[taraburgerr]

I have one female betta. I've had her with other bettas in a sorority and she was not aggressive, just mild fin nipping. The sorority did not work out for me sadly so I'd like to start a peaceful community tank. (None of the bettas died, they were just rehomed with friends and I kept the most peaceful one)

I was wondering what set up I could have her in where all of the fish would be comfortable. Heres one idea that I like.

- 1 female betta, 6 pygmy cories moderately planted (silk and live) and with sand

I really like the idea of pygmy cories with the betta. Please tell me if that would be okay or not. Also, would it be okay if I added two fish along to the mix (like guppies?) if so what 2 fish would work? Thank you

EDIT: They would be in a 10 gallon tank

 

[tankman12]

Yes it is a perfect combination. U could add 5-7 of a nice small little schooling fish, if u would like. I would make the stock something like this

1 female betta (centerpiece)
6 pygmy cories (bottom feeders)
5-7 small fish (schooling) or the 2 male guppies if u wish
2-3 amano shrimp (algae control)
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[taraburgerr]

Oh. That sounds great, although I'd be happy to take care of the algae myself, as I am not fond of shrimp.

 

[taraburgerr]

What schooling fish would work with the betta and 6 pygmys.

 

[tankman12]

R u goin 2 do live plants? Real driftwood and rocks? Long story short is the tank goin 2 be natural? Is it goin 2 be filtered? Heated? Light? Water ph? Just some basic questions.
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[taraburgerr]

I have 2 live plants currently, but the rest are going to be silk. I'm planning to put 1-2 small pieces of driftwood. Heated to 78 degrees. Has a 10-20 gallon filter. ph is a bit under 7

 

[tankman12]

Okay. What do u want? Rare? Any specific color?
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[taraburgerr]

I just want something hardy, that wil be comfortable in the pygmy/betta setup. Preferrably somethinge easy to get at thelocal petco/petsmart etc.

 

[taraburgerr]

Also not a dull color (My betta is a greenish/blue) so maybe something that would go well with that, but this is not a must.

 

[tankman12]

Okay so here we go; ember tetras, glowlight tetras, neon tetras, cardinal tetras, galaxy rasboras, green neons, emerald eyed rasboras, pork chop rasboras, white clouds, glow light danios, zebra danios, threadfin rainbows, blue eyed rainbows, gold neons, or u could do a nice pair of rams, checkerboard cichlids, small apistos, badis badis, ect... the possibilities r endless.
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[taraburgerr]

Tetras/danios would be okay? I heard somewhere that that they would be more comfortable in larger tanks. Im looking into endlers/harlrquien and galaxy rasboras

 

[tankman12]

Well so would all fish. The zebra danios would, cross those of of the list. The harlrquiens i would say get 2 big. That is why i said the porkchops. The galaxy rasboras (actually a danio) would be a perfect choice. So 1 betta, 5-7 galaxy rasboras, 6 pygmy cories. Also some flourish excel, it is almost a most in a planted tank. It will make the planys u have grow like crazy and knock out any algae. The thing with the galaxy rasboras is they love highly planted tanks. So instead of getting silk get some more real ones with that $$$.
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[taraburgerr]

Okay I looked into the porkchop rasboras and I really like those. Which would be a good number of the pygmys and rasboras? 6 each? More pygmies than rasboras? Vice versa? Btw thank you for all of the help so far.

 

[taraburgerr]

Also, are there any non-schooling fish that would be okay?

 

[lflaviii]

Aren't Pork Chop and Harlequin Rasboras the same thing? If so, I'd advise against it. I had six in my old 10g, and I thought they were constantly stressed. They are incredibly active fish and get fairly big compared to some of the others on the list. I ended up returning mine because I didn't think they were working out.

 

[taraburgerr]

Oh. Thank you for sharing that. I was worried they might be too active. Do you think I could have the 1 bettta, 7 pygmies and 2 male guppies?

 

[tankman12]

Aren't Pork Chop and Harlequin Rasboras the same thing? If so, I'd advise against it. I had six in my old 10g, and I thought they were constantly stressed. They are incredibly active fish and get fairly big compared to some of the others on the list. I ended up returning mine because I didn't think they were working out.

No pork chop rasboras r a little rarer. There also know as copper rasboras, lambchop rasboras, or rasbora espei. They only gt like an inch. I have 6 in my 29g they r awesome. That stock will work. But i would recommend the embers they only get 3/4in. Smallest things ever. I have 7 will a male hm. They r perfect. Plus they r orange like the porkchop (if u looked at the right ones) but smaller.
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[RussellTheShihTzu]

I would put her in with the Pygmies and see how it goes. Maybe do 7-10 instead of six since that's the minimum. If that works then in a month or two I would add some male Endlers if you can get them locally or smaller species of Rasboras. You don't want to stress her by having too many schooling/shoaling fish in the tank.

You could also add an ADF (African Dwarf Frog) or two if you like them instead of more fish than the Cories.

Some of the fish mentioned are very territorial and wouldn't do well with a female Betta in such a small tank. Others do better in much lower temperatures than Bettas. So before buying I'd suggest researching those angles.

 

[taraburgerr]

Would 7-8 pygmies in a 10 gallon with the betta be overstocking?

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

If you get any other shoaling fish like Rasboras you'd need a minimum of 6 or 7 for them to be happy; so 7+ Pygmies wouldn't be a problem at all. And you're correct: Tetras and Danio would do better in a larger tank; especially since you'd need a minimum of seven.