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yet another betta tankmate post

2K views 18 replies 5 participants last post by  iamntbatman 
#1 ·
I'm sure everyone gets tired of these. just wondering, what (outside of cories) can go with bettas? I've heard neons are a no, which was what i was hoping to go with. i figured a group of black neons would accent the betta but at the same time not outshine him. are all tetras out or just neons?

the betta is a male, in a ten gallon. heated, and filtered of course.

long finned danios are out. what about short finned?

i know when going with cories Corydoras pygmaeus and Corydoras hastatus stay small while Corydoras habrosus get a little bigger. this is a very n00b question as i have never looked into cories, but where do panda cories fall? the pandas are my favorites, but i'm not sure if i could happily house a group in the 10 gallon.

also, i would prefer to have something that stays in the middle/upper region of the tank to add some life to the tank, any suggestions?
 
#2 ·
Some tetras will work. Lemons, beacons, black neons, cardinals or rummies. Take your pick.:wink2: Pandas fall as temperate species, something to consider when working with bettas. If kept at 76 degrees Fahrenheit consistently, it'll accommodate both.
 
#3 ·
is there any reason black neon tetras would work but not regular (red/blue) neon tetras wouldnt?

would a pack of pandas fit in a 10 gallon? like i said i haven't looked into them to know what kind of space they require. i always do my research before buying. i just need to find some extra time to do so.
 
#4 ·
Neons will work just fine but it depends on the personality of your bettas. You'll be lucky if the neons don't start nipping him either. 5 pandas should be fine in a 10g.
 
#5 ·
i always heard neons would nip at the betta, which is why i didn't originally plan to have any neons. Out of my original ideas the neons were probably my favorites but i never thought they would work. Is the neon nipping not going to be a problem? and there is a chance of the betta attacking the neons, this is a risk with any fish and a betta correct?

the panda cories have also made their way to the top of the possibility list. are they a pretty good bet when mixing with a betta? or are they up in the air too? what does the bioload of 5-6 cories stack up like? is 5 the minimum when it comes to cories? is 5 enough or should i go 6? i was looking at petco.com just to price the pandas, they were like $8.09 on the site. are they pandas really that much? the albinos were only like $3.something.

what about short finned leopard danios?
 
#6 ·
I can't really judge the price as I live in Asia myself but pandas are cheap here though albinos and peppered cories are even cheaper. 5-6 pandas is fine. With their size, it is not really a stretch. Like I said earlier, it is possible to mix neons and bettas. You just have to watch them closely and get a spare tank in case nipping ensues. Don't try danios with a betta.
 
#7 ·
thanks for the speedy response. I'll have to check while i'm out tomorrow and get some prices. seriously, you're in asia?! I always assumed you were in the states for some reason. Wow, cool to know. so cories is almost a definite mix? neons are iffy, but should be okay? and danios are a no? any certain reason danios are a no from the get go? I have planty of tanks sitting by that can be used if the mix doesnt go well.
 
#8 ·
Danios will most likely nip the betta. Neons can work but keep a watch. Cories are fine.

Yes, I'm from Asia. What made you think I am not?:lol:
 
#9 ·
LOL, just because i have never looked into it and i've never heard you say you were from asia. It's nothing you did/didn't do, i just have never known any different so i assumed you lived here. Thats very cool though. How are things over there? I know a few guys from different places, you're the first person from Asia i recall talking to.
 
#10 ·
Not much.lol I will be very busy soon for the holidays and I'm still waiting for my snail orders and stocks of loaches which someone wanted to buy from me.

P.S. I think we'd better chat just in Visitor's Messages feature.:)
 
#11 ·
ah, the holidays are always eventful. I've got the girlfriends family to fit into my schedule this year as well, should be interesting to say the least. what kind of snails did you get? I've been contemplating getting a few snails but i havent decided what kind. haha, you're probably right. I figured since it was my own thread it wouldnt hurt chatting a bit in here, but it's probably better the other way around. we'll definitely have to do that :)

anyways, would 6 cories be a stretch in a 10 gallon? or should i just stick with 5? I'm still not sure as to the bioload of cories and bettas mixed. I need to determine how many to get and if i should go about water changes as usual or if i should do a little more, more often to compensate for the number of fish.

also, i probably need to ask this further in the catfish and breeding sections, but i'll take a stab here since I'm already talking about them. would like three panda cories (1 male, 2 female) be good enough to get started? will they live happily like that for a bit? A) it keeps from adding too many fish at one time and B) i would like to breed the pandas. If i bred them i would keep three more to make up the rest of the population for my tanks and rehome the rest. THe main question at this point is if three would live happily for a while, and if they are easily bred in captivity. Like i said, i have tons of research to do yet. i figured the more answers i can get here the less i have to find on the net.

Thanks.
 
#14 · (Edited)
ah, the holidays are always eventful. I've got the girlfriends family to fit into my schedule this year as well, should be interesting to say the least. what kind of snails did you get? I've been contemplating getting a few snails but i havent decided what kind. haha, you're probably right. I figured since it was my own thread it wouldnt hurt chatting a bit in here, but it's probably better the other way around. we'll definitely have to do that :)
The snails have not arrived yet. I ordered assassins (Anentome helena), Sulawesi (Tylomelania sp.), Asolene spixi and Marisa cornuarietis. I don't know which ones he is getting for me yet. The last three are plant eaters.;-)

anyways, would 6 cories be a stretch in a 10 gallon? or should i just stick with 5? I'm still not sure as to the bioload of cories and bettas mixed. I need to determine how many to get and if i should go about water changes as usual or if i should do a little more, more often to compensate for the number of fish.
6 pandas is fine for a 10g. Check your parameters. That will help you determine when to do water changes. I'd do 40% twice a week if I were you.

also, i probably need to ask this further in the catfish and breeding sections, but i'll take a stab here since I'm already talking about them. would like three panda cories (1 male, 2 female) be good enough to get started? will they live happily like that for a bit? A) it keeps from adding too many fish at one time and B) i would like to breed the pandas. If i bred them i would keep three more to make up the rest of the population for my tanks and rehome the rest. THe main question at this point is if three would live happily for a while, and if they are easily bred in captivity. Like i said, i have tons of research to do yet. i figured the more answers i can get here the less i have to find on the net.
You want a female and two males when breeding cories. They are not bothered by the sex ratio so they'll be fine regardless of the number of their sexes.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I have a betta and he has plenty of tankmates! I have 3 zebra danios, one lil cory, and two platy's! He gets along great with them and I even had neon tetra's and he didn't have any issue with them but they sadly died after a while =[

But my lil cory lives alone and I havent seen any problems or anything with him (although I did get the one that seem crazy at the petstore :3 )
 
#13 ·
male and female beta's

So I have a male beta (Chester) and he is very mellow and has low-agression, so much so that he rarely flares up at his own reflection and when he does, he goes and sulks in his lil' rock cave (lol). He gets along great with other fish. I have 3 zebra danios, one cory, and two platy's. He is rarely a bully to them. He is such a mellow fish I thought I'd try to *maybe* see if he could co-exist with a lil female blue. I know you're not supposed to do put them together, so i left her in her little container and just set it into the tank.
Chester was investigating and he didn't have any agressional response to her, and actually tended to ignore her. So I let her out after a while and kept a close eye on them and they behaved quite well, staying away from eachother the whole day with no incidences.

Is this unusual that they get along? Or should I just be prepared for the worst and just take her out now?

Thanks!
 
#16 ·
That's up to you. 6 for me.:wink2:
 
#18 ·
I think cories would appreciate sand much better. The other problem with gravel (besides being rough on the barbels) is that their food (which is usually sinking pellets) will fall through the gravel when it softens up. Then they won't be able to eat it and it will create unnecessary ammonia. It is also cute to watch them sift through sand. However, I have mine on eco-complete (fine gravel-you can see it in my avatar) and they do fine.

stein048- I think disaster will strike sooner or later. If it were me, I would separate them.
 
#19 ·
Just to throw in my two cents: in my experience, neon tetras are never nippy. Actually, they're just about the wussiest fish I can think of. However, they don't make good betta tankmates because they're just so small that a big betta can eat them. Black neons are a completely different species of tetra and get considerably larger than neon tetras, thus making them inedible (for a betta) and thus acceptable tankmates.

Also, in my experience danios aren't nippy at all. They chase each other around a good bit, but I had mine housed with a male crowtail for a while and they never even acknowledged his presence. I have five danios, which isn't so many that you'd 100% eliminate extra-species nipping issues if there were any in the first place. Also, danios are lightning quick, so you don't have to worry about a betta nipping on the fins of long-finned danios. Slower moving fish with long fins like guppies might be a problem, but I'd like to see a betta try to catch a danio.

Cories are good tankmates for bettas because they stay on the lower levels of the tank and aren't even remotely aggressive/nippy. Also, they're armored catfish, so if it turns out that you've got a jerk betta, he won't likely be able to do any damage to your cories even if he does attack them. I would say panda cories are average-sized cories. $8.09 a piece is a bit on the high side, but panda prices vary a lot. I've seen them for as much as maybe $9 a piece but as cheap as $4, so I'd do some more shopping.

Also, there's no magical number of fish that's going to cause you to overstock your tank. Honestly, you can cram a lot of fish into a 10g tank and enough bacteria will grow to handle all of the waste. However, the end result is that fish waste is going to be processed into nitrate, which builds up in your tank. The amount of fish you can put in there is restricted by how quickly this nitrate builds up. So, if you've got a betta and five cories, adding one more cory isn't going to suddenly make your tank go crazy - it will just add a little more nitrate per unit time to the tank, so you'll have to do water changes a little more often or slightly bigger changes.

About breeding: many corydoras species are "easy" to breed. That is, it's easy to get them to lay eggs and fertilize them. However, cories are really crappy parents. They'll eat their own eggs if they can (and they will certainly try), and they'll defintely eat little baby cories swimming around on your substrate. If they don't, the betta will for sure. If you want to breed them, you'll have to do it in another tank or remove the eggs to another tank and raise the fry until they're big enough to survive with the adults. So, don't expect to put some cories in a tank and have their population increase. If you want six cories, start with six from the start (although you'll probably want to add three at a time just to avoid overloading your biofilter).

Hope that helped!
 
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