# No end to surprises eh?



## Kageshi17 (Sep 6, 2006)

So I have this male betta. His name is Akashi! And he is awesome. I have had him for only maybe 2 months and rescued him from a dollar store  . But yeah, he is doing great in his 2.5 gallon tank with a heat and a 3i whisper filter. And of course, some rocks and plants. But at one point I wanted him to have a mate. He just seemed so lonely. So, being naive a the time, I went down to the pet store and snatched a nice blue female for him to have some fun with!

But of course...he attacked her and gave her hell to no end. So I started a 10g tank and have that one populated by 3 cory catfish, 1 snail, 4 guppies, and 1 female betta. They are doing great. 

Well anyway, now that I realized Akashi was too agressive for companions (he tore up a guppies fins like a mad man) I thought maybe I would give him some live food to have some fun with. I purchased a ghost shrimp at Petsmart for hime to devour, but quite the opposite happened.

Apparently ghost shrimp have hard core attitudes and will not be defeated so easily! He chased him around for a while, but now mr shrimp lives happily in Akashi's tank and has been for about 2 weeks. 

This is great. I love that he doesnt dare attack the scary creature of the depths! Hahahha but yeah, I still do really hope to get Akashi some other fish or something to have some fun with.

Does anyone have any ideas?


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## Dr_House (Aug 15, 2006)

In a 2.5 gallon tank (GREAT betta setup!) it wouldn't really be appropriate to have another fish. Bettas can be quite territorial, and a space that size really wouldn't even accommodate two fish comfortably. If you want to build a community around your betta, a 10 gallon would be a good place to start. Even then, your chances are less than stellar of compatability.

What I find usually works with bettas is small tetras like glow lights or cardinals, cory cats, hatchetfish and sometimes platies, but you have to be careful with fast feeders like platies that the betta is getting enough food as they are very slow feeders.

P.S. Don't throw your male in the 10 gallon with the female. More bad things will happen.


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## Kageshi17 (Sep 6, 2006)

Alright. Well, I guess he wont have a friend then. But I was wondering, are balloon mollys better fish to have in a community tank for Betta then guppies? Those guys are insane and eat all the food before my female can get to it. 

Just wondering what the best fish would be that arent too crazy with food.


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## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

Im not sure about balloon mollys (those things freak me out a bit), but in general guppies are not considered very good tankmates for bettas. Anything with long flowing fins or feeler thingys (yea Im all scientific again) should be avoided. That leaves out guppies & gouramis. You will always have someone tell you that it works good for them.. but I bet you will find more that tell you they have had problems with it.

In addition to the suggestions by Dr House, I've heard harlequin rasboras recommended a lot.


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## Zoe (Feb 26, 2006)

Balloon mollies are very, very gluttonous fish. They are appropriate for a beta companion (not a 2.5gallon tank) because they are slow moving, stay small compared to other mollies, and don't have long flowy fins, and come in all sorts of colors. However, lady bettas tend to be very shy - personally I would recommend a small school of a small tetra (neon, glowlight) or rasboras (harlequins are gorgeous... however there is another kind, they are longer and thinner, grey with blue "lights" over their eyes. forget the name but very pretty).


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## Saramine (Sep 3, 2006)

I currently have a betta together with platys and they are all doing very well. The platys ignre the betta and the betta ignores them. I have no hopes for any platys fry to survive the betta but the tank does not need anymore .


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## Kageshi17 (Sep 6, 2006)

Oh yes, I planned to keep these fish in my 10g (for all of you who are afraid I'm going to be adding fish to my 2.5!) ummm...I think that I'm going to take my 4 guppies out of my tank and leave the female betta with 3 cory catfish and 1 snail. I think she likes there not to be any crazy guppies trippin out all the time.

Hahaha! Anyway, do corycatfish or snails need bubblers? I have a filter but kind of want to take the bubbler out...do they need it?


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## Plecostomus (Jul 31, 2006)

I think cories need bubblers, but the snails don't, why would you wanna take out the bubbler anyway?


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## Kageshi17 (Sep 6, 2006)

To give it with my guppies that I'm selling. I wanted to give a tank, some plants, food, and a bubbler. But I guess they are going to have to afford that by themselves! But also, I heard that betta dont like bubblers...do valves help slow the bubble current? Cuz its really strong right now.

Oh, and another question. What plants (I know this question has been asked alot haha  ) ummm do good in a betta tank? I mean, the snail doesnt seem to be eating anything and someone told me he might eat plants. So I thought, why not have some live plants. But do they all need lights? Because I don't have any light directly on the tank, just in the background.

Oh yes, and I have yet another question (sick of me yet??)...its really stupid, but do Ghost Shrimp bite or sting in anyway? They are soooo hard to get out of the tank for cleaning by catching them with a net. It would be easier to grab them with my hand, and alot less stressful. Thanks again!

:fish: :fish:


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## girth vader (Apr 24, 2006)

If you want your guy to have some GFs, get yourself 6-7 females in your 10g with him. That will keep him from picking on 1 particular female. Guppies can sometimes be mistaken by males as competition, so thats probably why he tried to dust them off. 1 male to 6-7 females is a good ratio and can be done in a 10g with a cpl shrimp and a snail . Make sure you put a few SILK plants in there for cover as well. again this is only if you want him to have a few babes in there for him. Have fun, and its good to hear he has a good owner!


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## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

Always always be very cautious keeping multiple bettas together. I know people that have had problems with females in all female tanks and whose female killed the male. The male is not always the one you need to look out for. Don't let the sweet girlie face fool ya


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## aaa (Jan 19, 2005)

keeping betta together is a very bad idea. you never know who is the killer in the tank.


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## (RC) (Jan 18, 2005)

yes live plants need lights and java fern is a great plant for bettas.


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## Alisha (Aug 5, 2005)

I know I'm the third one to say this, but.... I agree with Christine and aaa; keeping bettas together is a very bad idea. I also think that 7-8 bettas is way too many for a 10 gallon tank!


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