# Some newbie betta questions!



## LittleRedFishy (Mar 11, 2012)

Hey there! I'm new here and just got a betta, my first one in the better part of a decade and a half, haven't had one since I was a kid. Now, I'll be the first to admit my care of my betta when I was a kid wasn't that fantastic, I followed the directions in the little pamphlet the store gave us that said tiny little tanks and bowls were ok for them. I'm hoping to avoid making my new pet uncomfortable.


I just had a 5-gallon tank with filter donated to me, which I lessened the flow with a clean sponge to cut down on the current it generated as per some internet instructions. I also have a heater for the tank and it's sitting at about 78 degrees or so. The heater's right at the corner, same side as the filter, and for some reason this is his favorite corner. Could this mean he's cold or trying to get away from what little current there is? He loves chasing his flake food around the top but otherwise tends to stay away from the filter.

Right now his body's about 2 inches long, including fins. Will he stay this size or grow at all?


Considering the small tank size, I've heard to keep the fish amount at a minimum-- but I would like to maybe add a pleco or a smaller fish or two into it. Good idea or bad idea? If good, what's a breed of fish that can deal with minimum current that the betta won't kill?

The tank itself doesn't have a hood, but isn't in an area where he can really jump out (nor has he attempted any sort of jumping), but because of that he doesn't have a light and the light in the room can get dim at night. Should I make a point to invest in a light?


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

your betta should grow longer. (Should) He could be by the heater because he's cold or because he's trying to get away from the cover or because the heater provides the most cover. Put your sponge filter by the heater so that it spreads around the warm water and also add some cover. He could just be hiding because he's not used to the tank. You could add another fish to a 5 gallon if it only had a betta in it. I would recommend 3 cory cats and leave it at that. I wouldn't worry about lighting. My bettas are most active at night. Make sure he can't jump out. Here's my website. It has most of the info you'll need.
http://bettacare.webs.com/


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## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

Hello there 
In my opinion, yes you could add something else to the tank but I really wouldn't add a pleco as these can grow very big and a 5 gallon really wouldn't be big enough. Perhaps 3 cory cats or if you wanted to keep algae under control then try a couple of oto catfish, these stay quite small and work hard although can sometimes be hard to keep. 
I think no lighting is fine, it's not necessary. I would try and invest in a cover though as betta's are known to jump out of tanks.
Hope this helped.


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

I would wait to add any algae eater until you actually HAVE algae.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

if you are going to put corydoras species in a 5 gallon tank ; get 4 or 5 pygmeus or habrosus...or you could get some aspidoras species which are cories that stay pretty small...
if you get algae growing you can add a couple of otocinclus..


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