New member looking for advice

[AlabamaX3]

Hello all. I joined this community after much web surfing. I've been keeping bettas as pets since childhood (currently have 3) and recently I was given a complete 50 gallon aquarium (heater, external filter, other stuff) thankfully the person who gave it to me has agreed to help me set it up(she use to raise fancy guppies)But she advised me too seek help with my other questions..

Anyway I'd like to set it up for a male betta and other fish. I plan on buying a young betta for this tank. I know bettas and the conditions/parameters/tempertures they require, but I don't know what good compatible tank-mates are for them. I know I'll need a lot of plants to provide cover for betta buddies (and give my surface breather something to sit on), but what I'd like is some ideas for buddies.

What kind of Buddies? (I've heard platys, mollies, otos, tetras, corys, guppies, but also heard against all of them (except otos))

What age and sex should the buddies be?

How many buddies? (50 gallon tank)

Who goes in 1st? 2nd? Etc. At what interval? (I was told I need to quarintine everyone for 2-4 weeks)

Is a 3 gallon tank big enough for quarintine? (It's the only extra I have, as I moved my eldest betta into a smaller tank)

I've never had a big tank, and this will surely be a learning experiance. Right now the tank is sitting empty and I'm in no hurry to fill it with fish. I'll be starting to set it up this week, figuring out how it works and if I need to replace anything. I'll add some live plants after I get the water where it needs to be.

Looking forward to your answers and opinions.

 

[mellowyellow]

HI. And Welcome. First off, in this forum, look for Fishless Cycling for Dummies and Hints for Fishless Cycling. Follow the guidelines and you'll probably cycle your tank in 5/6 weeks instead of 4mo.

You'll also find just about everything you need to know here at AA. Start reading and use the Search category for specifics. Good luck.

 

[AlabamaX3]

Thank you. Both those threads were helpful in understanding the monumental task I am about to undertake.

I should add -After getting the tank in the house and onto it's stand (it's a lot bigger than it looked when I 1st saw it), reading those threads and a few other threads here and calling the lady who gave me the tank, I have decided that I will NOT be putting a betta in it. Yeah I figured out putting a slow moving surface breather into a giant tank with a powerful filter and other species of fish is a bad idea. I'll just keep my bettas in their little tanks where they are happy and easy to see. I will be setting up the tank (fishless cycling) and using the time to research appropriate fish and plants for this tank.

So thank you again. Lesson one has been learned.

 

[melosu58]

Welcome aboard

 

[mommytron]

welcome to AA! good call on nixing the betta, there aren't many suitable tank mates for one and they do much better in smaller, calmer environments. +1 for researching while you fishless cycle, it's the best way to go! can't wait to see what you do with your tank

 

[AlabamaX3]

Woohoo!!! Thank you AA for this thread!! It was just what I was looking for.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/your-first-tank-what-fish-should-you-get-53163.html

Thought some other newbies might want to see that one. And everything else on the getting started page was extremely helpful too.

 

[mgamer20o0]

Welcome to AA.