Another stocking question

[Welsh]

I'm getting my new male betta tomorrow and I have a 7.8 -8 US gallon tank that he will be going in so I was wondering, other than the obvious, snail, shrimp,etc are there any other fish that I can keep in there with him?

Thanks

 

[MartinBlank]

The issue is that the fish that will usually be able to share a tank with a betta are small, peaceful fish. Most of those peaceful fish prefer to school, and in a tank that size you may be pushing it space wise.

Personally I would probably just have it be his tank. But if push came to shove I would probably try to find some small Corys and go with 4 or 5 of those. A group of 4-5 small tetra might work too.

 

[logansmomma1228]

You could also try a trio of sparkling gouramis. They are shy peaceful fish as well. One other thing though, is that it would be better to add the betta last. Also it depends on the betta's personality.

 

[Welsh]

At the minute I have 5 neon tetras in there that were in my 12 gallon, so should I leave them in there or take them out? the reason I put them in there was to just speed up the cycle a little along with a filter and sand from an already established tank.

I would be adding the betta last, I've got females coming too so I got to try to fish out the others before I can add them lol

 

[logansmomma1228]

How long did you cycle this tank for? It generally takes longer if you cycle with fish.

If you want to leave them in there you could, that way you can see if your betta will get along or not. It will also get him used to not being the only one in there. However, you might want to be prepared to remove fish if anything goes arye.

 

[MartinBlank]

I would be adding the betta last, I've got females coming too so I got to try to fish out the others before I can add them lol

Are planning on trying to put female bettas in with your male? If so, the male will almost certainly kill the female(s)....

If not, sorry for misunderstanding.

 

[Welsh]

I bought the tank yesterday, I know a tank takes almost a month or longer to cycle but as I have used a filter and sand from another tank I thought it maybe safe to put my betta in. Stocking and cycling really stump me ai lol


No no, the females are in a sorority tank but can be territorial so I'll remove them until the newbies settle in re-arrange the tank and then put them back in

 

[logansmomma1228]

With established media it will take less than a month, but longer than a day or two. Every tank is different. When cycling with fish it is very painful for them. It burns their gills (ever get soap in your eyes?) and greatly shortens their lifespan. It also stresses them out more, making them more susceptible to diseases.

I fishless cycle obviously, lol, and I cycled my 29 in exactly one week with established filter media. I am going to urge you do be patient and wait a little longer before adding your betta. They are sensitive as it is.

You should also be diong 50% water changes daily, at least, to keep your ammonia, nitrite and nitrates down.

Do you have a test kit? Strips are innacurate at best, I suggest API freshwater master test kit. It can be found at walmart.com for like 18$, which is a lot cheaper than the one I bought lol

Here are a couple links that I hope will provide useful to you:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...-but-i-already-have-fish-what-now-116287.html

Nitrogen Cycle

 

[Welsh]

Right, I am going to remove the tetras and just be patient, which is a task in itself since I'm the least patient person I know lol

I took the tetras out and tested the water, these are the strange results

Ammonia - 0 - 0.25 - the colours are in-between
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0 - I shook the Nitrate #2 and banged it for about 5 mins

 

[logansmomma1228]

lol. patience is indeed the hardest part. It took my 10gallon 4 weeks exactly to cycle. It was tough, but once you get one cycled the rest are easy and quicker. It also gives you time to figure out what you want to do!