a betta and neons can be friends, right?

[chris127]

Im moving my betta from a 2 gallon to a 10 gallon. im going to start cycling soon. when its all cycled i was thinking about putting some neon tetras in the tank as well. are they okay with a betta? how many could i put in there? i have a 5-15 gallon filter and there will be live plants so filtration wouldnt be a problem.

Thanks

 

[mom2reds]

It just depends on the neons some may pick at the neons fins. I did not have any problem when I that set up I had my betta and 6 neons and 3 panda cories in a 10 gallon for about a year and they did fine.
It also depends on your bettas temperment some just don't like anything in a tank with them and will try to hurt the other fish.
I would give it a try just be ready to separate them if need be.

 

[chris127]

do you think testing out my betta with a couple of feeder guppies first would help figure out if hes a friendly guy? i dont wanna have 5 neons and nothing to do with them lol D:

 

[kimo]

I would go with the Neons before I would use guppies to test out the Betta's temperment. Feeder guppies usually can carry parasites in just from the way they are handled at the lfs. As long as you have at least a small school of Neons (4-6) they will pick on themselves and ignore the betta. The betta after a few days will keep the Neons in their place just by a look or two. No damage done either way.

 

[chris127]

didnt think about that! thanks. oh, and my betta is kindy feisty. every other day i put a mirror up to his tank to make him flair. that wont make him meaner will it?

 

[An t-iasg]

I wouldn't count on the betta and the neons getting along. I have seen a group of neons gang up on and nip a betta. The school of neons will probably harrass the slower-moving betta.

Guppies are not good tank mates either for the betta; their long, colorful fins will be mistaken by the betta as another male betta.

 

[jrp1588]

I set up a little tank for my sister with a betta and some platies. This mix works well for me. He flared at them for a day or so to show them who's boss, but now he ignores them. I'd be leery of putting a betta with most tetras. They are so slow and their fins flow so much. practically begging to be nipped by the small fast fish

 

[dskidmore]

didnt think about that! thanks. oh, and my betta is kindy feisty. every other day i put a mirror up to his tank to make him flair. that wont make him meaner will it?

Bettas are somewhat trainable. They actually use the mirror as the reward in training. A glimpse of a rival works even better...

 

[Innovator]

I will add that I have witnessed bettas consuming neons so it goes both ways. Also, using a mirror can be used in "training," but for the most part mirrors produce a stress reaction since they cannot differentiate between another animal and their reflection.

 

[manicou_juice]

I'm also interested in adding a betta to my tank, but i dunno if they are compatible with some of my fish, i have 2 kuhlii loached, 2 yoyo loaches, 2 blue rams, 3 red zebras, 2 orane flame zebras, 1 ordinary zebra, 1 black neon tetra(all his friends died a long time ago), three other tetras(don't know the name, they're brown with red fins), 2 goldfish(about 2-3 inches) all in a 40 gallon tank..do u think it's a gud idea to add a betta?

I would add more yoyo's, kuhlii's and black neon tetras but they aren't regularly in stock at the pet store...

 

[An t-iasg]

I don't think it's a good idea to add a betta to that mix. You're overstocked as it is.

 

[chris127]

Ive decided on putting the betta in a 5.5 gallon with some shrimp. i already had the tank cycling and was gona be a shrimp tank but i dont have enough room for three tanks. so now hes the king of the 5.5. Thanks for steering me away from trouble!

 

[An t-iasg]

I'm glad to hear that! The betta will like the 5.5 gallon tank. He may, or may not, snack on the shrimp (depends on his personality and how big the shrimp are).

 

[chris127]

The shrimp are about 3/4" long. and the betta is only about 1 1/2" (not including tail). well see how it goes. if he does, they were only 10 cents each

oh, do tetras eat shrimp? cause i had 2 1 inchers and now i'm down to one

 

[chris127]

yep, they def ate him. i saw a red eye with the last shrimp in his mouth. it was funny and sad at the same time :/

 

[jrp1588]

hmm, are the zebras you are referring to the African cichlid zebras? Mine in my african tank are very agressive, I don't think they'd do well at all with any community fish, much less a betta.

 

[manicou_juice]

hmm, are the zebras you are referring to the African cichlid zebras? Mine in my african tank are very agressive, I don't think they'd do well at all with any community fish, much less a betta.

no, they're zebra danios, apparently it's the 'new thing', when i first got the red ones a year ago...i only bought the orange ones about a month ago, have had the red ones a for a long time. They're bred to be different colours, i don't think they are painted, I've also seen "green" ones (but they are really yelow) and these are really expensive.

 

[jrp1588]

oh, well neat, I'd never heard of different color zebra danio's except the glow in the dark ones.

 

[manicou_juice]

i'll try to get some pics of them as soon as possible..

 

[Purrbox]

The brightly colored zebra danios are the result of genetic manipulation and not dying. The coloration just happened to be an unexpected result of some research that was being done.