Bgk And A Betta

[krucialkey560]

i know bettas are pretty much only aggressive with other bettas,but i just wanted to make sure that a betta and a black ghost knife will get along, My sister moved away and left her lil betta in a itty bitty bowl(shame on her) So i was going to add him to the tank!I know he would love to be in a full tank,i sure would be!but anywho, i was also reading up on some flagfish does anyone have them??do they really eat that pesky black hair algea?Holla!much love
krucialkey560

[cdawson]

Bettas are aggressive to pretty much everything. There are exceptions from fish to fish. However, I don't recommend putting a BGK together with anything smaller than it. The black ghost knife is a predatory fish that would most likely nip at the fins of the betta during the night. It may even make the betta a nighttime snack. Black ghost knife fish are best left to species only tanks as they do get rather large in adulthood. A full grown BGK would make short work of a betta. As for Flagfish, they are brackish water fish and require marine mix in their water that would not go over well with bettas or BGKs.

[WolfPup522]

I agree about the BGK, however it's only from research - I've never owned that fish.

If you want to give the betta more room and don't have an extra tank, I would suggest a 2.5 minibow or a 5 gal. That will give him more room to swim and be adorable, without taking up much space and keeping costs low. I had mine in a 2.5 minibow.

Flagfish have become a bit of a passion for me and I currently don't have room for more:( . IME, they do not need brackish water. I did a great deal of research before I got mine, including on this forum (search the forum for flagfish or FFF) and they do quite well in fresh water. I won't go into a lot of detail because you will find it in your search, but I will tell you that not only do they get rid of black hair algae, they love it. I've heard that you have to stop feeding them to get them to eat it, but mine ate it all in a couple of days with regular feedings. I would not, however, put them in with the BGK.

[ChilDawg]

BGK + Betta = BGK

Bettas are best kept in at least a 3g. How small is the tank to which you refer?

[TKOS]

I agree that the BKG and Betta will not be a good mix, but I disagree that bettas are agressive to anything. Betta do very well in community tanks as long as there are no fin nippers. My betta did splendidly with white cloud mountian minnows and cories. They don't always get along with guppies due to flowing tails I guess but even then if there is plenty of plant life things are generally fine.

[Dahlia]

Bettas are variably in their aggressiveness because it is genetic. Since the breeding focus for betta splendens is its finnage, they often have much softer dispositions than the ones bred for their fighting tendencies (which is popular in other countries). However, there is no real way to know until you put it in the tank and watch. If you do decide to introduce a betta to a community tank it is best to watch him for a while to make sure he is getting along. Pull him back out if he is constantly harassing your other fish or is being harassed by your fish. Some bettas will attack fish with similar fins or body types to theirs (like guppies) and others will ignore any fish they see including other bettas (the latter is rare). Since they are slow and showy you should avoid putting them with fin nippers (or fish that can eat them like the BGK). Also make sure to watch and see if he is getting enough to eat because it is easy for other fish to out compete these slow pokes for food.

I think those small (5 gallon or so) Eclipse tanks are inexpensive and perfect for bettas. I recommend getting one with a light because they look so much nicer with one. My daughter loves hers.