Vacancy to fill

[Aquarius0015]

Due to an untimely death of my beloved betta (see previous post), I now have one male betta in his own 2.5 gallon acrylic MiniBow. I've added a much stronger filter (Aqua-Tech 5-15) and my new *accurate* thermometer says my temperature hovers around 72-75ish over the course of a day. The only other inhabitants are a few of the drop-in miracle bulbs from Wal-Mart that have finally started growing with the addition of full spectrum fluorescent lighting.

I know that with such a small aquarium I will not be housing any Oscars or anything, but is there a single fish that I can add so my betta has some company? Of course, the addition would be more for me than for him. A zebra danio or something would be nice, but from what I understand it is better left in schools of 4 or more. Maybe a platy? I have had bad luck with ghost shrimps and snails.

Aquarius0015
Because every Aquarius should have an aquarium (or two or more).

[OrionGirl]

There really isn't much that will go in the tank, without overloading it. You may try a pair of kuhli loaches--they hang out at the bottom, and are fairly small bio-loads. One will work, but they are happier with a companion. The betta shouldn't bother them, either.

[aquariumfishguy]

I don't use 2.5 bowls so I couldn't tell you how the react to various bioloads except that everyone I know who have used them report poor success in the long run...unless they are those who stick to bettas. That being said, I wouldn't recommend anything less than 5-10 gallons. After you get over that "hump" then we can talk about which fish to put where! :)

[Aquarius0015]

Just a clarification: although it's small, my aquarium is not a bowl, it is just like a real tank, just smaller. I would not put any living creature (besides a betta or my sister) in a glass bowl without filtration.

I would like to complain about the advertising on the box of the MiniBow 2.5 however. It shows about 7 small fish in the tank in one picture and also suggests that the system is a good home for dwarf gouramies, cories, danios, and small barbs. Luckily, I know better now.

Speaking of larger tanks though, xmas is coming shortly and the parental units have been informed of the 6 gallon Eclipse system. It is still small, but sacrifices must be made because I live in a dorm and I need to be able to take the whole setup home for winter break (the car ride is only about 4 hours so I don't think the temporary lack of filtration will be a big problem). A 10 gallon would be even better, but at about 50 pounds, plus accessories, I think it might be just a little impractical.

I'm going to try a few ghost shrimp again. If they die, I'm out $1.25, and if not, I have my own cleaning crew. I looked at kuhli loaches, but I have a gravel substrate and the Aq. Central database said that it's too rough. Also, the label in the LFS said they can grow to 4" and I do not want to overload.

[TKOS]

Now a 6 gallon is starting to get to a real tank!!

With that size tank, if you really want to add fish then you could easily add a couple of khulies, or a couple of cories (the peppered ones are much smaller) or else 3-4 white cloud minnows. These fish have been proven to work well with bettas and can be kept in smaller tanks as long as you provide plent of fresh water.