bettas and platies?

[jag14]

I have a betta in a 3 gallon tank at work. I am thinking of "rescuing" the last platie from my husbands tank and putting it in with the male betta. I have several plants so there is multiple places for them to hide from each other if they want to. Also, would the platie be ok on the food for the betta?

[DragonFish]

I'm afraid that would likely end in disaster, sorry. 8/
Assuming your tank isn't an NPT, even if you have managed to cycle your 3 gallon, because cycles can be less stable in tanks under 5 gallons, that Platy will likely throw off your parameters(they can be a tad messy, if I remember correctly) and mess with/possibly crash your cycle.
If you HAVEN'T cycled your tank and you don't even have a filter, the platy won't survive. They need cycled tanks with filters and oxygenated water, which is something bettas can only get along without because of their Labyrinth organ which allows hem to breath air from the surface.

On top of the bio-load/possible lack of filter issue....3 gallons isn't a lot of space when you think about it. Perfectly fine for a solo betta, but bettas are an aggressive and territorial species....is very likely the Platy would be attacked with such limited space.
Sorry, but its just really not a good idea....

[jag14]

I am getting a filter, it is on back order. I was just trying to keep the platy from becoming a snack for my Jaguar/Dovii hybrid. The platy is the last survivor from the original group we started with in his 30. Maybe I could use this as an excuse to upgrade to a 5? That is probably biggest I could get for my office. I was lucky to sneak in a 3. I started out with a large vase. A 5 might be pushing my luck a little where I work.

[DragonFish]

Hmm....oh! You know what you can do for the poor Platy? A breeder box or a breeder net. Snag one of those from your LPS, stick it in the main tank, toss he platy in there along with a little piece of a fake/live plant and there you go! Safe Platy without putting any extra bio-load strain on your tank, stressing your little betta out, or risk getting in trouble with your office for getting a bigger tank. xD

Thats probably your best bet actually if you really want to keep the Platy safe. Even in a 5 gallon is still a little iffy for the reasons I listed previously, and if you're betta just one day decides he doesn't like the Platy for some reason no size of tank is going to change that.....though in anything under a 10 gallon that risk increases quite a bit.

[jag14]

I think that I might start another 30 gallon at home, keep the "survivor" platy in it. Get it a few friends of its own kind. I kind of hate to feed it to my jag. I've decided my little 3 gallon is the perfect size for Sapphire. He has plants and a new ship ornament and seems quite happy with the current arrangement. A new neighbor would probably stress him out. A bigger tank would stress out my boss! I don't think that is such a good idea...