My 14yr old can't decide between a guppy and betta. (My 8yr old is the owner of Mr Bubbles, the betta in my avatar, and the reason for joining this wonderful site)
Can she put a betta and guppy together? She would like to have one betta and two guppies. Now she only has the desk in her room for space so the largest tank we could get is a 5gal.
Thanks for your help.
Guppies, from what I heard, need to be in a school of 5 or more. And a betta grows to be about 2 inches, needing 2 gallons just for himself. A gup grows to about 1.5 inches, so 1.5g needed for each guppy, so gallons wise (For 2 gups and 1 betta) its fine, but the guppies wouldn't be happy. Along with guppies can be mistaken for bettas through a bettas eyes because of there fins. Hope this helps :3.
Hey, guppies and bettas will NOT work as tank mates. The bright colors and flowing fins make them a potential rival in the bettas eyes. A good choice for your daughter, if she wants a betta as well as a tank mate in a tank that small, is two african dwarf frogs. Make sure the tank is heavily planted (or, if you're not using live plants, make sure there are many caves and silk plants [plastic can potentially rip betta fins]) for the frogs to hide in. They have essentially the same nutritional needs, but ADFs are bottom feeders as they have poor eyesight, so make sure you over feed so that some food will sink to the bottom for the ADFs to eat.
There is a great article in my signature about choosing tank mates for betta fish - it won an editor's choice award on Suite101. Check it out. =)
Guppies, from what I heard, need to be in a school of 5 or more. And a betta grows to be about 2 inches, needing 2 gallons just for himself. A gup grows to about 1.5 inches, so 1.5g needed for each guppy, so gallons wise (For 2 gups and 1 betta) its fine, but the guppies wouldn't be happy. Along with guppies can be mistaken for bettas through a bettas eyes because of there fins. Hope this helps :3.
Actually guppies get to be about two inches, and the one-inch-per-gallon rule does not apply IMO because guppies are super active. I wouldn't put guppies in anything less than 10 gallons. Guppies are also social fish and should be in groups larger than 2. A betta may need two gallons to himself, but to add more fish in with him you would need 10 minimum, even with a fish different than guppies.
Not true. breed several strains of guppies and have 2 bettas in my two 10 gal females tank. They get along fine they only time I have ever had an issue with them was when a female had a surprise drop in the tank and the betta thought the small fry were food. Other then that they et along just fine.
If you get both make sure the betta is not aggressive. If it is very aggressive it will not work.
On rare occasions you can get Guppies in with Bettas, depends on how colorful the guppy is and/or the Bettas temperment (some can stand the flashy males... don't think you should risk that) you could get some guppies that aren't as flashy or females. But since you need 10 gallons, and you said you only have 5, you should really get a Betta (From what I understand guppies need a lot of room unlike popular belief)
I have a betta sorority in a 20H, and in this sorority I have a young guppy pair (male & female). They have been accepted by the betta girls and yes, the male got nipped a little at first but his beautiful tail has healed just fine.
Guppies are very beautiful fish in their own right, but their lifespans are about half of a betta's (2 1/2 years compared to 5 years for a betta).
I have a female betta in a 5 gallon tank, and at almost three inches long, there really isn't enough room for another fish. I did terribly overstock my five gallon originally - before I knew better and before my fish GREW - and my betta got popeye as a result.
I rehomes the other fish from the five gallon and my betta recovered - but now is blind in one eye. So, I wouldn't reccomend cramming too many fish into one tank. What looks roomy to us can be biologically crowded & toxic!
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
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