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I'm new and i need some help!

4K views 50 replies 16 participants last post by  MistersMom 
#1 ·
Hello all! I'll start off with a short story, but for an anniversary present my boyfriend decided to get me a betta fish. We went out and got a Veiltail Male and man is he pretty. We named him Triton after the Greek God of Water. We went out and got a small 1/2 gallon tank with a silk plant and an aquarium ornament (it says, "No Fishing", I thought it was funny! :-D). Upon doing some research I found that they shouldn't be in small tanks. My boyfriend and I have been feeling really bad because he is in such a small tank we are going out and buying an Aqua Creation 10 Gallon Starter Kit. Which works out well because we eventually wanted to get a bigger tank and start a hobby that we are both interested in together. We have only had Triton for about 4 days and he's very calm and he likes to "chase" us around the bowl. :p He makes us laugh and its kind of calm watching him as we are trying to fall asleep.

My question is with a 10 gallon tank, what other fish can you put in the tank with them. I've heard a lot of different things that they can't be put together and I made that mistake once when I was young and put a Goldfish with a betta. Nonetheless, I didn't have a Goldfish anymore :/ BUT I have heard you can put a few fish in as long as the betta doesn't feel threatened. I also don't want to spend the money on a 10 gallon tank and only be able to have 1 fish inside. ALSO, what kind of water should be put in the 10 gallon tank. In his bowl now we have a mixture of the BettaCare water (purchased from PetCo) and Spring Water. HELP!
 
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#3 ·
Hi there, welcome to the forums!

Since Triton is a male, there are very few choices to go with. First off, stay away from any strikingly colorful fish- and fish with long fins.

You also don't want to get any fish that are larger by far than the betta. I would maybe suggest doing neon tetras? They go great with bettas from my past experience.

Another possibility is to just get a 1g-2g bowl or tank for him and do a female betta sorority. A sorority is when you have many female bettas together in one tank! In a 10 gallon, you can get up to 6 and a few other fish like guppies, neon tetras, glow tetras, white clouds, and more!

I hope this helped, and good luck!
 
#7 · (Edited)
Mollies actually aren't the best for a ten gallon because they're quite messy and prefer brackish water. I'd recommend four larger cory species--all the same species--or 6 pygmy cories.

edit: finished reading Mistersmom's post. Cichlids are aggressive and don't belong in ten gallons even if they weren't
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
Mollies are brackish, and need 30 gallons, and kill bettas. Only Neon Tetras are good tank mates, not others. Plecos can go with bettas, but not in a tank that small. Oto Cats need a ton of algae, not for beginners. Zebra Danios rip up bettas fins, a no-no. Gourami and Betta will fight to the death, Cichlids need a much bigger tank and will eat a betta, and bettas and swordtails fight. And bettas will kill guppies. If you get platies, either get one gender or Male: Female 1:2
 
#10 ·
I'm afraid many of those fish listed here are highly incompatible.

I'm going to go off of your tank size here, which is 10 gallons.

Shrimp sometimes work, as will mystery snails. Sometimes docile bettas can be kept with platies . If you had a much larger tank (20 gal) you could also get a group of kuhli loaches, minimum of 3 though as they like their own. You could get the smallest cory catfish for a 10 gallon, as they also like the company of their species. I have heard of neon tetras working before as well.

Tetras will not work (with the exception of neons) as they are generally known for being nippy and a schooling fish.

Plecos get way too large for a 10 gallon, including size and bioload.

ADF are also not a good idea, based on what I have heard from others here - someone else will have to chime in on why.

Oto catfish like groups, and need a large amount of algae and are also sensitive to water conditions. They are not recommended for beginner aquaraists.

Danios are WAY too active and will stress out the betta.

Guppies have long fins and can look like competition to the betta.

Gouramis are from the same sub species as our beloved betta, and also will not work as they will fight.

Cichlids are too territorial.

I can't comment on swordtails honestly.

Mollies will not work as they are brackish water fish. Tetras will not work b/c they are too nippy.

You must research any possible fish you would like to keep, including filteration levels (bettas like slow moving water and with their heavy finnage can be blown around by a strong filter), heat requirements (betta's like their water 78-80), whether or not it's a schooling fish (space requirements) or a nippy fish (bettas fins will become fair game), and also very colorfish fish can be viewed as competition to the betta and he may fight them.

In all honesty, you are best off with bottom dwellers as tank mates, and when in doubt leave betta by himself.

1. that betta water is expensive... so u should by dechlorinater stuff, they have it al walmart.
2.they will eat the ghost shrimo, its a good snack but not a good pal...
3.tank pals..
Molllies
Tetras
Plecos
snails
african dwarf frogs
Otoclinus Catfish
Corydoras Catfish
Zebra Danios
Platys
Guppies
neon tetras
Rasboras
Gouramis
Cichlids
sword tails
i hope that helped :D
and condolences for your long been deseased goldfish :eek:


EDIT: and with sororities you have to have 4 or more females not 3 or less...they bully eachother
can we see pictures of your betta Triton?!?! ;o


EDIT AGAIN: you can also get dividers for your ten gallon if you want more males, or you can make dividers, there is a thread on here somewhere on how to make them :)
 
#11 ·
once again, i found that information on Google, and for certain bettas those may be fine tank mates... maybe yours is too agressive, or any thing else, but i have heard of people on here housing quite a few of there fish with some of those mentioned species... i didnt acknoledge the tanks size, or algea amount, i just mentioned what will go with bettas, period. i had no clue though that Gouramis were in relation to bettas, that was new to me... im glad i found that out for future reference...
 
#15 ·
once again, i found that information on Google, and for certain bettas those may be fine tank mates... maybe yours is too agressive, or any thing else, but i have heard of people on here housing quite a few of there fish with some of those mentioned species...
For any bettas cichlids are never fine. Bettas are not the problems in those tanks. Its that cichlids are big and angry. One of the LFS I go to has a tank with red devil cichlid (I think--at the least it was a cichlid of some sort) and they had signs on the tank that said please don't touch the tank or stare at the tank because these fish will charge the glass. I'm sure this was a more extreme case but still I wouldn't want a fish like that with my betta, especially if my betta was peaceful.
 
#16 ·
Oh thank god you shows up Amy, I was going to lose it in this thread, XD!

+1000 to Amy. Regardless of how awesome Google is, I wouldn't trust it completely over something like this.
 
#19 ·
My picks for betta tankmates in a ten gallon:
- pygmy cories
- ember tetras
- shrimp

I'd always go embers over neon tetras. Neons are larger and more active and I don't trust them not to nip. Embers are so chilled, they'll sometimes just stay still in the water for a few minutes, gossiping with the other tetras. :) They are entirely peaceful, totally non-nippy and very pretty. They develop a lovely black edge on their dorsal fin.
I have ten in my sorority and they all get on really well with my girls, even at feeding time. I think the girls are like, "What? No way something that small is even a fish!"

On the cichlid note, I do know someone who successfully housed an angelfish and a betta together (with male fancy guppies, no less) with no issues, but it was the stupidest combination I have ever seen and it should never have worked. Definitely don't try this at home, kids.
 
#20 · (Edited)
It's true about Red Devils. My best friend had one for 12 years or so and he would bite the glass if you laid your hand on the tank. He would also charge and bite. He was scary. Neat, but scary.

If you decide to go wiith corys, wait a while. The tank should be established and cycled before adding any. They can be sensitive. The same goes for shrimp. Though, like Misters originally said in her post, they can easily be eaten by your betta.
 
#21 ·
If it's a fully grown shrimp, it's more torn apart. Then eaten. Sorry for the grim thought, everyone. I want one of those cichlids, it sounds cool :D really, Ember Tetras are better than Neons? I was going to get Neons for my 29, which Is going to have a sorority, should I get Embers instead?
 
#22 ·
I just think embers are better in tanks as small as 10G. In a larger tank, it's probably not so much an issue. :) I have heard of nippy neons, but again, the person was keeping them in a small tank so it's not that surprising. In a 29, it's up to you. Personally, I'd get both. They are both gorgeous. :) Internet pictures don't really do embers justice, but neons always look amazing.
If it was a male betta, I'd get embers over neons because embers are so chilled, there is no chance of their swimming stressing a male out.
 
#23 ·
I'm going to choose whichever has the lowest bioload, as of now it has 6 Zebra Danios and a BN pleco in QT, if the BN turns out to be a girl( it's a baby, I can't tell) I'll get another. The danios will be in the 10 gallon, so in the end I will have 7 Girl Bettas, 1-2 BN Plecos, 6 Neon Tetras/9 Ember Tetras.
 
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