stocking (hopefully last one)

[ara35]

heres my final idea for stocking a 15 gallon and i truly hope no one has any exceptions because i think this would be great....
3-4 panda cory cats
1 betta (i was going for a gourami but maybe a betta is a better option)
2 adf's
and maybe 3-5 cherry barbs or serpea tetras
and if barbs are too much, cherry shrimp

[jm1212]

that sounds good, but serpaes can be nippy.

[Rbishop]

sounds okay...

[placidmiranda]

Serpaes are great. I have three with three white skirts and no one nips anymore. Serpaes get such negativity! They are great little pretty orange and black fish.

[ara35]

any other tips, ideas or comments? can serpaes and bettas coexist okay?

[davexstumpe]

you could add cherry shrimp as well as everything else, unless its the price that is stopping you.

[ara35]

not at all. just dont want to get too crowded but if it fits, ill do it

[Rbishop]

Good deal!

[Dwarf Puffers]

Ugh, serpaes would rip your betta to shreds so fast, especially when not in a proper school...

You should get at least 4 pandas.

I'd suggest getting a small tetra instead of cherries, but...

List:

1 betta
4 panda cories
6 cherries (4 (yellowish) females, 2 (bright red) males)
5-10 RCS

Note: Although male cherries are more attractive than females, the males will fight relentlessly over females if they arn't outnumbered by them, and they will fight when there are no females. However, having that many females practicaly makes them glow, so there's still some gain in it :)

[Wippit Guud]

How about rasboras instead of barbs? You could have 3-4 scissortails or 5-6 harlequins.

[fineanimal]

I don't have experience stocking other fish with my Betta, but my understanding from all I've read is that serpaes and most barbs are risky at the very least. Cherry barbs seem least likely to nip. If you add enough serpaes they shouldn't nip, but if you're cycling you probably should not add as many as you need to prevent nipping, all at once. Kind of a Catch-22.

I'd imagine your best bet is to try it, and watch your Betta carefully for signs of stress. Let us know how it goes--I'm looking at moving my Betta to a small community sometime soon, also. So I'm having the same reservations.

[ara35]

i rather not risk it as it is my first tank and im gonna have enough to watch for. is there a tetra that is similar to a serpae but not as nippy? and are the adfs good in all these stocking suggestions??

[Caius]

I'd also advise against serpae's - I've had them harass cory cats unmercifully. Maybe pristella or bloodfin tetras instead of the serpae's.

[ara35]

thanks for that idea, caius. i never heard of a bloodfin tetra and i really like the look of them. i think the color will go good with the betta and cherry shrimp. so if i get the following: 1 betta (should it be male or female), 4 pandas, and some cherry shrimp.. should i scratch the adfs? and how many bloodfin tetras would be suitable? is there any other little creatures or fish that could be added with out overdoing it. you guys know just about every fish and animal out there compared to me. thanks alot guys.

[Dwarf Puffers]

thanks for that idea, caius. i never heard of a bloodfin tetra and i really like the look of them. i think the color will go good with the betta and cherry shrimp. so if i get the following: 1 betta (should it be male or female), 4 pandas, and some cherry shrimp.. should i scratch the adfs? and how many bloodfin tetras would be suitable? is there any other little creatures or fish that could be added with out overdoing it. you guys know just about every fish and animal out there compared to me. thanks alot guys.

When I joined, I was keeping my betta in a 1/2g and a pearl gourami, dwarf gourami, amanos, a sparkling gourami and an unsoaked log in a 5g. This site really, really helps.

I'd say 6 bloodfins. You could add mystery snails, ghost shrimp (or other small shrimp), dwarf crays (if you're lucky enough to have some locally, they're wonderful), freshwater clams, etc. You could also have 5, even 6 pandas, as they are happier with more company and aren't messy at all.

If you want a female betta, I'd say you could get 2. Males, I find, are larger (2.5-3") and messier. My betta's poop is sometimes bigger than that of my 3-4" con. Females, however, are very clean, eat all the food, only grow 1.5-2", and are generally half as bad as the male bettas. I also find with female bettas is that either 1 will become dominant, or they'll both be about the same and befriend each other.

Oh, and for the ADFs, I find them messy (food wise and poop wise) and quite stupid. I've had some drown in a tank, and some starve when I was waggling it in front of their faces, and once even when they were floating in food. I'd say a strong filter and hand feeding would have to be applied to keep ADFs.

[ara35]

would a heater be ideal for this type of tank? what would a good pH be? ill look both things up if nobody has any ideas but i was thinking someone might know

[ara35]

also, i think i rather get one male betta than 2 females because the males are so much better looking, in my opinion

[jessicar613]

would a heater be ideal for this type of tank? what would a good pH be? ill look both things up if nobody has any ideas but i was thinking someone might know

You'll need a heater; go with a good one like a visitherm stealth. Cheap heaters break really easily and when they do, you risk killing your fish, so the stealth is worth the initial expense.

Don't worry about your ph, as long as its stable you'll be fine.

Sounds like a good stocking plan to me. :) Maybe add some live plants?

[ara35]

does anyone know if there are any female bettas that look as good as the males or are the males always alot fancier?

[Xavi]

If you keep searching, you can find some very pretty female betta.