I'm new and i need some help!

[PSUPride923]

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! ). 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. 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!

[Bresn]

Ghost shrimp(A lot of people have them)?

[Jrf456]

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!

[TequilatheBetta]

How about 4 corydoras? They're really cute and extremely peaceful :)

[tpocicat]

Be careful if you decide to get a pleco. Make sure you get one that will stay small.

[MistersMom]

yes the common Pleco gets up to 2 ft long.... or so ive heard...

[hedgehog]

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

[diablo13]

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

[MistersMom]

From my experience with Mollies, they seem to get along fine with Bettas...

[cajunamy]

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.

Originally Posted by MistersMom

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 :o


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 :)