Saving a Betta

I

InvaderJim

Still a Newbie
Mar 13, 2006
124
0
0
38
Gainesville, FL
I have a betta that i'm not sure the sex of and I was wondering if I could put him/her in my 55g with the fish I currently have in there. The fish has been in some really nasty water and I'm trying to save it and my 55g has plenty of room as it's pretty understocked. Currently in my tank I have:

2 Red-Eye Tetra
2 Gold Skirt Tetra
1 Mickey Mouse Platy

Would it be safe to stick it in there or would there be a lot of agression?
 
It should be fine. A single male Beta is fine in a community tank. Many females are also fine in a community tank so either way, you should be good.
 
Awesome, that relieves me a lot. Is it ok to just feed it blood worms and flakes like I do all my other fish?
 
Your Betta should love you for feeding it blood worms.
 
Freeze Dried are good and I have seen them sold as "Betta Bites"
 
Hello there, just a thought, how nasty was the water that the betta was/is coming from? If the water was really bad (as in near OTS levels) then it would not be best to move it immediately to clean water as an osmotic shock (is this the correct term?) might occur. You have to get it accustomed to better water conditions "gradually". Good luck :)
 
The water wasn't that old, maybe two or three days old it just got really dirty somehow. The betta was in a little plastic fish bowl, but I moved it to a plastic dish with some clean water. It's beginning to swim around more and ate earlier when I fed it.

As for the blood worms I have they are freeze dried. :)
 
to be safe, i'd recommend having another tank (2 gal at least) to put the betta in. if it's a male, he could get aggressive in a community sitaution. many people, me included, have had this experience. search the forums for "betta community" and you should come up with lots of threads.
 
Not only might he get aggressive, but those tetras can be nippy.

I'd suggest a good sized goldfish bowl or a small tank for a betta.

But if after a week or so all seems fine in the 55, go with it.

Only one word of very serious caution aside from the tankmates - make absolute sure that the filter inlet is covered in floss or at the very least some nylon stocking. Bettas are poor swimmers and have long fins. They do get stuck in power filters and can be seriously injured. I've seen it happen. :(
 
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