My Betta Pow got some tank mates !!

[cwenger5]

POW got some tank mates.
I was talking to the lady in the store about Bettas and she mentioned that they can get along with other non betta fish. So i tried it. I took POW out of his tank and put the new guys in first. then added him back in afterwards.

He has been getting along with them great! At first he just stayed in one spot and if they came close to him he would flare up and charge them until they turned away and then he would go back and stay in the same spot. About three hours later they are all swimming around just fine.

I even put food in for them and everyone had some,no fights. The two smaller ones tend to stay together but POW has not been showing any aggression towards them at all. What a good boy :)

Heres a picture!! Ive been on a Celebrity apprentice Hulu kick all week so i named the black one, Lil Jon and the red one is Trump (or as my best friend is calling him) "your fired" lol.

Any thoughts on tank mate?

[Sweeda88]

What size is your tank? If it's under 10 gallons, you should not have any other fish in there. It looks pretty small.

[cwenger5]

thats only a zoomed in section of it. Its a big 5gllon. There is alot of room and hiding spaces/open space for them. I often have to get right down infront of it to find Lil Jon. he blends right in lol

[Sweeda88]

5 gallons is still too small to have tank mates! Platies get up to 3 inches. You are WAY overstocked.

[iheartmybettas]

Originally Posted by Sweeda88

5 gallons is still too small to have tank mates! Platies get up to 3 inches. You are WAY overstocked.

x2. They are cute but you need to upgrade to a 10 gallon if you want tank mates.

[wallywestisthebest333]

^^^ Agreed

The only tankmates you can have in a CYCLED 5 gallon are a snail or shrimp. (I highly recommend shrimp, snails are cute too though)

Also do you know if they're all males or mixed sex? If I remember correctly platties breed easily.... and if you have any females they're likely already pregnant..... If they have babies your betta may hunt them and get boalted or sick.

Did you quarantine the tank mates? If they were kept in the pet store tanks they may have parasites and it's always recommended if you get tankmates to quarantine them for a few days to make sure that they're completely healthy.

I'd take them back honestly, especially if you're new to the hobby because it can be a lot to deal with especially if they make POW sick.

(I LOVE LOVE LOVE Pow btw! <3 He's GORGEOUS! <3)

That or you could get a ten gallon just for platies and then you could have more and not worry so much about them breeding or making your betta sick.

[cwenger5]

ok ok ill take them back,any thing for POW. lol wow,deff.not the friendly response I was looking for but I appreciate the suggestions.

I went in wanting a snail but the lady said he would eat the snail........any comments to that?

[PewPewPew]

Originally Posted by cwenger5

ok ok ill take them back,any thing for POW. lol wow,deff.not the friendly response I was looking for but I appreciate the suggestions.

I went in wanting a snail but the lady said he would eat the snail........any comments to that?

The lady also told you you could get those as a tank mates.. Heh. No, the betta and snail will be okay. Its 2 nerites in a 5 gallon, one apple/mystery snail in a 5.

These are nice responses, just not ones you want to hear. Dont call us mean when we're just trying to make sure your fish stay happy and healthy. We can be mean if we want to, but we dont, so we're not.

[Gnome507]

Lol eat the snail? A lot of users have snails in their tanks! I have heard of bettas attacking snails. But that all depends on your fish. If your fish was cool with the platies then I'm pretty sure he'd be chill enough to live peacefully with a snail.

[PewPewPew]

Originally Posted by Gnome507

Lol eat the snail? A lot of users have snails in their tanks! I have heard of bettas attacking snails. But that all depends on your fish. If your fish was cool with the platies then I'm pretty sure he'd be chill enough to live peacefully with a snail.

^^^ True words.