What fish are good for 10 gal with a Male betta?

[tornangel012]

I'm NEW and I'm trying to get suggestions on what I can put with my Betta George in a 10 gal tank. I'm a beginner too. He's my third betta.

Also I had questions on Filteration. I was going to get an undergravel filter and then use my 3 gal filter. Is that enough or should I get a 10 gal filter also instead of using my 3 gal filter?

I'm thinking of some Fancy tail guppies, cory catfish or two, and some neon tetras. I was also going to use a divider for a first month so george can get used to seeing the other fish but not chasing them.

Also this is just a tank to keep in my office but George lives in the office right now too.

OH and P.S. I get a lot of FREE fish tanks if there is anyone in Columbus Ohio area looking for them. I work for a Property Presevation Company and when we trashout REPO houses the workers bring me all the Fishtank things. I found a 55 gal for my boyfriend with the Hood, light and filter and that's were I got a 10 gal. I also have I think 35 gal? I'll have to measure it. So if your looking for a free tank just ask and I might have one. Usually they need a lil repair like sillacon or general cleaning.

[DaisyGirl]

Welcome to AC! I think you'll find all the info you need here on AC!

I would go with 3-4 cory cats. They get along well with bettas, I have 4 with my betta in a 10g and they are very happy! Guppies generally arent good with bettas because a betta will mistake them for another betta because of the long fins. I would go with just the cories, live plants, and I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with them!

As for the filter: I'm not sure what you should get, as most bettas don't like the strong current of most filters. So, whatever you end up using, make sure the currrent isnt too strong.

What are you using as substrate? UGFs work fine with gravel, but not if you have sand! GoodLuck, and please post pics when you are done, I love seeing other peoples bettas/setups!

[TJT]

I have a male betta, 2 ADF and 2 white clouds in a 5 gal. I found out the white clouds usually prefer slightly cooler waters but mine seem to be doing fine?

[tornangel012]

I think after doing some research I've decided a lil bit on what I would like 4 neon tetras, 2 cory catfish, 1 algea eater, try two fancy tail guppies but I'll seperate them for the first month I might just put his tank next to the 10 gal so he can see or I'll get a qurantine thingie for him. I was looking at the Molly but I think it might be bad since they have big fins too. I'll have to research that one more.

George seems to be doing good with his filter. The first day he was annoyed but now he's used to it and he knows if he needs a quiet place he just hides underneath it. I only leave it on while I'm in the office.

I can't do live plants yet maybe in a couple months after I get everything set up.

[TJT]

betta will likely go after a male guppy because of the fins i believe.

[gophersnake13]

You could make it a mini-biotope tank with a Dwarf Gourami and about 5 Zebra Danios. Add some aquarium safe bogwood as a center peice with a small Java Fern attached (very easily grown and will not outgrow a 10 Gallon) This will provide all the cover the fish need and you should be fine (the plant will discourage algae, help stabalize the water and much more importantly take harmful substances from the water).

Make sure you buy the appropriate water testing kits and test your water. I would not add anymore fish untill the tank has been set up for at least 4-6 weeks, as this will allow more benefitial bacteria to grow within the tank.

Good Luck! :)

PS: I would really go with the plant regardless of your descision of fish or setup simply because of the benefits I mentioned.

[Ems]

The Betta won't necessarily go after the guppies. There is a big chance he will, but also a slight chance he wont. I keep male and female bettas with guppies and haven't had a problem, but the fact that your tank is a 10G, as opposed to my 55G, there's a bigger chance of the guppies getting nipped. It all depends, of course, on George's personality. When you have him separated, see how aggressively he acts toward the other fish. If he flares up a lot, guppies aren't the best choice. If he doesn't seem to care that they are there, it's worth a shot. You can always temporarily separate them again and return the guppies if there's a problem. Neon tetras are fine with Bettas, and of course cories are too. So, good luck and let us know what you decide :)
-Emily.

[Harlock]

Avoid dwarf gouramis, fancy goldfish, other bettas, guppies, angelifish... pretty much anything that has a lot of fin or is a labyrinth fish (like gouramis and bettas). Really, 4 neon tetras and the betta woul be plenty for a 10 gallon tank, without adding an algae eater and two corries and guppies. If you added all of those the tank would be overstocked and overstocking a small tank is basically a time bomb. Eventually water quality will get out of hand (you'll forget to change it one week, or be out of town, something) and then fish may perish. Also, with a high bio-load algae can be a real problem, but that's really the least of your worries as it is only asthetically displeasing. I really think you should look at the betta as your "showpiece" for the tank and then work around him. The suggestion of cories is a great one. Pygmy cories would be awesome. You could get 6 in the ten gallon easily and they will swim around in a little pack. They also utilize more of the tank than regular cories, swimming to mid level in open water. I would consider that.

[Sparkplug]

I have a male betta with a SAE and they don't get along at all. They both chase each other and I am preparing to move the SAE out.

They are in a 5g tank.

FYI

[gophersnake13]

Now that I looked back on it, the dwarf gouramis were kept in a tank with bettas that was a 20 gallon tank, so they could get away from each other easily. But the Danios and the Java fern are really compatible in a 10 gallon with the betta as are neons and various other fish. I would'nt do the livebearers, and stay away from barbs as the Betta may not like the guppies also they get larger than some of your other choices and you could'nt keep as many, and barbs will nip his fins and bully George.

[tornangel012]

Thank's for everyone's help on this! Also aren't guppies considered live bearers? And I don't know the Acronyms for this forum so what is an SAE?

Also does anyone know anything regarding Fish suicides? George has jumped out of his tank once and has attempted another time or two. Also my boyfriend Fresh water dwarf puffer isn't eating anymore. We noticed when his fishes tails started to grow back and found the puffer at the very top barely moving and sideways. he has a 10 gal with the puffer, 1 tetra, 1 cory catfish and one other fish that I don't know what he's called but he's larger then the others with a bloated belly and is all red/orangish.

[DaisyGirl]

an SAE is a siamese algae eater

[Harlock]

Thank's for everyone's help on this! Also aren't guppies considered live bearers? And I don't know the Acronyms for this forum so what is an SAE?

Also does anyone know anything regarding Fish suicides? George has jumped out of his tank once and has attempted another time or two. Also my boyfriend Fresh water dwarf puffer isn't eating anymore. We noticed when his fishes tails started to grow back and found the puffer at the very top barely moving and sideways. he has a 10 gal with the puffer, 1 tetra, 1 cory catfish and one other fish that I don't know what he's called but he's larger then the others with a bloated belly and is all red/orangish.
Yes, guppies are livebearing fish. SAEs, as Daisy said, are siamese algae eaters. Fish suicides can be different things. A quite common reason for a fish to try and take a header is actually poor water quality. Do you have a test kit? Do you do frequent water changes? Also, some fish just jump, but these are usually top dwellers (African butterfly fish come to mind, I had one, fascinating animal and mine never got out, thank goodness). I wish I could help with the puffer, but I have zero experience with them and haven't ever researched them. Sorry about that. First thing I would do when any fish acted strange would be to check ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and even pH, though. if you can rule out bad water then you can start looking for other causes.

[Leopardess]

Yah, definitely no guppies or dwarf gouramis in with a betta. That's a recipe for disaster. As Harlock said, nothing long finned.

I assume you do not have a cover on George's tank? (If you do, I can't figure out how he can get out) but I strongly urge you to get a cover if you do not already have one. Jumping out is a horrible, horrible way to go because bettas breathe air from the atmosphere like humans and its basically a matter of them getting drier, and drier until they get crunchy. Really, its a bad way to go.

And yes, it could be bad water quality and it could be that he thought he saw something to eat, and jumped for it and went over.

Companions for a betta:
Dwarf frogs
pygmy cories
dainty cories
regular cories, provided you only get 3 or 4 and nothing else but the betta
neons
glowlights
harlequin rasboras
otocinclus
ghost shrimp

Those are what come to mind at the moment.

Also, cory catfish are very social schooling fish. I wouldn't get less than three of them, and even then I like to see them in schools of 5 or more - but you do not have room for more than three or four in a 10g, in my opinion.

[Biotoper]

My top choice to room with your betta would be 3 kuhli loaches. I understand the urge to get several different species, but a 10g with 1 male betta and 3 kulhis would a pretty kuhl tank :P I'd definitely get some live plants.

About the puffer, what has your boyfriend been feeding it? Puffers need frozen/live food, especially snails - supposedly they commonly die soon after bringing them home after having been starved at the LFS on a flake-only diet. Also, how do the fins look on its 3 neighbors? I would expect a healthy dwarf puffer would have been nipping at them.

[tornangel012]

I think he just saw something and jumped out because he's very active and It was very scary because he was on a shelf above my desk and all of a sudden i get this splash of water and see him laying on my paper work. I changed his water once a week but only half of it and I have the nano filter. I keep him covered at night but open during the day since I moved offices he is at eye level so I keep a steady watch on him.

I think the problem with the puffer is the food. My boyfriend got it as a present and didn't even know there were fresh water pufffers. All the fins on the other ones started to grow back. He's back in the tank with a water change and We're going to try different food for him. I found a great article about puffers and gave it to him. Hopefully the little guy will survive.

[reiverix]

OH and P.S. I get a lot of FREE fish tanks if there is anyone in Columbus Ohio area looking for them.

I just wish I had room for more tanks. But alas.......

[tornangel012]

My boyfriend's puffer has unfortunately kicked it...... we came back from valentine's dinner to find him sadly stuck to the filter. He's been siphoned, flushed and remembered :sad