12 gallon stocking advice

[Asgerlund]

How does this sound:

1 betta
3 otocinclus
2 amano
10 RCS
10 ember tetras

Best

 

[emerald76]

It all comes down to the betta
It may eat the RCS
The embers won't come out with such a large,aggressive fish around
Just to help you figure it out this is the stocklist for my ten-
8 CPDs
1 Scarlet Gem Badis
6 C.Hasbrous
2 Oto or 1 Snail
Breeding Colony of RCS
The otos shouldn't be added until you have copious amounts of algae because some only eat algae nothing prepared
Also add otos AFTER the cycle is finished by about three months

 

[Asgerlund]

Thanks a lot i think my betta is quite peaceful, he doesnt touch the one otos or the 10-12 shrimp i have right now i think my otos is eating pretty much anything he finds in the tank

 

[phoenixkiller]

It all comes down to the betta
It may eat the RCS
The embers won't come out with such a large,aggressive fish around
Just to help you figure it out this is the stocklist for my ten-
8 CPDs
1 Scarlet Gem Badis
6 C.Hasbrous
2 Oto or 1 Snail
Breeding Colony of RCS
The otos shouldn't be added until you have copious amounts of algae because some only eat algae nothing prepared
Also add otos AFTER the cycle is finished by about three months

I also add that Bettas and shrimp are hit or miss. I heard of several people that had a colony of RCS for months, and added a Betta. Sweetest thing you could ever imagine. Then a few months later, he/she woke up to many, many shrimp carcasses. The Betta wasn't fed for a week after that. It would have exploded.

P.S. This is just a story that is similar to the stories I heard, but you get the idea.

Hope it works out, and hope I helped!

 

[Asgerlund]

I also add that Bettas and shrimp are hit or miss. I heard of several people that had a colony of RCS for months, and added a Betta. Sweetest thing you could ever imagine. Then a few months later, he/she woke up to many, many shrimp carcasses. The Betta wasn't fed for a week after that. It would have exploded.

P.S. This is just a story that is similar to the stories I heard, but you get the idea.

Hope it works out, and hope I helped!

Thanks a lot phoenix, it does help. Im in doubt whether the betta has killed some of the smaller cherry shrimp, or the are just in hiding. I see some "shells" from shrimp lying around but im praying its just from outgrowing the old one and shedding it.

 

[phoenixkiller]

Thanks a lot phoenix, it does help. Im in doubt whether the betta has killed some of the smaller cherry shrimp, or the are just in hiding. I see some "shells" from shrimp lying around but im praying its just from outgrowing the old one and shedding it.

It's probably just shells. And it is possible to have a friendly Betta, I was just reminding a few people that Bettas and shrimp are not the most friendly neighbors.

 

[Asgerlund]

It's probably just shells. And it is possible to have a friendly Betta, I was just reminding a few people that Bettas and shrimp are not the most friendly neighbors.

Yeaah i see, Thanks aaaand about that..... My betta had a sudden change of mood and started exterminating RCS and 1 amano his own size. Apparently he cares more about his tank mates than what I first assumed.

 

[absolutangel04]

If he is killing tankmates, you should intervene.
I kept bettas with embers. IME, embers are not as shy as other nano fish and they made great betta tankmates (assuming the betta plays nicely).

 

[Asgerlund]

If he is killing tankmates, you should intervene.
I kept bettas with embers. IME, embers are not as shy as other nano fish and they made great betta tankmates (assuming the betta plays nicely).

I did intervene this morning and removed the only RCS I could find, but let the remaining amano stay since he has himself holed up in a "cave" in the mangrove and he is impossible to get out. For some reason the betta seems to ignore just him when he comes out to eat. He ignores my three Otos as well. I'm looking forward to embers in a couple of weeks, but for now I think I'll leave the tank. Do you think I should add 10-12 embers at once or should I add them 6 at a time or something like that?

 

[phoenixkiller]

Yeaah i see, Thanks aaaand about that..... My betta had a sudden change of mood and started exterminating RCS and 1 amano his own size. Apparently he cares more about his tank mates than what I first assumed.

Ugh... I hate those naughty Bettas. Where'd you put the RCS?

 

[Asgerlund]

Ugh... I hate those naughty Bettas. Where'd you put the RCS?

Yeah they are a handful it seems. I put the survivors in a temporary bucket with an old internal eheim filter i borrowed from a friend, and tomorrow they go back to the store. They are too cute and too expensive to be used as betta food when he eats at such a pace!

 

[Asgerlund]

This is the end product i think

 

[phoenixkiller]

Looks cool. Too bad the betta wasn't one that plays nicely... sorry bout that .

 

[Asgerlund]

Looks cool. Too bad the betta wasn't one that plays nicely... sorry bout that .

Yeah thats a pity. But fortunately he accepts all other fish. Must be because they eat shrimp normally?

 

[phoenixkiller]

Yeah thats a pity. But fortunately he accepts all other fish. Must be because they eat shrimp normally?

Well, they are predators in general, so lotsa small moving things will eventually get their attention...

 

[ashleynicole]

The otos shouldn't be added until you have copious amounts of algae because some only eat algae nothing prepared
Also add otos AFTER the cycle is finished by about three months

I disagree. oto's will eat cucumber and zuccini. Mine seem to prefer cucumber. Also mine eat the hikari sinking algae wafers. I buy the mini ones and of course all the fish go after them but I've seen my oto's on them as well.

I do agree to make sure the cycle is complete before adding the oto's.

 

[Coursair]

I disagree. oto's will eat cucumber and zuccini. Mine seem to prefer cucumber. Also mine eat the hikari sinking algae wafers. I buy the mini ones and of course all the fish go after them but I've seen my oto's on them as well.

I do agree to make sure the cycle is complete before adding the oto's.

WC Otos may or may not accept veggies right away. Mine would not eat ANYTHING but diatoms and soft green algae till they were in my tank for at least a couple of months. Once I wormed the tank they did better and now eat all sorts of stuff.

The Otos I sold usually refused algae wafers at first. We had to rotate fake plants with algae into their holding tank.

 

[Coursair]

Smooth rocks
+
Shallow pan of water
+
Sun
=
Oto Food

 

[ashleynicole]

Smooth rocks
+
Shallow pan of water
+
Sun
=
Oto Food

Never tried that but I read about it. Maybe I am lucky mine have always latched onto cucumber right away. I do not blanch it and I remove the seeds. They don't seem to like zucchini as well as cucumber

 

[ashleynicole]

Also I will mention that the only brand of algae wafers I buy are the hikari. I've tried a few others but my bottom feeders go nuts over the hikari in particular.