Too many fish?

[Acre74]

My son was given a male Betta for his birthday in a bowl, with no heater. My husband had always wanted a tropical tank so we decided to go all out. The tank is set up with all parameters good (I'm testing every other day currently as we are still placing fish). The Betta fish is solo right now. Our plan is to add new fish each week. Our final plan is as follows:
1x Betta
10x Neon Tetra
8x Glolight Tetra
1x Clown Loache
3x Angels
2x Red Tail Sharks
1x Golden Sharks (pet shop lady said to get 3 to reduce risk of them attacking the other fish and to place them last)
Oops, forgot to mention it's a 43g tank.
All advice accepted happily.
Thanks in advance,
Ailsa.

 

[fishyperson3010]

My son was given a male Betta for his birthday in a bowl, with no heater. My husband had always wanted a tropical tank so we decided to go all out. The tank is set up with all parameters good (I'm testing every other day currently as we are still placing fish). The Betta fish is solo right now. Our plan is to add new fish each week. Our final plan is as follows:
1x Betta
10x Neon Tetra
8x Glolight Tetra
1x Clown Loache
3x Angels
2x Red Tail Sharks
1x Golden Sharks (pet shop lady said to get 3 to reduce risk of them attacking the other fish and to place them last)
Oops, forgot to mention it's a 43g tank.
All advice accepted happily.
Thanks in advance,
Ailsa.

Welcome to AA

You will learn a lot on this site. I know I did

IMO you should only get one shark because they will relentlessly fight with each other as they mature. Also the betta may fight with the angels as they look similar. And finally the clown loach will get to big for your tank.

 

[Cactuspixie]

Hello and welcome!

I agree with only having 1 shark, and I'd suggest adding it to the tank last of all so it doesn't claim the whole tank and harass all the other fish.
All loaches need to be kept in groups, and clowns grow very large.
There are so many fish to choose from- your stock list is likely to change several times before your tank is complete
I know mine did!

 

[Acre74]

Thanks. The sales person said add the sharks last but i think i may rethink the idea of 3 though. My research said that in tanks clown loaches don't get to full size and stay around 8inches. Is this incorrect?

 

[Fishperson]

Thanks. The sales person said add the sharks last but i think i may rethink the idea of 3 though. My research said that in tanks clown loaches don't get to full size and stay around 8inches. Is this incorrect?

Yes, but they need a lot of swimming room so they need larger tanks than that. What do you mean ''don't get to full size''?

 

[Fishperson]

1x Betta - Can get aggressive, and is sometimes not good for community tanks. It just depends on the personality of the betta really. Many people recommend against it, but with angels and sharks in there, I don't think it's a good idea either.
10x Neon Tetra - Good, hardy fish, but might get eaten once the angels get bigger.
8x Glolight Tetra - Similar to neon tetra, just a bit bigger so less likely to get eaten.
1x Clown Loach - Will get too big for you tank.
3x Angels - If you have a male and female then they might breed and get aggressive, might eat neons or glowlights once the angels mature, and may fight with betta.
2x Red Tail Sharks - Can get big and aggressive, I think 43g is enough for one though, but 2 is not a good idea IMO. (That's just what I've read online)
1x Golden Shark - I don't know much about this, but I think it is similar to a red tail shark.

That is my advice and/or criticism for each of the fish listed. ^^^

Here is what I recommend for a final stock list:

1x betta (add this after the tetras, and be willing to take it out if it gets too aggressive)
10x neon tetra
10x glowlight tetra (they do well in big schools)
1x angel (less aggressive than 3, but still could fight with the betta)

and either a red tail shark (with maybe a betta, an angel and a shark in there you will undoubtedly see aggression, so you might want to shy away from the shark)

or a small school of fish like:

6 harlequin rasboras
or 6 zebra danios (swim fast so might disturb the angel)
6 corys (like julii, albino, panda, pygmy, dainty, or corydoras habrosus)

to Aquarium Advice!

 

[Acre74]

According to what I've read in the wild the Clown Loach is over double the size of its tank counterparts.

We very willing to grab a bowl heater and put the Betta back in his original house if he gets too aggressive. He's still only young right now.

 

[AngelFishGirl]

My son was given a male Betta for his birthday in a bowl, with no heater. My husband had always wanted a tropical tank so we decided to go all out. The tank is set up with all parameters good (I'm testing every other day currently as we are still placing fish). The Betta fish is solo right now. Our plan is to add new fish each week. Our final plan is as follows:
1x Betta
10x Neon Tetra
8x Glolight Tetra
1x Clown Loache
3x Angels
2x Red Tail Sharks
1x Golden Sharks (pet shop lady said to get 3 to reduce risk of them attacking the other fish and to place them last)
Oops, forgot to mention it's a 43g tank.
All advice accepted happily.
Thanks in advance,
Ailsa.

Be very prepared to bring that betta back to the bowl. I've NEVER had a betta yet that settled with my fish. Bettas and angels together in the tank....
The neon tetras, as mentioned before, are nice fish but will get eaten by angels when they get big enough. If you REALLY want to keep them, buy the angels at quarter size. It reduces the chance of them getting eaten.
Glolights - same as above.
no clown loach in that small of a tank
The angels are fine. GREAT fish.
ONLY ONE RED TAILED SHARK!! The general rule is 1 per 50 gallons and then the next road to go is 150 gallons with 4+ so they establish a hierarchy (I believe it's called) amongst themselves. But you need 150 gallon MINIMUM. Red tailed sharks are known to be aggressive, but mine personally is a SWEETHEART. But they CANNOT be housed with more than one in that small of an aquarium.
No experience with the golden shark. If it were me, I'd choose one or the other to be safe. But the tank might not be able to house a GS. I don't know.

 

[Rivercats]

Betta's can work in community tanks if the betta has a mellow temperament. Right now I have 4, yes you heard me right, 4 male Betta's in my 220g planted tank with 12 adult angelfish. Everything depends on the individual temperament of all the fish involved. Angelfish unless they are Wild caught or Altum's will not automatically eat small fish. Again I have a lot very small fish with the 12 angels. I've found over the past 30+ years that it is very aggressive mature male angels that can be the real problem children when it comes to small fish, not always but they can cause a lot of trouble. I had two large mean males I had to rehome in the 220 or I'd have 14 now. Once they were gone all the aggression issues, chasing anything that moved issues, all went away. I added baby cardinals a few months back, maybe 1/2" long with these angels and they didn't look twice at them. Again it all boils down to temperament. And what works or doesn't work in one persons tank may or may not work in another persons tank. If you interested in loaches look into yo-yo or my favorite the Dwarf Chain Loaches which you could have a small group of. They are fun and very active in a tank. I'm not a fan of sharks at all so I won't comment on them. Your aware of the risks with the Betta and possibly the angels and sharks so it's up to you to make a responsible decision and be prepared with a back up plan if things don't work out with something.

As for angels you could get three to start if you want and if two pair off down the road you can rehome the odd angel out.

 

[Acre74]

Betta's can work in community tanks if the betta has a mellow temperament. Right now I have 4, yes you heard me right, 4 male Betta's in my 220g planted tank with 12 adult angelfish. Everything depends on the individual temperament of all the fish involved. Angelfish unless they are Wild caught or Altum's will not automatically eat small fish. Again I have a lot very small fish with the 12 angels. I've found over the past 30+ years that it is very aggressive mature male angels that can be the real problem children when it comes to small fish, not always but they can cause a lot of trouble. I had two large mean males I had to rehome in the 220 or I'd have 14 now. Once they were gone all the aggression issues, chasing anything that moved issues, all went away. I added baby cardinals a few months back, maybe 1/2" long with these angels and they didn't look twice at them. Again it all boils down to temperament. And what works or doesn't work in one persons tank may or may not work in another persons tank. If you interested in loaches look into yo-yo or my favorite the Dwarf Chain Loaches which you could have a small group of. They are fun and very active in a tank. I'm not a fan of sharks at all so I won't comment on them. Your aware of the risks with the Betta and possibly the angels and sharks so it's up to you to make a responsible decision and be prepared with a back up plan if things don't work out with something.

As for angels you could get three to start if you want and if two pair off down the road you can rehome the odd angel out.

We have just added the neons and the Betta is playing nice...for now. You have just made my husband's day as he was told yesterday that he couldn't have Angels with the Betta and Tetras. We have axed the idea of sharks. We can live without the clown loach as well. We were only looking at that because the kids wanted a 'Nemo' which of course is completely the wrong sort of fish for the tank...maybe next tank.

 

[Rivercats]

Your aware of the possible problems and know to take immediate action if there are problems so it's your decision as to try it or not. Everyone has opinions and with opinions no one is right or wrong. Betta's in community tanks has always been and will always be a debatable issue. I have one Betta right now who resides in his own 6g Fluval Edge as he won't play nice with anybody. Heck he flares and strikes at the leaves on his plants sometimes. He has one of the most aggressive temperaments I've ever seen in a Betta. You just never know when dealing with Betta's. One thing I can tell you is not to put gourami's in with Betta's as there are usually always issues with aggression.

 

[jhawk__]

I'm always for adding bettas to community tanks as long as you monitor it closely for the first few weeks! I've kept my betta in a community with tetras, German blue rams, Cory's, and a dwarf gourami (yes I said gourami lol) he got along with everyone and was very laid back.

 

[Rivercats]

Like I said it just boils down to all the fishes temperaments! I've never had good luck with gourami's, especially dwarfs and Betta's.

 

[bshenanagins]

Like I said it just boils down to all the fishes temperaments! I've never had good luck with gourami's, especially dwarfs and Betta's.

Yeah my gourami is big bully to my other flame, but he doesn't bother anyone else. And the clown loach is fine in the 43 gallon as long as its young, you plan on upgrading tank size or donate the fish. They love to hide so provide some shadowed areas if possible. Mine are doing just fine in my 40 gallon, great fish lots of personality.

 

[Acre74]

Had a bit of a heart attack as we had added some gouramis with the tetras. He was fine for the first 12 hours but then started to flare and heckle. We added some driftwood and changed the tank's hides holes around and he has settled right down. Still ready with his fish bowl to remove him if he starts nipping though.

 

[Fish Starter]

Also do not always focus on if the Betta Will be aggressive, they are slow swimmers that fall victim to fast nippy fish that attack their fins.