[BrittainFields]

I recently bought a Half-moon male Betta and have him in a 1 gallon tank. This isn't permanent. I inherited a 30 gallon tank and would like to know what other fish are communal to my male betta fish. I was considering adding ghost shrimp as well. I thank you in advance and cant wait to hear suggestions. I want to provide the best care i can for my fish.

~Brittain

 

[eatmice2010]

Really any non aggressive fish, so tetras, danios, guppies, plagues, mollies, small cat fish, loaches, things like that, make sure they don't have fancy tails and are fest because bettas will pick.

 

[Taboo]

If you use a sand substrate, I highly recommend corydoras catfish! They're very cute and love schooling together and are great company for bettas because they don't get in each other's way very often.

Otherwise +1 eatmice. In a 30g you have a lot of wiggle room. The ghost shrimp are hit-and-miss. Sometimes bettas get along very well with them, other times they gorge themselves on your new friends ;-) But often if they have quality water and lots of hiding spots, the shrimp can hide from the bettas and breed faster than they are eaten (or so I've heard, no personal shrimp-breeding experience)

 

[eatmice2010]

Sorry plagues is suppose to be platties

 

[BrittainFields]

Thank-you for your suggestions! So far you have really helped me out. Also, one more question. I am currently using Betta water which is supplied with oxygen, but would treated tap water with an air filter be a better choice than the betta water? With the betta water i have to replace it once a week.

 

[hopeful fish]

Honestly, betta water is just a rip off. Use tap water with Prime. As long as there is a bit of surface agitation, the water sill have enough oxygen. If you see fish at the surface "gasping", they are either sick or want more air.

Make sure that the fish you get aren't fin nippers. Many schooling fish will rip a betta to shreds, so get peaceful fish and a big school to keep them distracted.

Cory catfish would be great. Neon tetras would probably work, too. You could get a Bristlenose Pleco in that tank, too. They are awesome!!!

 

[BrittainFields]

Okay great! Thank you so much. I will use the knowledge i obtained from yall and make a tank.

 

[Aus]

I would NOT put loaches in a betta tank.. they thrive in completely different water conditions.

I have a tank just over 30g.. gravel, loads of wood and low light plants.. I wish I had the money to begin a worldwide trade in Australian native Darwin Shrimp, as they are by far the -best- shrimp for a betta tank I have come across. I have them, and I love them... Anyway..

Cherry shrimp will thrive and breed, if you have a LOT of moss in there, and they will become your betta's favourite thing to do and eat, ever. Watching a betta hunting crafty little shrimp is amazing, the bettas are so happy and the shrimp.. well, the fast ones can live a very long time. I had some live more than a year before the betta finally ate them. And that was a massive, incredibly aggressive plakat. A couple even outlived the fish himself.

I have two bristlenoses, the Darwin shrimp and (for now) one fancy betta in there, and the betta is having a total blast. He occupies one heavily planted patched of java fern on one side of the tank, the bn's hang out on the other planty side. The bn's will grow to 15cm each, so I don't think it's understocked at all.

Corys are wonderful, and if it wasn't for my love of bn's I would have had a whole school of them.

Just personally speaking? I would not put bettas in with other fish like guppies, mollies, etc.. Mainly, as they have different ideal water conditions, so whatever I aim to please, I am not going to make everyone in the tank perfectly happy..

Basically, I'd go for whatever species are happy to live with soft water, lots of wood and a square ton of SE asian/tropical low light plants, because my betta's happiness comes first (yes, I am a bit 'specist' lol). If you're in America, you probably have a few more choices than I do, as our QT laws mean many species are hard to get or impossible here.

That's just my opinion, however. I am sure there's lots of others. :-D

 

[eatmice2010]

Good point Hopeful made with tetras "probably". I ment to mention that too if you get tetras stick with 4 or 3 because when tetras have enough members they become brave and that's when they start nipping . Also I know there are many tetras but stick with ones that basically look size wise as danios, tetras are not considered aggressive but they can tend to be on the edge of semi aggressive. But deff. No oscars, barbs, chiclids, and sharks. Basically no aggressive fish and none that will get bigger than the betta because the bqtta could become a bigger fishes dinner.

 

[Aus]

Oh - and 'betta water'.. yeah I agree.. toss that stuff, lol. Tap water with Prime = awesome.

I forgot to say - I also use a BIG sponge filter, with a flow valve on the air tube so I can adjust the flow rate down. This works awesomely in the big tank and the shrimp and bn's and snails (I have a lot of trumpet/pond snails) like to suck on the sponge. Ew.

 

[Taboo]

Aus, just out of curiosity, why do you say loaches and bettas need different water? Admittedly, the only loaches I am familiar with are Kuhlis, but I would have thought they'd all be the same? Kuhli's prefer soft acidic water with similar temperatures to that which bettas prefer. I would have thought they'd be a perfect match?

I do agree with you regarding the livebearers though, that is a good point.

 

[eatmice2010]

Also something reflecting on loaches also, I believe that the loaches at petsmart and petco and fish stores have all been raised in the same water as all the other fish instead of them being set in different levels of water, but not sure.

Thank you someone that understand the whole live bearer thing, I put them in the list because usually when I suggest other wise. I get a loaf of crap.

 

[Aus]

Ah, sorry - forgot about the kuhli loaches. Never kept them myself, but I hear they do okay in low-flow, soft water.. I meant the kind that come from fast water/high oxygen environments.

30 gallons is such a great amount of space to work with. I actually keep my water level a little bit low (while the bn's are just babies, and so the betta can floof easily to the top for breath, he has a LOT of fin), so it's really 20g of actual water, and some of the taller plants grow emergent.

 

[WZ9V]

Ghost shrimp

I have a couple of ghost shrimp in both my Betta tanks and it's going OK. like people said hiding places and don't be to worried if your Betta makes them a snack. I was testing mine with ghost shrimp to see how it went but I hope to put some cherry reds in later.

 

[BrittainFields]

Alright! I will switch the water as soon as possible. How do you recommend i change his water without harming him?

 

[BrittainFields]

Alright thanks! Ill plan on changing his water soon. How do you recommend i change the water from the bowl with out harming him? How do i allow him to acclimate to the new water appropriately?