bdspider Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Just wondering if a betta splenden (siamese fighter) would be suitable for my tank. The tank is about 85litres, 2 foot long. Tankmates are 4 bristlenoses (little baby ones), 6 neons, 1 baby whiptail & a hoplo catfish. Some sites I've looked at say the bettas are quite aggressive so that tankmates should be carefully chosen, but I thought they were only aggressive towards other bettas? Thanks in advance for any advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 a betta should be ok, but i think you may have too many bottom dwellers for a 2ft tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billaney Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 A betta will be fine in there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdspider Posted February 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 i think you may have too many bottom dwellers for a 2ft tank Why's that? I love bottom dwellers. Catfish are my absolute favourites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 A betta will be fine with the fish in your tank. I have some baby catfish in my fighter tanks at the moment and the fighters were interested in them at the start but because there are hiding places anyway soon got over it when the catfish took off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilson Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 bottom dwellers will be ok with the betta my betta olny is aggressave to my dwarf gouramis :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdspider Posted February 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 bottom dwellers will be ok with the betta my betta olny is aggressave to my dwarf gouramis :roll: How aggressive? I want to get an opaline gourami in future... Would it be better not to mix them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 I haven't had gourami with my betta but if they are aggressive it could be because they belong to the same family 'anabantoids' and a male from each species may see each other as competition. Not sure but someone else is sure to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilson Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 if the gouramis come to close to the betta the bettas gills flare up and he tryes to atack but he can never catch the gouramis :lol: they are very slow swimers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Why's that? I love bottom dwellers. Catfish are my absolute favourites. these guys may be babies now, but they do get bigger. BN's get 4-5inches, whiptails 6-7. i have read that the minimum recommended size tank for a hoplo is 250L. just be prepared that you may need to move them from this tank in the future as space / territory becomes an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxglove Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 I agree with Tsarmina re catfish. I had a betta that had various tankmates including Angels, Moonlight gourami, dwarf gourami, Kribensis; along with cardinal tetras and harlequins. The only fish the betta got on with were the small tetras and the harlequins. He flared and provoked/attacked all the others. Eventually I got sick of him being grumpy, sulking or agressive! :evil: Just my experience. He was Beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Bettas are very peaceful and beautiful fish - as long as the others leave them alone! Angels nip at their fins, hence them retaliating as do barbs and often guppies as well. In my experience with them - over 25 years (shows my great age!!!!), as long as the males have room to swim as they like to swoop along the length of the tank and plants to hide in if they are being annoyed they are great community fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great White Hand Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Hi My dwarf gourami killed my beatiful betta in a well-planted 215l tank several months ago when i started keeping fish. My posthumous research suggested gouramies and betta are not a safe bet (there are plenty of exceptions that prove the rule! and there are many ways to manage instinctive aggression). I researched before I bought the betta, but allowed myself to swayed by an ill informed staff member at A*******. Regards, Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilson Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 yea ny gouramis nip the bettas fin a bit may be once a week at feeding time :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 i used to keep my boy with danios and female guppies. couldn't keep him with male gups as he would nip their fins. i believe his motto was "i'm the prettiest fish, and i'm gonna make sure it stays that way!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilson Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 :lol: :lol: :lol: mine is a bit like thant 2 the the betta :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me love fishy Posted February 23, 2007 Report Share Posted February 23, 2007 I have golden gouramis, angels and blue gouramis and used to have a betta in with them, he did alright as long as he stayed away from the angels. But since they stayed more at the top of the tank and he went all over it wasn't really a prob, the gouramis and the betta never had issues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted February 23, 2007 Report Share Posted February 23, 2007 it also depends a lot on the fish. We have had really agro ones that didnt even like swordtails but not i have a boy who is in with 4 girls as well as other fish and he is as passive as can be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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