Your thoughts, please.

[jonnylaw37]

Hi, I am new here and I would like to ask for a little advice. I currently have one red/blue betta (BettaBob) who I bought from Petsmart about 4 weeks ago. I keep him in a small fish bowl which the person there told me was the best thing to do. Its a very simple setup; I have nothing but the bowl and some blue gravel at the bottom. I know he doesn't have much room, but he seems to like it much better than the little cup he was living in before.

My dad told me he has a fish tank that he would give me. It is either 5 or 10 gallons. I won't be able to get it until I visit him in July. But once I've gotten that, I was hoping to move my betta into the tank and get a few neon tetras as tankmates. I've also decided I would like to get a green female betta and possibly breed the two later.

My question is, should I just fill the new tank with the new fish, and keep BettaBob in the little fish bowl, or should I put him in the tank and not worry about getting the female (or even put her in the little fish bowl). Any and all comments are appreciated!

[dramaqueen]

Hello and welcome to FishForum. What size is the fishbowl? A 5 or 10 gallon tank would be great. I don't know if you want to put a betta and neons together. Bettas are known to eat neons. If the tank your dad gives you turns out to be a 10 gallon, you could divide it and put the male on one side and a female on the other side. Bettabob will be fine in the bowl until you get the other tank as long as you keep up with water changes. I would change the water twice a week. Hope this helps.

[MrVampire181]

Bettas will eat neons. Anyway, how big is the bowl? Im guessing its under 1 gallon, if you keep the water quality up then you should be fine until you get the tank.

[fireburnin2013]

if you're gonna get a female too you should get a 1 gallon critter carrier, they're like $8 and usually in the reptile section of your LPS. 5-10 gallon tank would rock. and neons, probably aren't your best choice becuase as dmhalfmoon sayd, bettas eat neons. and, maybe like one silk plant in the fish bowl? beecuase they like to hide. hope this helps :D i tried my best at what i knew. good luck with Bettabob (:

[jonnylaw37]

Thanks for the replies. The bowl I have is only 1/2 gallon. I am hoping to get a plant for him soon, too. What would you guys suggest beside the tetras? I just like the way they look :)

[dramaqueen]

In a half gallon there isn't enough room for anything else. Theres barely enough room for a betta. I'm assuming you meant 1/2 gallon and not 12 gallon. !2 gallon, yes you can have tankmates.

[jonnylaw37]

Originally Posted by dramaqueen

In a half gallon there isn't enough room for anything else. Theres barely enough room for a betta. I'm assuming you meant 1/2 gallon and not 12 gallon. !2 gallon, yes you can have tankmates.

yes, I meant 1/2 gallon. But I'm talking about when I get my 5-10 gallon tank. Thats when I want to get tankmates. any suggestions?

[dramaqueen]

I think anything that doesn't have flashy fins or aren't fin nippers would be fine. I think someone else will have to give you more advice about tankmates.

[AngelicScars]

Definitely move the Betta to the bigger tank when you get it. Avoid the tetras. If it's a 10 gallon, you can get a divider and put your male on one side and your female on the other. (Which was stated earlier)
As far as tank mates, cory cats and Otos seem to be a good choice, along with snails and certain shrimp.
Oh, and be sure to get a heater too. Keep your room at a warm temp until you move him into the larger tank.

[IonBaller07]

Just try one fish at a time when you try them, you dont want to get stuck with 3-4 fish that you discover you cant house with them. If your betta is a calm less aggresive betta then you can try neons, my female lives with some and females can be more aggresive than males. But my male killed one so be careful.

If its a 10g Id reccomend 2-3 cory cats and maybe 2-3 ghost shrimp.