Male Betta in my tank?

[William]

My mom is trying to get me to take my sisters Betta because shes sick of having it in her house.


I am more than eager to take it, however I'm just curious..


Will it go in my tank okay? I know every fish has its own personality, but generally? I want to put it in my 30gal tank which has

7Feeder Gold Fish
1Bala Shark
2Fiddler Crabs, 1 male 1 female
1Peacock Eel
1Chinese Algae Eater
12-24 Ghost shrimp.


As a general rule of thumb, would the Male Betta be okay in my tank or will I have to get him his own little bowl?


EDIT.

Also, she says that hte poor guy is making bubblenests non-stop.

So would that post a problem with my tank? Or should I just let him create one when I get him and just give him a hot little female?

My young sister has had the fish for a long time, like..I think 6 months, and the poor guy hasn't stopped making bubblenests.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

I would be wary with crabs and a beta. Just get a large bowl for him and he will be happy there. Perhaps you could even get him his own plant.

 

[William]

Why would the crab be the problem?

I mean, Unless your talking about my little fiddlers picking on the Betta..

But they don't screw with any of the fish, One of them even sits contentedly with a suckerfish attached to his head from time to time

 

[yv1]

well the current alone in your tank might freak the betta out...they like still water, thats where they are generally found. rice paddies with perfectly still water.

if you wnat something cheap and economical, just a fishbowl or even a large glass bottle with a little plant in it.

if you wnat a filter in it just to keep the water a little clean use those $5 disposable filters they sell at any petco and such.

OR you can splurge like i did for my betta (i have 2 other tanks) and get one of these small complete setups-

http://www.yv-1.com/tank/bettatank.jpg

theyre on sale for $23 at petco.

my little guy is happy in there (you cnat really see him, hes a jet black crowntail and i have black gravel so he blends in really well)

 

[William]

I don't really have a strong current in my tank..

But I do appriciate the imput.

 

[TankGirl]

I know you are not asking about this, but in general you have a few problems with how the tank is stocked. The bala shark will get VERY large and will need a new home at some point. The CAE are notorious for getting extremely aggressive to the point of injuring and killing other fish, so that is a concern as well. The feeder goldfish require completely different water parameters than the tropicals, and require almost 20 gallons of water each if you intend to keep them. I don't know about the crabs, except that they need to get out of the water sometimes. Like has been said, bettas prefer still waters, so even small tanks with filtration are unecessary, and may make them unhappy. A bowl with water changes daily is the way to go for them, or a 2-gal or so with a sponge filter. The bubble nest building is not any issue for the tank itself, as they are generally small and consist of a layer of bubbles in the corner, all wadded together. A happy betta builds bubble nests!

Sorry to poke my nose where it doesn't belong, but maybe you can prevent some future problems in your community tank by doing some selective swapping with your LFS.

 

[William]

I am aware of how large my Bala gets at maturity as well as the CAE's Aggresive nature and am planing for both in the future. I know the bala gets over a foot long, I also know the CAE gets dang near a foot long himself and I have plans I'm setting in motion for the future when the need arises.

If you had not noticed my post in FWGC, I have a firemans ladder off an old toy firetruck which the crabs LOVE for getting above the water to breath

Silly I know, but its great until I can do something natural looking

and I am aware now of what the feeders require. However they seem to be thriving none the less in my current set up. I learned of what they needed about a month after getting them, However they've been thriving for almost..between 4 and 6 months with the other fish, and from tank to tank and everything else.

And the Betta must be very happy then, because she says he builds bubblenests none stop!

Your telling me stuff I already know and have planned for, but i don't mind! You don't know whats going on in my mind afterall! So no need to be sorry ,and thanks for the reply tank girl )

 

[TankGirl]

Good deal. Sounds like you got it under control (I had not read your other posts, sorry, been outta commision over the weekend).

 

[William]

No problem, Like I said. You couldn't have known and you have to approach every new member like a begininer until you know their level of knowledge


I'm still a beginer, Mind you.. but I know of things about my fish like the Balas growth and the CAEs attitude

 

[Madame_X]

I think a betta would make a good community fish, but it doesn't sound like you have a community tank.

I think I'd keep the betta by himself. I have one of those little 2.5 gallon Perfecto tanks (that I used as a hospital tank) that I'm thinking of putting a betta in. I saw a picture of a really pretty "nano" planted tank on another forum and it got me thinking. 8)

 

[Punkymom]

I agree. They have those 2.5 gallon tanks at PetSmart for like $24 and it comes with a divider. I have 2 males in mine (separated, of course) with the filter on the lowest flow cause that's what they like. They're finally getting used to the fact that there's a big bad other male over living next door and not trying to kill each other so much through the plastic.

 

[William]

Um...whats a community tank..?

 

[Punkymom]

Uh...a community tank is one where you have different types of fish living peacefully together. Kinda like one big happy family.

 

[William]

Well, thats what my 30gal is..

Well, when its finished atleast..

 

[William]

Okay, for those of you that know my levels I did a large water change, with dechlorinator of course and brought my levels down.


and I added the Beta about an hour ago to the tank, He seems to be doing good. He puffs his gills out [ the first time I saw this I about died of laughter ] every now and agian, but he dosn't seem to aggressive, or less curious towrads the other fish.


Heck, my peacock eel came over to investigate him and poked him right in the eye and the Betta didn't do anything!


I'm just wondering, if hes good in here for the first few hours, does that mean he'll be good for the long run? Or should I take him out tonight and put him back into a large bowl and only keeping him in the main tank when I'm around to observe for awhile longer?

Note the bowl has tank water in it, so its not a shock for him to be bounced back and forth.

 

[MicroFish]

I went to Wal-Mart and spent $20 on a 2 gal "complete" setup for our Bettas... I love these tanks and the fish seem to as well. The only problem I have w/ them is that they utilize Under Gravel Filters, which I personally can't stand. I'm looking for another type of filtration but until I find it, the UGF will have to do.

I kept a Betta w/ goldfish for a long time when I was a kid... don't know about the rest of your fish though. You could always try it and see what happens - just have the other setup handy in case he doesn't do well in the 30 gal.

Sheila

 

[William]

I have a two gal bowl hes been living in before I aquired him.

I tell you its amazing he was alive, he had more waste in his bowl than what both my tanks could generate in a month.

I cleaned it out and such, He seems much happier.


I even found a very large and well made bubblenest this afternoon when I came home from work.

Guess hes thanking me




and he did well in the tank for about two hours yesterday. He swam around, puffing his gills out at everything but the Peacock Eel [ The Eel, BTW, was dead set on examining the Betta.. even going so far as to poke the Betta in the eye with his nose, and the Betta just ran away! ]


He seems dead set on chasing around my Feeder fish, and occasionally my Balloon Mollies. But the Feeders usually charge to the rescue to get his attention back on them, I swear.. its almost like you can hear the brave feeders say " Protect the defenceless mollies! " before they charge at the Betta! 8O


Once he got comfortable in the tank he did seem to get somewhat showy and chasy of the other fish, but like I said above, its spread out on them all.


So...should I try to slowly introduce him to the tank or just give up?