Need Advice Here! ---> mixing male betta with neons & Dwarf African Frogs

[bettafish]

I have a 14 Gallon tank with a male betta in it, and I was wondering if I would be able to add 6-10 Neon Tetra and 2-3 African Dwarf Frogs to it? I'll be adding live plants as well so they'll be lots of hiding places. I'm a little new to keeping fish, but I've done alot of research and I just want some advice on this. Thanks so much! I'll be going to the petstore in two days, so quick replies would be nice ^^'

 

[mgamer20o0]

yes and no. it really depends on the betta. some can handle other tank mates and others cant.

 

[LordErrorprone]

Be careful bettas can get agressive with alot of fish in a small place. Also when buying neon tetras sometimes you will get strong ones and others are weak and die.

 

[bettafish]

Ah, I see now. I think im going to start off with 5 neon tetras and 2 dwarf frogs to see how it goes, and if it goes well then I'll add more ^^ Thanks so much :]

 

[mandy2936]

Hi,

Well speaking from experience here, I had 2 African Dwarf Frogs with a female Betta in a 5 gallon tank, and well the ADF actually ripped her apart. (Delia RIP)
These kinds of fish combos are always a hit or a miss, so you may get lucky and have fish with good attitudes, but keep in mind that it can always go wrong.

As for the Neons, sometimes the Betta will chase them around or even eat them, other times the Neons will fin nip.

It all depends. Sorry if I've put a damper on your idea, but just warning you.

P.S, Also, under stocking your tank always helps, as it will provide more swimming space and reduce stress or threat. Lots of plants/cover and hiding places are also great. Though schooling fish are safer in larger groups, to keep the stocking down I'd do about 8 at the most as they are pretty active fish and you wouldn't want them invading the Bettas territory.

I wish you luck! Hope this helps

 

[bettafish]

Thanks so much Mandy! Yeah, I'm planning on making alot of hiding places for the little guys. I was originally going to go with 10 neon tetras, but then decided that was too much so now im only going to do no more than 5. I'll be sure to have an extra tank ready for my betta in case some fin nipping or anything else goes on. My betta (General Finn) is pretty peaceful, so I'm hoping for the best Also, do you have any idea on specific foods (flake, pellet, ect.) I should feed the neons? I tried looking it up but could only find the obvious freeze-dried bloodworms. Thanks again I'm sorry about your betta btw :/

 

[JohnPaul]

Hi,

Well speaking from experience here, I had 2 African Dwarf Frogs with a female Betta in a 5 gallon tank, and well the ADF actually ripped her apart. (Delia RIP)

I suspect whatever pet store you got the frogs from actually sold you African Clawed Frogs (ACF) rather than African Dwarf Frogs (ADF). Pet stores nationwide are notorious for doing this. ACF and ADF juveniles are virtually indistinguishable from each other, so pet stores will get this batch of tiny looking frogs from their suppliers (usually mass-produced "fish farms" in Singapore, Taiwan, etc.) and the store will just call them all ADF's, despite the fact some (or all) of the frogs are actually ACF's. And as very, very tiny juvenile frogs, there is really very little difference in behavior. But as the grow, the ACF's become substantially more aggressive, and they have the claws to actually do some damage to fish if they catch one. I have a hard time believing ADF's could kill even a weak, sickly fish...and they definitely couldn't take down a healthy adult betta. But a pair of ACF's certainly could.

Here's a nice page on how to distinguish ACF's from ADF's.

As for the Neons, sometimes the Betta will chase them around or even eat them, other times the Neons will fin nip.

Chasing I can see. But an adult neon would be too large to fit in a betta's mouth, so "eating" a neon would be quite a task! But I can certainly see a betta chasing & "attacking" neons, and can also readily see neons nipping at the fins of a betta, especially a male betta.

Also, do you have any idea on specific foods (flake, pellet, ect.) I should feed the neons? I tried looking it up but could only find the obvious freeze-dried bloodworms. Thanks again I'm sorry about your betta btw :/

Any good high-quality flake food will be fine for neons. Whenever I have fish that are living mostly on flake, I try to have 2-3 different types of flake food and rotate between them. So every other day they get a quality, all-purpose flake food (I'm partial to Omega One and/or New Life Spectrum as brands), and then on the off days in between they get something like a pressed brine shrimp flake, pressed earthworm flake, etc. or else a pressed algae flake. Carnivorous fish (like bettas) usually don't get the algae flake, but get extra days with the meatier flakes like the brine shrimp flake or earthworm flake. If you are looking for some high-quality homemade specialty flake foods, and have a couple of contains (tupperware or whatever) you can store it in, Kens Fish has some great foods. I use his veggie sticks with calcium in my freshwater invert (shrimp/cray) tanks and they just go nuts over it.

Live, frozen, or (if need be) freeze-dried bloodworms & tubifex worms would be great for your neons as well. As would live or frozen brine shrimp. Lots of possibilities, really.

 

[bettafish]

Thank you so much! I was wondering what all the possibilities were for the Neons I'll definitely look into those brands and getting some of those brine shrimp flakes and stuff too for variation now and then. Lots of information now to take in ^^

 

[LordErrorprone]

I feed mine flakes.

 

[bettafish]

Ah, thanks ^^ I just wanted to know what brands really since I couldnt find any when I googled it... Gosh this forum gives so much info! I wish I'd gone on here before...

 

[mandy2936]

Thanks so much Mandy! Yeah, I'm planning on making alot of hiding places for the little guys. I was originally going to go with 10 neon tetras, but then decided that was too much so now im only going to do no more than 5.

Actually, you'd be better off with at least 6. That's the minimum for Tetras. They'd appreciate the extra friend more.

I'll be sure to have an extra tank ready for my betta in case some fin nipping or anything else goes on. My betta (General Finn) is pretty peaceful, so I'm hoping for the best

As I mentioned before, it depends on the attitude of the fish. So because you said that your Betta is pretty peaceful, I imagine that things should work out on your favor. It's great that you have a backup plan.

Also, do you have any idea on specific foods (flake, pellet, ect.) I should feed the neons? I tried looking it up but could only find the obvious freeze-dried bloodworms. Thanks again I'm sorry about your betta btw :/

I personally like TetraMin for brands. Look for a bottle that says "TetraMin Tropical Flakes". Those will go for your Neons, and your Betta may like them too. Just be sure to crush the flakes a bit to be small enough for the Neons. The Betta will also eat Betta Pellets. As for your ADF, they will eat bloodworms (which your Betta will also enjoy) and sinking pellets made for aquatic frogs. Hope that helps!

I suspect whatever pet store you got the frogs from actually sold you African Clawed Frogs (ACF) rather than African Dwarf Frogs (ADF). Pet stores nationwide are notorious for doing this. ACF and ADF juveniles are virtually indistinguishable from each other.

Thanks, but actually, no. My LFS had two tanks, side by side, with the two different frogs. I could tell the difference. I even saw the frogs in action, taking a chunk out of my Betta, but even so I looked up differences and pictures a million times and it's clear that I have ADF.

Chasing I can see. But an adult neon would be too large to fit in a betta's mouth, so "eating" a neon would be quite a task! But I can certainly see a betta chasing & "attacking" neons, and can also readily see neons nipping at the fins of a betta, especially a male betta.

Haha yes I see what you mean. I didn't quite mean that an entire Neon (even a young one) would fit in the mouth of a Betta, but someone once posted a question (on another site) asking what to do because the Betta bit the Tetra up and ate it. Grant it it was quite small, but that was why I said that.

Good luck!

 

[bettafish]

Good to know! Having six sounds good since I have lots of room ^^ My betta is very peaceful, everytime I need to stick my finger in his tank to get out any uneated food he'll ignore it or come near it. He also doesnt mind his reflection in the bottom of the tank (I havent gotten much gravel but am getting more tomorrow) which makes me think he'll be good with the tetras now ^^ I hadnt thought about his temperament before.
Thanks! It's nice to have a specific food brand that I now know will work for the little guys once I get them, and I'll be sure to crush them a bit before feeding too Yes, my betta loves his little pellets, and since I first got him a week ago he's been eating them nicely. You helped me alot actually! Thanks so much! ^^

 

[bettafish]

Oh, and one more question Mandy! I noticed you have sand in your tank, and I was wondering if getting a sand substrate would be okay for my betta and for the ADF? My betta loves going down to the bottom of the tank and often sleeps there, so would it scratch him any?

 

[mandy2936]

Sounds great!
Actually, when you have Catfish, (like me) sand is recommended because it won't scratch their barbels.
So to answer your question, it would definitely not scratch your Betta! It will also be fine for your frogs. Sand will stay cleaner because the debris will sit on top of the sand, and won't be able to get into little spaces like with gravel. So when you siphon, don't shove the siphon down into the sand, just hover it slightly above and suck up the dirt and waste. (This will avoid sucking up any sand)

Since you mentioned that you like knowing the name of a specific brand, I can tell you the food I use for my frogs and bloodworms, if you'd like. For the frogs I used "HBH Frog and Tadpole Bites". The store employees told me I should use that because that's what they feed their ADF at the store. I find that they work quite well because they sink and it's easy for the ADF to eat. Don't forget that they feed by sight and not smell so be sure to drop the food near them. You may also want to ask what they feed the ADF at your store, because this way the frogs are used to the food and already like it. The brand of my Bloodworms are Hikari.

Glad I can help out!

 

[bettafish]

Ah, I see ^^ I finally got to go to the pet store today, but they didnt have any sand I could use for my tank :/ So I got the black gravel instead. They were out of ADF, but they get a new shipment every saturday so I can get them and the food then. I made a note of the HBH stuff, so thanks for mentioning that! The neon tetras I got are doing good, I'm just waiting for my new tank heater to heat up the tank a bit more then I can add them and then my betta I'll post a picture hopefully sometime soon once I get all the fish in there and they're settled a bit. Thanks again for all your help! Now when I get my ADF I can make sure they have what they need :]