[alba88jo]

Okay in the end I decided on Celestial Pearl Danios. (I was just more excited about them than any other micros even though rasboras may have been a safer bet.) I have a five gallon ready in case it doesn't work out with my beloved betta Trinity. I would like to hear from people who have done this and would like to see pics of their setup. I know it needs to be quite heavily planted.

I have quite a few plants but I will soon be adding java moss to cover the bottom and a few more tall plants. I want to diffuse the situation as much as possible. I have two pieces of driftwood, one rock, and one tiki man. I will probably shift around the driftwood and rocks to create more hiding places. How many hide-y holes do they need? Are there particular plants that will the fish will prefer?

Please and thank you!!!

 

[alba88jo]

Oh I forgot to add. I have tannin stained water due to the Indian Almond Leaves. I do not wish to remove the leaves as my betta likes them but are they a problem for the danios? If so I can just filter the tannins out I guess...

 

[lilnaugrim]

The set up is fine, I'm more worried about the temperament of the Betta. These are incredible small fish who go down the throat easy if you know what I mean. That an the temperature requirements, Danios prefer colder water than Bettas like to stay at. Tannins won't be an issue but these fish are extremely timid as well and may not come out with a larger fish around. If you want to fully enjoy their presence I suggest have a species only tank with them in this tank ^_^

 

[alba88jo]

You may very well be right I have a 5.5 gallon handy for my betta just in case. Isn't 78 degrees okay for both parties?

 

[alba88jo]

I'm going to work on the tank with the Java Moss and will update with pictures soon as well as how the relationship goes in case anyone is interested. Trinity is a pretty small betta actually. I hope he's up for having room mates. If not, it's okay. It'll be my third betta only tank. LOL

 

[alba88jo]

Okay here's a new pic. I made two little caves and I also have my Betta's little tiki man. All that's missing is the Java Moss and then of course the CPD Which will all be here soon..

 

[alba88jo]

Sorry about the pink shirt...lol. Doesn't Trinity look beautiful? He actually changes color from red to blue to green to black. If you'll believe it; he's a magickal betta.

 

[lilnaugrim]

Yeah, that's pretty normal for most Bettas ^_^ Tank looks good! I will suggest that when you get the CPD's that you take your boy out and rearrange the tank a little bit, this way he'll have no territory to defend and will be less likely to hunt the CPD's if they get into his territory and being that it is a smaller tank, it will be easier for him to hunt them lol. So take him out, acclimate the CPD's very well; they are a sensative fishy and then add them after an hour or so and then you can add your Betta back in after they are a little more settled.

 

[alba88jo]

Good idea. I guess I can switch all the caves around. Thank you. I'll post here how it goes.

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

IMO, your tank is too open and gives Trinity too many straight shots when chasing. More floating plants like Anacharis, Cabomba or soft Hornwort would help. I have a 20 long with a Betta and Nano/Micro fish (most of which are under 1"); the smaller guys hang out in the floating stuff but are also comfortable swimming in the open water.

In addition to stem plants and Anubias, my tank has Subwassertang (floating and tied to Cholla), floating Java moss and the above mentioned three.

Lovely tank; I'm sure Trinity thinks he's in Betta heaven!

 

[alba88jo]

I bought some java moss but it hasn't arrived yet.Can all java moss be used as a floating plant or is there a specific type?

If not I can probably just tie it to some driftwood and let it float up a bit? Could just let it float at the top?

You are right. There is too much empty space at the top. I will look for some floating plants too. I was sold one that turned brown quickly. Probably not a legit floater or maybe I didn't have enough minerals at the time.

Thank you.

 

[lilnaugrim]

Yeha, any moss can float. I half the time just let my java moss be and it just grows, not much like a weed but just nicely. You could still tie some of it down and let the rest float ^_^

 

[alba88jo]

Great! I should be getting it soon so I should be all set. Thanks everyone. I will post updated pictures here and whether or not it works out in case anyone wants to know more about bettas with CPDS. :shock:

 

[alba88jo]

Well so far it has been a success. The Danios come out frequently and are no longer intimidated by the betta. My betta mostly keeps to himself and they are usually on the opposite side or level of him. When they cross each other he will very seldom go after them. When he does it's just a "get out of my face" thing rather than an actual hunt. There is absolutely no stalking.

Even so, they easily outrun him and he is quite diminutive. (He even has to eat micro-pellets.) He is quite peaceful but it's probably better for him that he isn't a total pushover. I don't want any nipping going on.

If anything else happens I will post here. I'll be adding some dwarf lettuce to the top. The java-moss is working quite well there but I need to fill it out a bit more on the upper level.

Thanks everyone for your help!

 

[lilnaugrim]

Fantastic! Tank looks great!

Yeah, helps when your Betta is pretty passive too, I can't say that for most of mine lol.

 

[alba88jo]

Thank you! This is my last post. Just wanted everyone to know it's all totally smooth. To sum it up these are the factors that have helped.

15gallon(more like 12.5gallon though)
Only 7 CPDs (4female and 3 male)
Very heavily planted (jungle setting)
Power filter has an adjustable follow rate (on lowest setting)
Betta is passive and quite diminutive (eats tiny micro pellets)
CPDs are from a trusted breeder (not shy, active, and healthy)
Betta has a little house and CPDs have several caves
Even the top has floating plants
Temp is at 78 degrees
CPDs were slowly acclimated and betta was removed
Tank was switched around before adding Betta with lights off
Lights were kept off for two hours and fish were supervised

Well there you have it. Depending on your betta galaxies/celestial pearl Danios are a great companion for the betta community tank. They stay out of the bettas way, won't nip him, are more peaceful and calm than other Danios (more like rasboras), and yet are fast enough to get away. I find them to be much more compatible than cardinal tetras. This is just my experience of course and hope it helps!

 

[alba88jo]

A few pics of the lovely Danios and betta. Make sure to get adults. They are much smaller than you'd imagine.

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

Very, very nice.

Do you have room to add some Pygmy Cories. ;-)

 

[alba88jo]

I wish! I don't want to stress my betta too much though and I don't really want to push the bio-load. I'm no expert yet. Maybe in the future as the CPDs are supposed to outlive the betta. If I don't just replace the betta that is.

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

You shouldn't have a problem with the Pygmy Cories. They're peaceful mid-to-bottom tank dwellers. They also have very small bioloads and would clean up excess food. I only suggested them because you might want another fish if your Betta does well with the CPD and the Pygmy personality would fit into your aquarium.

This is a handy site for general idea of your stocking level. The site is pretty conservative.

www.aqadvisor.com