tank, and keep an eye on them for a little while to make sure they're healthy. When I get my betta I'll qt him for a week or two to make sure he doesn't have anything he could give to the cories. It's much easier than trying to do it the other way around!
Do you have substrate for your new tank yet? Sand or very fine gravel is best for cories, as rough gravel can damage their barbels.
".......but my thinking was, if I put the cories in first, the betta won't have a chance to establish a territory and it might reduce the possibility that he will be hostile toward them."
BINGO!!! The betta should always be added last, IMO/E, EXACTLY for the reason stated. :)
They didn't have the cories I wanted at Petsmart, and our Petco closed down. D: They had some pepper cories, but they were like, $4 each, and I didn't have enough to get more than one. In the end, I got 3 ghost shrimp and two neon tetras for now. I'll either get more later, when I have money, or give them to my little sisters when I can find some of the dwarf cories. :)
Thanks for the help, guys. I figured I should put the betta in last. Good to know I was right. :)
I got a Tetra something or other heater. That's what the aquarium set box thing said to get, and it was right there when I got the tank.
".......but my thinking was, if I put the cories in first, the betta won't have a chance to establish a territory and it might reduce the possibility that he will be hostile toward them."
BINGO!!! The betta should always be added last, IMO/E, EXACTLY for the reason stated. :)
Interesting! I never thought of it that way~ *scratches head* Good to know for the future~
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