[JessYe]

Hey, I'm new to raising bettas but hopefully I'll raise them for years to come! (fingers crossed)

Anyways, So I originally had a 0.8 gallon tank and heater but read that was too small for Amber, my crowntail betta (from here, I may refer to Amber as girl, I am aware that he's a boy, but my boyfriend likes to refer to him as a girl and I hear it so often that it sometimes slips out). Back on topic, I had an 0.8 gallon, but now I bought a 3.5 gallon tank with a filter and (new, larger) heater. I love watching Amber swim around but I think she'd enjoy some friends in there with her.

I've done a bit of reading online, and it seems like a lot of people recommend ghost shrimp, cardinal tetras, plecos, platys, cichlid and rasboras. What's good to put in the tank? and how many of them? I've also read that what Amber might get along with depends on her and her personality, but I'm asking to see what you guys have seen from your experiences.

Also, can someone tell me what's the difference between a cardinal tetra and a neon tetra?

 

[Bombalurina]

Welcome to the forum!

I love watching Amber swim around but I think she'd enjoy some friends in there with her.
The first thing to remember about bettas and stocking is that they are solitary fish. They don't need or even necessarily want interaction with other fish. Some seem to enjoy, most are totally indifferent to it, and some hate tankmates with a fiery, burning passion. So, I would encourage you not to think of them as "friends", but as things she may enjoy bullying, chasing or just inspecting.

I've done a bit of reading online, and it seems like a lot of people recommend ghost shrimp, cardinal tetras, plecos, platys, cichlid and rasboras.
Lots of people are crazy! Ghost shrimp are great, assuming you don't get an aggressive species (many species are marketed as ghosties and whilst some are docile, others can nip fins). Cardinal tetras are fine in a large enough tank. Plecos ditto. Cichlids are a TERRIBLE idea, as they are (generally) large, aggressive and have very different water parameters from bettas. Rasboras are ok, again given a large enough tank.

What's good to put in the tank? and how many of them? I've also read that what Amber might get along with depends on her and her personality, but I'm asking to see what you guys have seen from your experiences.
In your tank, nothing except an invert, such as shrimps. There are a couple of reasons for this:
- a 3.5 gallon is not a big space. Bettas do appreciate having their own space and adding tankmates to this is not giving them that.
- a 3.5 gallon can't support the bioload of many fish (bioload is the amount of waste they produce). You'd have to clean like crazy and have a really good filter or bajillions of plants.
- most fish that go well with bettas are small, but are either super active, need schools of 6 or more, or both. A 3.5 gal doesn't give enough room for that.

Realistically, if you want other fish with a betta, you need at least a ten gallon tank, or a heavily planted tank like the 6.6 gal Petco bookshelf, which gives a large footprint.

In your tank, I would recommend either ghost or red cherry shrimp, about 5-10 of them. Red cherries are my preference. They will need plenty of hiding spots, such as java moss (a really easy live plant that even the most basic beginners should not be afraid to have!). In the right conditions, they should breed.

Also, can someone tell me what's the difference between a cardinal tetra and a neon tetra?
Google image it. That will be the clearest explanation. The red stripe on a cardinal tetra extends the full length of the body, but on a neon tetra it ends halfway down.

 

[JessYe]

I also forgot to mention zebra fish and snails. But I guess seeing some shrimp in there would be cool. Thanks!

 

[Noobalva]

Hey Jess, welcome to the forums!

And I'll have to agree with Bomb, with the size of your tank 5-10 Ghost/Cherry Shrimp would be good.

Or you can go with a Zebra Snail/Mystery Snail; Zebra snails tend to have less bio-load than Mystery.

Personally i've got a 2.5 gal with my betta, a mystery snail(got it before i knew of zebra lol) and 4 ghost shrimp and all are very healthy and active. Doing two 10% water changes a week is more than enough to keep everything at a healthy level -- but i do have 6 plants in there that help with that lol.

 

[Fenghuang]

+2 Bombalurina.

I think a few shrimp or a snail would be realistically all you should put in there, if you decide to put anything at all. It's an honest mistake for some people to think that it'll be okay to cramp some rasboras, tetras, and platys into a 3.5 gallon tank (it's not, they require more space) because they're small and beginners are often told that a good rule of thumb is 1 gallon a fish.

But whoever told you that cichlids and plecos would be fine in a 3.5 gallon is just...sorry...mindblowingly stupid. My common pleco is 11 inches long and still growing. He probably wouldn't even be able to turn around in that size tank. Bristlenose plecos do not get as as big as most species but they still should have at least 30 gallons. I had a handful of cichlids in the past. They're notorious for growing extremely fast and even the smaller species are often territorial and get very aggressive when their tankmates infringe on what they view as their territory. Please do not even consider putting these fish in with your betta.

 

[JessYe]

Thanks everyone! This is why I asked before I went out to the pet shop.

I think I'll get a couple shrimp, maybe a zebra snail and some plants to set up a cycle. And maybe some things for hiding spots for the shrimp in case Amber is more aggressive than I thought.

 

[fishy314]

Hey Jess, welcome to the forums!

And I'll have to agree with Bomb, with the size of your tank 5-10 Ghost/Cherry Shrimp would be good.

Or you can go with a Zebra Snail/Mystery Snail; Zebra snails tend to have less bio-load than Mystery.

Personally i've got a 2.5 gal with my betta, a mystery snail(got it before i knew of zebra lol) and 4 ghost shrimp and all are very healthy and active. Doing two 10% water changes a week is more than enough to keep everything at a healthy level -- but i do have 6 plants in there that help with that lol.

WAIT WAIT WAIT... Tank is too small for tankmats. IMO I cant believe ANYBODY would put 5-10 shrimp in a 3.5 gallon w/ a betta. Please do not put any in there, as overstocking can lead to betta killing them, high nitrite/nitrate/ammonia readings, and death.

 

[Bombalurina]

WAIT WAIT WAIT... Tank is too small for tankmats. IMO I cant believe ANYBODY would put 5-10 shrimp in a 3.5 gallon w/ a betta. Please do not put any in there, as overstocking can lead to betta killing them, high nitrite/nitrate/ammonia readings, and death.

3.5 gallons is absolutely fine for shrimp. They have such a tiny bioload that you could have ten per gallon in an established tank no problems. I have had more than 25 in my 5 gallon with a betta before. They honestly do not contribute to the bioload in any significant way.

 

[Singinghobbit]

I am thankful to have stumbled upon this thread. IV only been a betta keeper for about 2 months now, but was just thinking of getting my little girl another female. Came on hoping to find out whether or not they prefer company, and this thread was very enlightening. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, all!

Come to think of it, my girl currently has a fake plant, which she seems to enjoy spending time in, but does anyone have any thoughts on an easy to care for plant in a small tank -- I think mine I like 1 gallon. I got her as a fry, and will upgrade soon now that she's growing. Does a live plant become a hassl when doing a full water change?

 

[Bombalurina]

I am thankful to have stumbled upon this thread. IV only been a betta keeper for about 2 months now, but was just thinking of getting my little girl another female. Came on hoping to find out whether or not they prefer company, and this thread was very enlightening. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, all!

Come to think of it, my girl currently has a fake plant, which she seems to enjoy spending time in, but does anyone have any thoughts on an easy to care for plant in a small tank -- I think mine I like 1 gallon. I got her as a fry, and will upgrade soon now that she's growing. Does a live plant become a hassl when doing a full water change?

Although females can live together, it is only possible in large tanks (no less than ten gallons) and groups of 4 as the barest minimum. Two will fight. In groups of three, two will gang up on one and attack her. The more girls, the more easily a hierachy can be established. The only time I've had two girls together was as my sorority girls gradually died off - these girls lived together in a 16 gallon planted tank and had done their whole lives.

In a one gallon tank, a single live plant could well be a pain, but if you plant it heavily enough you could get away with regular partial changes instead of doing full changes. Alternatively, a larger tank would make things much easier.

For a one gallon tank, I would completely carpet the floor in java moss. In the back corner I would have java ferns tied to little rocks with fishing line or undyed cotton, or left to float. A little anacharis would be great. It's really fast growing so it sucks up ammonia like nobody's business, but you would need to trim it weekly. A little shoot of lacefern, wisteria, cabomba or ambulia would also be nice. All of these plants are easy to care for and do well in low-light. Just make sure you rinse and quarantine them before putting them in the tank and adjust them slowly to your tropical water.

 

[fishy314]

@above. No. I'm more concerned about space. Bettas WILL attack and kill ghost shrimp under those conditions.

 

[Noobalva]

@above. No. I'm more concerned about space. Bettas WILL attack and kill ghost shrimp under those conditions.

It all depends on your Betta and how aggressive they are, mine is in my room and i watch him ALL day and he never chases the shrimp, swims right by them and pays them no attention.

And even if you have a Betta that might chase them, what would help that is getting shrimp that are 1 inch or bigger as it makes it that much less likely that a betta will attack them -- if they do chase them, the bigger shrimp are way too fast for a betta to hurt them anyway...and their bio-load is still next to nothing.

But once again, it depends highly on your betta's personality.

 

[Kwomais]

Yea, I have cherries and a betta in a 5gal and he chased one the first day and now he totally ignores them to the point where he will swim by and his fins will be brushing against the shrimp and he just continues on and the shrimp keeps eating. I had one die in the tank on the first day after he (the betta) was introduced to the tank and he wasn't even interested in its delicious dead body... he was so slow that the assassin snails were eating it when I removed it! So yes, it is VERY dependent on each individual betta. Just like some dogs are fine with cats and others will chase them and harass them to death, and still others will be beat up by the cat!

 

[Hallyx]

....does anyone have any thoughts on an easy to care for plant in a small tank..... Does a live plant become a hassl when doing a full water change?

You can float an Anubias for topcover, hammock and hide. Practically no care required. More water quality value than a silk plant. Easy to remove.

 

[fishy314]

10 is way too much. Period.

 

[Bombalurina]

10 is way too much. Period.

There's no period about it. In a tank with no other critters, 10 shrimp per gallon is perfectly sustainable, both in terms of space and bioload. With a betta in the tank, at least 5 per gallon is still absolutely fine. I'm speaking from both my personal experience and my research. I'd be interested to know your reasons and your source and why it is so authoritative.

 

[Hallyx]

Since this thread has come back, I might mention that Zebra snails are sometimes, perhaps more often and correctly, called Nerite snails. There are a few varieties. They only breed in brackish water, so they won't take over your tank. They help clean algae off the glass. One is plenty for a 3.5g.

 

[ao]

I'm going to be realistic. Yes you can put ten cherry shrimps in a 3 gallon. you can do 10 ghost shrimps as well. Under ONE condition. and that is only if you haw a well established, heavily planted tank. by heavily I mean.. atlwast 70% of your tank floor should be planted.

Now ignoring the fact that out bettas might find the shrimps tasty...
Why shouldn't you put 10 shrimps in a cycled 3.5g tank?
because let's face it, we all forget to do water changes sometimes. a little extra nitrate wont hurt a betta. but a little nitrate can kill a shrimp.

And ofcourse... if your tank isn't cycled at all... forget tank mates... cycled the tank first

If you plant heavily, I would begin introducing a small snail or two. snails are great in planted tank in helping to break down excess food and other deterioating plant matter and process it further. This gies plants faster access to the nutrients and does not leave the icky break down process to bacteria or fungi...

and guys, please don't make definitive statements if you haven't researched such things personally first hand. Additionally nothing in this hobby is set in stone.

Hallyx here is a wealth of resource for tank cycling and a trusted advocate of what you can and cannot put in a cycled tank.

Bombalurina is also a seasoned aquarist here on bettafish.com... and her advice come from much personal experience.

I myself have tested the extremities of pico planted tanks... planted in many ways and stocked with many things...
I've actually had ten cherry shrimps in a 2.5 gallon with a betta. did they all survive? no, he ate the smaller ones. but the larger ones which wont fit in his mouth disinterested him and he left them alone. these shrimps are still alive today.

 

[Kwomais]

I guess I should have specified that mine's very heavily planted, eh? My shrimp's success (and I think finding 2 (that I can FIND) juvie shrimp in my month-old system will attest to the their success) is probably in part also due to the fact that I have the entire bottom of the tank covered in a loose layer of suBwassertang, on top of a scattering of river/pond/lake rocks with a bunch of microsword popping up everywhere in between. I also have lots of hidey holes for my little guys in there, so there are many spaces that the betta can't get to and there is a lot of cover for them. I also added the shrimp first and gave them 72hrs to find all the hiding spots, and of course, as you mentioned, Aokashi, my tank was well established & cycled. But my boy is also very docile & skittish of things that move/are new to his environment (he no longer hides from the shrimp, so that's good!)

 

[ao]

yes! susswassertang makes a great shrimp hideout ^___^
even one of the littler ones survied by hiding in there

for reference sake... my tank used to look like this before I tore it down.

you can probably get away with about half the plants...
oh look, you can even see a cherry shrimp at the foot of that driftwood!