Betta w/current tank occupants?

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huskerdan25

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Mar 13, 2006
Messages
16
Hi everyone! After a very long fishless cycle (almost 12 weeks!), my 12g eclipse is fully cycled and I placed its new inhabitants in it yesterday. I added 3 neon tetras, 3 harlequim rasboras and 2 pepper cories. I got all of them small so they have some growing to do to get to their max lengths.

I have a beautiful male betta in a separate 5g tank all by itself and it is one happy fish. I would like to put him in the larger 12g tank but I have some questions:

1) The neon tetras will get to about 1.5 inches full growth (4.5 inches of fish), the rasboras get to about 1 inch at full growth (3 inches) and the cories between 2 - 2.5 inches (4-5 inches of fish). So, for all practical purposes, I'm at my limit for a 12g. My betta, at full growth would add 2 more inches. Can I control the water parameters if I were to add the beta to the tank?

2) How will a betta do with the inhabitants of the 12g tank? Will the current occupants mess with the slower betta? I was told I had a 50-50 chance that the betta will do well or become a party to constant fin picking by the other fish. Your thoughts?

If I can't put the betta in the 12g, I will probably buy a larger tank unless I can cycle the 5g. I do water changes for my betta every other day (50%) and he is more work than the other tank right now :)

Thanks for your advice.

Dan

12g Eclipse - freshwater
12g Aquapod - nano-reef (1 true percula, 1 yellow watchman goby, 1 blood red fire shrimp, various hermits and snails)
 
I think you would be fine adding the betta to the 12gal. None of the fish you have are high-bioload fish, and neither is a betta. Despite what some folks will say, there are lots of people who house neons and bettas together with no problems. I would also be surprised if your neons get to 1.5 inches anyway.

You probably should wait a week or so, though, to let your newly cycled filter adjust to the new bioload before you add another fish. You've been patient so far; it would be sad to lose fish now since everything else is going well!
 
Hi Dan.

I had a betta in my community tank for awhile with neons and cories and there was no issue. One thing to be aware of is the water flow / current in the larger tank. Bettas really like slow moving water and they're much happier that way. Since every betta is different, with a unique personality, you could give it a try but watch carefully and be ready to move him back to the 5G if things don't work out.

You can easily cycle the 5G now that the 12G is cycled :) Cycling the second tank is ALOT easier and faster than the first (12 weeks ! You have my hearty congratulations on your patience !!!). If you wait about a two weeks you can use some of the filter material from the 12G and put it into a small filter in the 5G - a small corner filter with a small air pump works if you don't already have a filter for the 5G. You could also get a mini-filter for the tank - there are HOBs avaible also (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produ...ll&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2004&Nty=1)

If you want a companion for the betta in the 5G you can add a mystery / apple snail. They're actually quite amusing to watch also. Both you and the betta might enjoy it !
 
Thanks for your advice so far.

As for my patience, I must admit that what made my wait on the fishless cycle bearable was the fact that my saltwater setup cycled much more quickly and I was able to put fish and inverts within a matter of just a few weeks. Plus, my nano helped me work on my water husbandry skills. The nano is about 2.5 months old and doing just great! I had thoughts of converting my 12g eclipse to a FOWLR but I really wanted a fw and sw display so I stuck with the cycle :) I plan to let my nano mature for a couple more months before adding coral. That will be an exciting day!

Dan
 
Neons and harlies are both schooling fish, meaning a group of 6 is better for both types. But, I don't suggest putting 6 of each in that size of a tank. Personally, I'd choose either the harlies or the neons. Neons do much better in bigger groups (~8+). I've had neons with a betta in a 10g before and they were very timid and hid all the time. I had 7. When I moved them to my 29g and added a couple more and some glowlights, they are out all the time.

I'd go with the harlies. Exchange the neons for 3-5 more harlies. They'll be alot happier that way, and IMO harlies go better with bettas.
 
I have nine neons in the same tank as my beta and they are doing great 37 gallon though.
I havent seen any problems.
hth.
 
Well, I put my betta in the 12g community tank and instead of the other fish chasing him, he went after the tetras and rasboras! I imagine that eventually they could all live together in peace but I decided to put him back in his 5g heaven and he was once again a very happy betta! :)

Time to figure out how to cycle my little 5g tank so I can leave him in his own home (and maybe add a bottom dweller friend).

Dan
 
Dan - you can cycle that 5G in 3 days - just use some of the filter floss / filter pad from the 12G tank and put it into the 5G filter. I'd use about half the 12G's pad if its relatively new and just add additional floss to the 12Gs filter.
The beauty of MTS is the ability to cycle the additional tanks MUCH faster than the first :)
 
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