Female betta in community tank?

[bluerose]

Just a random curiosity question...

In a tank with tetras (who I have gathered can be fin-nippers and are not appropriate buddies for a male betta), could a female betta be appropriate?

Would having a lot of hiding places/plants/etc make a difference?

 

[Lager]

She should fit in very well. Just watch the current she just like him come from very placid water.

 

[bluerose]

If she's in slightly stronger water for a short period of time (I'm working on my filter to get it to slow down but it's trial and error) would that be bad for her or will she just be upset about the current?

 

[Menagerie]

Make an area in the tank where there is less current--float something at the surface. I have had mixed results with female bettas in communities, as have other members. You need to have a back up plan in case she decides that tank is hers and hers alone!

 

[mike47517]

make less current in certain places and she should be fine tetras shouldn't be a problem.

 

[bluerose]

I think if I add a cave (I'm thinking a terra cotta pot on it's side would go marvelously in my tank- it needs something besides plants and wood anyway) by the driftwood there would be enough hiding space for a betta to go and get out of the current.

I'm just not sure how to handle feeding- my tetras are GREEDY little things- they go after the algae wafers before they eat their own food... the cories have plenty to eat with digging through gravel and such but sheesh!

Could I 'train' the betta to go to a certain part of the tank to snag her food while the others are eating? There's an unused port in my hood that I could drop her food through while feeding the tetras in the front of the tank to keep them distracted.

 

[JohnPaul]

My female betta I kept by herself for a little while, in less than a week of keeping her she learned that when the lid opened, that meant food. I would often feed her off the tip of my fingers, so if my finger goes anywhere in the water she zooms right to it expecting a meal.

You could probably train her to do something similar pretty easily.

I've kept female bettas in community tanks many times and never had a problem, but as always, it depends upon the individual temperment of your particular betta.

 

[bluerose]

OK. slightly off topic but are these decent for short-term holding/QT tanks? (I would put the female betta in there for a little to get her adjusted to a normal size tank and make sure she's OK.)

Lee's Kritter Keepers at PETCO

I need something small and lightweight and easily storable and cheap...

Would doing PWCs every day be suitable instead of a filter for a week or so? And I'm assuming being without gravel won't be a problem for that length of time? (I know, not a true QT but I am in no way set up to do one and cannot get set up so...)

 

[Alaris]

The thing about quarantining is that you want to make sure the fish has no diseases/illnesses that's going to spread to your other fish and infect your tank's water column. Therefore, you need to leave your fish in the QT for a considerable period of time, at least 4 weeks. Anything less is useless and you may as well just add the fish directly to the tank upon arrival. Since the fish needs to live in the QT for 4+ weeks, it needs to be livable: cycled with a heater and filter.

*NOTE: A hospital tank is different from a QT tank.

I'd say go ahead and get the critter keeper just in case your girl has social problems after being introduced into the community. You'll have something you can move her in to until you decided what to do with her next.

 

[bluerose]

I knew it wouldn't be a true QT but it would at least help her get used to being out of the little betta cup and into fresher water. (I'm also thinking I'd use it to put plants in to check for snails... and also as a hospital tank, yes.)

I would do a QT if I could, but I don't have the resources to set up another tank properly (and am not allowed to anyway- one tank in a college dorm room is all I can have- for a week or so I could smooth it over but a month+ probably not).

Thanks


ETA: What pH do you guys successfully keep your female bettas in? I'm having issues with my pH stubbornly sticking around 5.8-6 despite my PWC's being around 7 and while the tetras and cories are doing fine I'm not sure how a betta would react. I'm guessing that I should test the water the betta came from and take extra time drip acclimating if it's vastly different?

 

[Alaris]

So water straight from the tap measures a pH of 7, but your tank measures 5.8? Do you add anything to drop the pH? I've heard of pH rising after out-gassing, but not falling.

The point being: you want to add water to your tank that is the same pH. If that means letting the tap sit out for a day before adding it to the tank, then do so. Fish are sensitive to pH changes. Always always go for a STABLE pH instead of messing around to get an ideal pH.

And yes, drip acclimate your betta slowly. I would add her directly to the main tank and forgo the holding tank. She'll be very happy to be in a nice roomy 8g! (If you were living in a box for a month and it was time for you to be released, would you prefer living in the closet first or going straight for the whole house?) While a critter keeper is bigger than a cup, it's still too small with no heater/filter/cycle.

 

[bluerose]

My tap water actually measures 7.6 and I mix with spring water (assuming that's 7, it was when I first filled the tank with spring- actually about 7.2).

I'm working on the culprit for my low pH- going to do a thorough vacuum this week in case I have a buried dead plant or something- but besides the wood, which was thoroughly soaked in hot water to get rid of tannins before putting it in the tank and has been in there for several weeks, there's no obvious reason...

I'm not adding anything besides dechlor (NovAqua+). I added AmQuel+ after my PWC last week when I had a bit of an ammonia spike (.25ppm is all- I suspect it was from stirring up crap in the gravel when pouring the water in) to be safe. Other than that, no chemicals.

I have another thread (pH drop?) that has the whole thing if you have any other insight... I'm scratching my head quite frankly. All of my parameters are good besides that pesky pH- 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, generally 5 nitrate.

 

[Alaris]

Yeah I read that after I made my post.

I agree with the suggestions you got there: test the pH of tap out of the faucet and then let it sit out for a day or more and test again. Do the same with the spring water (just in case...)

 

[new2betas]

I have two female bettas in a 29g community tank. They live with lamp eye tetras and cories, and more. I haven't had a problem yet.

 

[gwrace]

Bettas have very different personalities

I've kept many bettas over the years. Each seems to be unique. I have one male right now that I cannot put into any community tank as he takes great joy in terrorizing anything else with fins.

Another one that I got from the same store could care less about the other aquarium life. He just minds his own business.

When I have bred bettas in the past each attempt was a hit or miss experience. Sometimes it works out sometimes it does not.