Betta community tank?

[Shelbi]

I know there's a lot of different opinions on betta's living alone, and living with other fish. What's your thoughts? My betta has been living with other fish for about 6 months now, and seems to be doing great, except for the last couple weeks, his fins are pretty gnarly and going away. My answers are either bad water, fish are eating his tail, stress, or something else. He's in a small hospital tank right now. Any remedies that have worked for you? I need to get this little guy back to normal!! The first pic is when i first got him, the last pic is 6 months later for the last couple weeks

Oh, and my betta lives in a 10 gallon, not this little bowl, he's in there while i figure out whats wrong

 

[Mebbid]

90% of the time their fins start melting away due to poor water parameters. What are the readings on your 10g tank? What fish was he in there with?


By and large, if they aren't nippy tank mates he will do just fine with them.

 

[Shelbi]

i did a water change last night and then tested the water, I should of tested it first to see what it was before i changed it. The alkalinity and ph where pretty high even after water change... but nitrate, nitrite, chlorine, were all perfect. I have 5 danios and an african frog with the betta. I have never see the danios nip at the betta, but they chase and nip at each other occasionally. Really his fins disappeared like that almost over night it seemed, unless i didn't pay much attention. pretty sure you are right its the water. What should i do?

 

[confusedfishmom]

I've been researching danios and bettas and the results are that this isn't a good combo, especially if you have a small danio school (5). Overnight, tells me it's the fish more than water conditions. Bettas can live in some pretty awful conditions. They're very hardy fish.

 

[Brookster123]

Those danios really have no business with a betta or in a 10 gal to begin with.. just because you don't see it? They do all their dirty work at night..

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Shelbi]

Thanks guys, I didn't think having danios in a 10 gal would be a problem tho? They aren't the giant danios, they are tiny zebra and leopard ones, they fit fine. But I have been wanting to get rid of them since they eat all the food before the betta and frog can, what are some fish that you think mix well with a betta? I've done tons of research on all this stuff guess it wasn't enough! I swear the rotting away fins was from bad water quality. Alkaline and ph were pretty high and the hardness of the water.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[fishyd]

Zebra's still get pretty large. I got a school of 9 last October that were all about an inch. They all now range from 2" to 3.5" on the biggest. Also, danios in general are a very active fish and need a larger area to swim in. If you would like to keep the 10g, I would suggest trading out the danios for a tetra type. If you are able to upgrade, try at least a 20g long and get a few more danios. The larger swimming area and more danios will help curb their nippiness toward others. (which I am pretty sure what happened to your betta. small swimming area and small school means they will be quite nippy toward other fish rather than themselves)

 

[Luananeko]

10 gallon tank is much too small for Zebra and Leopard Danios. They may be small fish, but they have a lot of energy that they have to burn off if you want them to be well behaved. Best ways for them to burn that energy off is by offering them a larger school to play with (8+ is best, with the more the better) as well as sufficient tank length to get up speed and race around (20" or longer). Without this, they will be very nippy and tend to harrass/kill their tankmates. I recommend swapping to Celestial Pearl Danios or some other slower/less rambunctious Tetra or Rasbora.

 

[benjaminite22]

A great example of a good peaceful-yet-exciting tank mate are some cory catfish. I've had more than 5 that lived with my betta for 2 and a half years. They are schooling fish, so you need at least 4. Don't worry about space, bottom feeders don't count.

 

[Luananeko]

Don't worry about space, bottom feeders don't count.

Uhhh bottom feeders DO count. They still add bioload. They don't crowd the betta's space, but they do still tax the system just like any mid-water swimmer. Try adding a pleco to a heavily stocked tank and watching the water parameters... They definitely count.

 

[benjaminite22]

…forgot to mention that, but yeah your right. They really do produce waste like any other fish. I'm not quite sure where I learned that they don't count as space, but now that I think about it, it's probably not entirely true!