[givemethatfish]

Some random lady who works in my building got her 2 year old a betta for Christmas and then realized neither she nor her 2 year old are interested in bettas. She sees me cleaning out my desktop tank twice a week and we have had some casual conversations about bettas.

So today, she half-jokingly (not jokingly at all I think) mentioned that she should just bring the fish in and give it to me since she "can't bear to just flush it." I feel like the flushing is a real possibility, so I told her if she doesn't have any options she should feel free to bring the fish in and I will take it off her hands. I do not know the history or condition of this fish. I have never been interested in rescuing fish because I don't have the temperament to deal with a lot of illness and death, but I feel kind of responsible for this fish somehow now.

I do actually have 3 extra tanks at home just empty with full setups - light/heater/filter. However, I just divided a tank to pare down on the number of tanks I have to maintain. I am down to 5 at home from 7, and I don't want to increase this.

So . . . down to my question. For folks who have a betta in a community tank. How did you go about introducing him/her to the community? I feel like this fish will be in poor shape, so I do not want to put it in my community tank. I have 5 bettas at home, 2 of whom are alone in non-divided tanks, so I can put one of them in my 54 gallon community and put the new fish in either a 5 or 10 gallon solo. At least 2 of my current bettas are very mellow and have never shown any signs of aggression. I do also have a baby, but I feel putting him in the community tank may increase the amount of growth stunting hormone he's producing?

Or I can divide one my 10 gallon which currently houses only 1 betta, put one of my healthy bettas in there, and put new betta in the existing 5 gallon and not have to set up a new tank.

Editing to add the inhabitants of the 54 gallon.
-11 neon tetras
-10 rummynose tetras
-10 harlequin rasboras
-6 cories
-3 honey gourami
-3 peacock gudgeon

I know that normally gourami + betta is a no-no, but the honeys are not your typical gourami and don't spend most of their time at the top like most do. Not sure if this would still be a bad mix. I suppose I need to take the evening to reason this out. I guess I could just tell the lady I can't take her fish, but then I'd feel like a fish murderer.

 

[ZZD]

I am not familiar with most other fish breeds so the big thing about a community tank with a betta is making sure the other breeds aren't aggressive or territorial. My betta is all over my tank so I've never relied on top vs bottom fish.

Most suggest adding a betta to an established community so its not a case of other fish entering their territory, but my betta was my first fish and his tank mates were all added after him. He is extremely timid so it was never an issue with him. You could try one out in the community and if it doesn't work out divide a tank.

 

[jaysee]

When I moved my betta from the 5 gallon to the 125 I just tossed it in - no special consideration. That's all I did in the past as well.

 

[givemethatfish]

All the rest of the fish are 100% peaceful. None of them seem to have any particular territory that's their own, and I've never seen any kind of nipping. I am thinking if I end up having to try this, I should put either my plakat or the baby in there since they don't have long fins.

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

+1 Jaysee; I don't even float mine. The only suggestion I would make is to turn the lights off and leave them off for 20 minutes or so.

 

[givemethatfish]

Okay thanks for the input everyone! So far nobody has dropped a mystery betta at my desk lol. Although I hope the lady will bring it to me before she considers flushing the poor thing

 

[KFoster]

I'm crossing my fingers they choose your desk over the toilet as well! Let us know!

 

[lilnaugrim]

I know Honey's are typical but my Betta still tried to seriously hurt one of mine so please exercise caution with them, keep a watchful eye. Another Betta I had did flare but never hurt a female I had in with him for only 10 minutes (I was trying to catch her and I hoped he would "flush" her out for me but he didn't lol) but 10 minutes doesn't denote anything. My boy still has a hissyfit about the cories on the bottom of the tank so not all Bettas will cohabitate in a community as I'm sure you know.

 

[givemethatfish]

I just confirmed the lady did not flush the poor betta, and she is going to give me the 2.5 gallon plastic tank along with the fish next Monday. She said she got the tank at Petco when she bought the fish and that it was a kit. That seems encouraging because I think most 2.5 gallon kits you can just pick up at Petco come with a filter at least. She also said she did buy a heater like I suggested, so maybe the little guy isn't *that* bad off. It's probably not an adjustable one, but I have a spare.

I think instead of rocking the boat, I'm going to keep mystery new fish in the 2.5 gallon and do it up as a little NPT. I've always wanted to try one, and I suppose one more small tank isn't that much work...famous last words, eh?

 

[lilnaugrim]

lol, yes very fabulous indeed!

Small NPT's aren't that bad though! Just be careful with the ammonia at first is all, until the tank really settles in and the soil stops leeching ammonia, keep a good eye on it. Getting plants to grow as fast as you can get them to will help too, I'm sure you know that though! Good luck with the little tank! Little NPT's are lots of fun though! In the end, not much work either ;-) I've got a 1 gallon bowl NPT and a 3 gallon Marineland Eclipse NPT and both are doing fabulous ;-)