who to put in a 10 gallon with my betta

[bitsoglass]

I currently have a male crowntail betta that lives by himself in a little 1 gallon bowl. I am in the process of putting together a 10 gallon tank for him, and was originally planning on dividing it and getting another male, however, I'm beginning to change my mind on that front. Basically, I was wondering what would be the best tankmates to put with him in that 10 gal if I don't divide it. I was thinking about a couple of ghost shrimp and maybe a few tetras. I know that with neon tetras you need at least 6, so I was not sure if a 10 gal would be big enough for all of them? I was also wondering if it would be okay to put a few mollies in the tank as well?

[fraviz]

I would go for 6 black tetra or glow tetra.... and no mollies as they like more salty water... more than Bettas can handle ( I think)
Ghost shrimp could be but they could end in your Betta's belly.... depends on Betta's personality...
I have a dragon type (short fins) in a 26gallons... and seems to be ok.... and nobody is nipping.. :)

[bitsoglass]

Thank you. I was just at a fish store and talking with one of the clerks.. After talking with him, I was thinking 2 panda corys, 2 ghost shrimp, and 5 or 6 neon tetra. I am afraid that might be overloading my 10 gallon, though..

[fraviz]

Quick suggestion.... corys are lovely but they like to be on groups... 5 minimum.... check other sites on line.... most of store clerks do not know what they are talking about.... Neon tetra is a good choice... I suggested black or glow tetra because are darker than neon, some Bettas tend to attack the brighter color fish... but it is worth a try....
If you consider only the 6 tetras...shrimps and maybe a couple of snails... you should be ok with a 10 gallons tank .
Do a 20% change every week for the first month
20% every 2 weeks for 2nd month
and if you have a strong (20/40 gallons) filter you can do a 20% change once at month...

Best luck

[Bombalurina]

+1. Never get less than four of any one species of cory. I'd suggest going with either the cories or the neons, not both.

Another lovely tetra (goes really well with bettas) is the ember tetra. You could have up to 8 in a ten gallon with a betta.

Fraviz: Unless you have a soil-based Natural Planted Tank, you need to do at least a 25% change per week, regardless of your filter strength.

[fraviz]

Originally Posted by Bombalurina

+1.
Fraviz: Unless you have a soil-based Natural Planted Tank, you need to do at least a 25% change per week, regardless of your filter strength.

Why? shouldn't that depend on tank size? amount of food? amount of fishes? type of fishes? I have a planted aquarium....

[SmokeNLark]

Neons will be fine. They have been known to be fin nippers sometimes though, watch for that. Other small tetras and rasboras will work. Cories are always the best choice. Shrimp may or may not be eaten. Keep in mind every betta is an individual, some are ok with tankmates and some are not. Just have a plan b :)

As for the mollies, I wouldn't. 10 is too small for them, and from my experience, they can be aggressive fin nippers. They seem to be the more aggressive community fish. lol.

[diablo13]

Yes, if you have a 125 gallon aquarium, you could do it once a month, but unless you have a drastically understocked NPT, I would stick to weekly changes. I'm not too good with remembering the stuff, but I think the waste will overload the filter bacteria or something. Neons can be nip, especially with long fins, in a small tank, Ember Tetras would be better, like Bomb said. Cories could work, but they absolutely need at least 3. They'll be happier with 5, but they can live a full, natural life with 3. Harlequin Rasboras are good, Platies are a personal favorite of mine, they're like mollies a little, except stay smaller and don't need salt. In a 10 gallon with appropriate filtration, you could do 3. Make sure they're either all female or all male, they breed like rabbits.

[daniomania]

I have 3 Mollys, 5 Zebra Danios and 1 ghost shrimp and my betta completly leaves them alone! I think it just depends on the betta's personality but you could alwyas try putting one of the min the tank to see if they get eaten!

[bitsoglass]

Thanks for all the suggestions.. What I ended up doing was getting a divider and another betta (he was just so pretty in the store I couldn't resist) they are doing fine so far, mostly they ignore each other but when they come in contact by the divider they flare for a bit and then go away (not too often). This morning I added two Japanese algae eating shrimp, one on each side. I'm not sure, but I think my newest Betta might be scared of his shrimp because when the shrimp was hanging on the divider he wouldn't go near him to get his blood worms.. He waited until the shrimp left before getting his food. Am I being paranoid, or should I think about giving the shrimp to a friend of mine instead?