Betta fish questions!

[ciaraalston]

So, i know this isn't a betta fish site, but i know that many of you have aquariums and know A LOT about fish.

I had a betta fish for about a year before he jumped out of his tank during a tank cleaning and he died shortly after. I've debated about setting up his tank again and getting another, but after about 6 months i'm ready. I miss having a betta fish tank in my living room and talking to my fish while i'm getting ready for work. (dont judge me, i talk to all my animals like they're real children )

So, here goes:
I have a 10 gallon tank (with a lid), a filter, and fake plants for hiding. Should i add a heater?
I want to have my dalmatian molly in the tank with the betta, should i add him first so the betta doesn't "claim" the entire tank?
If i shouldn't add a dalmatian molly, is there any other fish i could add?
My first betta was an adult when i got him, but petco has plenty of baby bettas. is baby betta care different than adult care?
What do yall feed bettas? I had regular "betta fish" pellet from petco, is that okay or should i feed something different?

Any other betta care advice is welcome!!!

[HHIhermies1004]

I have a baby betta and current he's in a 10 gallon with a filter system and gravel etc etc. hes about a month old now.

So he in there with 7 ghost shrimp which clean the tank, 2 mystery snails and two Afrian dwarf frogs. It's brilliant actually cause I actually don't do much tank maintenance except adding water changing filter swap and monthly gravel vacuum. The shrimp take care of everything as far as waste and the snails get what's left over. I feed my betta blood worms, brine shrimp and krill everyone in the tank eats the same thing. Funny thing is that I feed some of my hermit crab food (the above listed and a bit more) that at bought at GBs store and at hermies kitchen to them and they love it! With that combination I haven't had to put in a heater betas arnt at all picky. The shrimp are 50 cents at Petco and they are amazing, and so awesome to look at. Just have plenty of hiding places and I have about 10 moss balls in there in different sizes cause they all love them. You could also do a harem of Female betas. Females do well together and will not fight like the males do. .



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[ciaraalston]

That's beautiful! Where did you get the wood?
So females can be put together?? I actually wouldn't mind all females

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[aussieJJDude]

All females aren't likely to go wrong, but research thoroughly beforehand to understand the risks involved. Its a careful balance to have a successful sorority.

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[wodesorel]

A ten is regarded as too small for a harem of females. You'd want at least a 20 gallon, have it so full of plants you can't see through it, and have at least 5 so aggression is spread around and no one fish is being picked on. Even then, you may end up with 5 dead bettas or 5 individual tanks. I tried it in the past and ended up with a bunch of dead females. A few hundred years of select breeding for them to kill each other can be hard to overcome! Some people have managed it, but what usually happens is they are good for a while and then it all falls apart.

HH, just keep an eye on the tank over time. Babies are really mellow, but older and bigger bettas are good hunters. I have never been able to keep shrimp with bettas, they always become a meal. I have even lost bettas to them choking on ghost shrimp that were too big for them to eat. Same with the ADF, they tend not to make the best betta tankmates because they go after movement and bettas have a lot of fins, and they are slow moving so the bettas can out-compete them for food. Always watch closely for signs of trouble!

Bettas do need warm temps, so unless your home is 78-80 then a heater is needed.

Mollies get big when they're full grown, the ones sold in pet shops are only partially grown. I have always seen a tank of three feet (30G) recommended for them because of their size. I didn't even put them in a 29G because of that.

It depends on the temperament of the betta. Some are absolute jerks. Some are tolerant. If you get a bad one he can kill other fish easily, but a good one will tolerate tank mates. I've had them kill cory cats before. I have had them attack kuhli loaches. I took in a peacock gudgeon a few weeks ago that didn't make it because a betta had attacked him so severely. So long as you are able to separate them out on a moments notice you could try nano fish tank mates, but there isn't a lot of fish recommended for a 10 gallon because of the limited size. I'm a little more old school and push the limits of a tank and species, but I've also been doing this for almost 15 years. It depends on if you want to follow conventional recommendations.

Baby care is the same, though if he's very tiny you may need smaller food. I had one several years ago from a place that didn't usually sell babies. She was starving because they gave her adult pellets but put gravel in the bottom, so she could not eat them hard and could not get to them once they sunk and softened. I had to use micro-pellets and flake for her. Depending on the filter you may need to cover the input with nylons or foam to keep it from being sucked in.

A varied diet is good for bettas, any kind of small frozen or freeze-dried fish food like bloodworms and daphnia. Everyone has an opinion on the best pellets, but Hikari, New Life Spectrum and Omega One are all well regarded. I just started using New Life and really like the quality and my newest bettas are doing well. (Went a few years without any. Now have three!)

[Hermiesguardian]

My daughter had a male betta for 3yrs in a 5.5 gallon tank. With a heater. To help keep the tank clean we put in an algea eater. He was a hard worker. When the betta died, I gave the lagea eater to a friend that had a tank full of guppies. Her husband hated cleaning the tank but Suckface (that's what I named him. The fish, not the husband) keeps their tank crystal clear.

[ciaraalston]

My daughter had a male betta for 3yrs in a 5.5 gallon tank. With a heater. To help keep the tank clean we put in an algea eater. He was a hard worker. When the betta died, I gave the lagea eater to a friend that had a tank full of guppies. Her husband hated cleaning the tank but Suckface (that's what I named him. The fish, not the husband) keeps their tank crystal clear.

"the fish, not the husband"

[ciaraalston]

So I've come up with an idea for the tank.
It's a 10 gallon with a screened locking lid. I'll add black gravel, lots of fake plants to basically cover the entire tank, a filter and a heater. Might throw a corner hide in there too. I'll start with some neon tetras (how many should I add??) And either a zebra snail or a clown pleco. Then after about a month or two I'll add 1 female betta. That should be plenty in a 10 gallon right? Any suggestions?

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[ciaraalston]

I have some freeze dried blood worms coming in from GotButterflies! I can ground some up and set aside for the betta. I don't remember the brand we had last time. It was a small round bottle labeled as Betta food. I went thru 3 types before I found one he would eat.

A ten is regarded as too small for a harem of females. You'd want at least a 20 gallon, have it so full of plants you can't see through it, and have at least 5 so aggression is spread around and no one fish is being picked on. Even then, you may end up with 5 dead bettas or 5 individual tanks. I tried it in the past and ended up with a bunch of dead females. A few hundred years of select breeding for them to kill each other can be hard to overcome! Some people have managed it, but what usually happens is they are good for a while and then it all falls apart.

HH, just keep an eye on the tank over time. Babies are really mellow, but older and bigger bettas are good hunters. I have never been able to keep shrimp with bettas, they always become a meal. I have even lost bettas to them choking on ghost shrimp that were too big for them to eat. Same with the ADF, they tend not to make the best betta tankmates because they go after movement and bettas have a lot of fins, and they are slow moving so the bettas can out-compete them for food. Always watch closely for signs of trouble!

Bettas do need warm temps, so unless your home is 78-80 then a heater is needed.

Mollies get big when they're full grown, the ones sold in pet shops are only partially grown. I have always seen a tank of three feet (30G) recommended for them because of their size. I didn't even put them in a 29G because of that.

It depends on the temperament of the betta. Some are absolute jerks. Some are tolerant. If you get a bad one he can kill other fish easily, but a good one will tolerate tank mates. I've had them kill cory cats before. I have had them attack kuhli loaches. I took in a peacock gudgeon a few weeks ago that didn't make it because a betta had attacked him so severely. So long as you are able to separate them out on a moments notice you could try nano fish tank mates, but there isn't a lot of fish recommended for a 10 gallon because of the limited size. I'm a little more old school and push the limits of a tank and species, but I've also been doing this for almost 15 years. It depends on if you want to follow conventional recommendations.

Baby care is the same, though if he's very tiny you may need smaller food. I had one several years ago from a place that didn't usually sell babies. She was starving because they gave her adult pellets but put gravel in the bottom, so she could not eat them hard and could not get to them once they sunk and softened. I had to use micro-pellets and flake for her. Depending on the filter you may need to cover the input with nylons or foam to keep it from being sucked in.

A varied diet is good for bettas, any kind of small frozen or freeze-dried fish food like bloodworms and daphnia. Everyone has an opinion on the best pellets, but Hikari, New Life Spectrum and Omega One are all well regarded. I just started using New Life and really like the quality and my newest bettas are doing well. (Went a few years without any. Now have three!)

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[wodesorel]

I would not put a clown pleco in a ten gallon, they get too large and won't have enough swimming space, and they are poop machines! I've had my two for 10 years years this month, and I have 2 filters each rated for 40 gallons on my 20-gallon tank and they absolutely clog them every week with poop. They are wood eaters and while they are great fish I'm not sure if anything else comes close to their level of mess! I love mine but for the amount of cleaning I have to do to keep up with them I usually regret having them come water change day.

Have you figured out how to make the power cords work with the sliding lid? Or the filter? I have tried cutting out screen lids for fish tanks in the past and it was always a disaster. The tops rust within a few weeks, and the screen is super sharp and I always ended up cutting myself to shreds. A glass lid or hood is a lot easier to manage.

I just got two bettas this weekend and tried to house them (in separate tanks) with tankmates and I should have known better. They both went after the fish they were with. I had to move the ricefish out of the bowfront and swap that betta for the one in the 20 in the hopes he will at least leave the hara cats alone, and now bowfront betta will need yet another tank.

[aussieJJDude]

Ouch. I must have good luck with bettas, all bettas I've had so far done amazing in community tanks - I guess, to be fair they all been in tanks around 3ft or longer.

Neons aren't really suited to many tropical tanks since they actually prefer their water to be cooler (easily under 75F) than most tropical fish, like bettas. If you were looking for a fish of a similar size, I reccomend any of the Boraras sp., they are amazing to keep and also tend to have an overlapping range for many betta species... which is pretty cool IMO.

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[wodesorel]

Ouch. I must have good luck with bettas, all bettas I've had so far done amazing in community tanks - I guess, to be fair they all been in tanks around 3ft or longer.

I've had bettas that got along well with fish before - but they either stole all the food in the tank to where their stomachs literally burst, or they tried to eat shrimp and choked to death.

Don't get me wrong, I like bettas, but they are so incredibly inbred thet have no survival instincts left. I'm surprised most of them can swim. (Some are so poorly bred they can't!)

[ciaraalston]

Ouch. I must have good luck with bettas, all bettas I've had so far done amazing in community tanks - I guess, to be fair they all been in tanks around 3ft or longer.

Neons aren't really suited to many tropical tanks since they actually prefer their water to be cooler (easily under 75F) than most tropical fish, like bettas. If you were looking for a fish of a similar size, I reccomend any of the Boraras sp., they are amazing to keep and also tend to have an overlapping range for many betta species... which is pretty cool IMO.

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I only chose those because I googled "fish that can be kept with bettas" and those came up regularly.
So, boraras would be better??

Also @Wode, I'll skip the pleco. My boyfriend brought up the same points. Haha. Again, Google.

The snails can be clean up crew along with water changes.

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[wodesorel]

Keep in mind that "clean up crew" for aquariums is rather misleading. Anything that has a mouth will add to the amount of waste in the tank, and it's a closed system so only water changes will remove the eventual buildup. Snails have their own dietary requirements and often need to be supplemented, as leftovers and algae are usually not enough to keep them fed. They also produce a lot more waste then fish do and impact the water quality heavily. They are not like isopods in a crab tank where you can toss them in and they only have a good effect! Get one because you want one, not because you think it will be helpful.

[ciaraalston]

Keep in mind that "clean up crew" for aquariums is rather misleading. Anything that has a mouth will add to the amount of waste in the tank, and it's a closed system so only water changes will remove the eventual buildup. Snails have their own dietary requirements and often need to be supplemented, as leftovers and algae are usually not enough to keep them fed. They also produce a lot more waste then fish do and impact the water quality heavily. They are not like isopods in a crab tank where you can toss them in and they only have a good effect! Get one because you want one, not because you think it will be helpful.

My boyfriend has one in his 20 gallon and we love it! I named him Gary (spongebob )
I'm still messing with the arrangements of fish. For sure i want the tank full of fake plants to make several hides. If I end up with a 10 gallon with only a Betta fish (which I'm started to lean more towards anyway), I'd still be happy. A community tank would be nice but honestly the health of the fish is most important.

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