Betta troubles

[Harlock]

Yes, those are the fish I bought. I have a friend who has a 65 gallon tank, do you think it would be better to give the fish to him -he already has paradise gouramis in his tank-¿. My betta is a very passive betta. When I place a mirror next to him, he doesn't flare up, or swim frantically like most bettas. I think that is because when he was in his 2 gallon bowl, the only available spot that I had at the time was right next to a mirror in my bedroom. Will this passiveness make him more prone to attack, or will the gourami's realize he isn't a threat and just leave him alone¿ Also I think you mentioned something about overstock, what do you suggest is a good amount of passive-not too aggressive, 2-6 inch fish to put in a 10-gallon¿

Today I gave him a dose of the ick treatment, and went to school. When I gave him the treatment he was still at the bottom of the tank. When I got home just now, he was at the top of the tank swimming about. I will keep treating for about 2½ weeks...

There really is no way for me to predict how your gouramis will react to him in the long run. I just know that mixing Anabantids of just about any group can lead to trouble. There are always exceptions, of course. Heck, I once had an Angel Fish and an African Butterfly fish that were perfectly happy living with my guppies and neon tetras. The reason I said you may be overstocked is I was considering the adult sizes of these fish. Paradise gouramis can get four inches long. Bettas can get 3-4 inches long You are housing a lot of fish in a 10 gallon tank.

If you wish to keep the betta in the 10 gallon, there are other options you can use. Since bettas will utilize a lot of the tank, especially the middle and upper parts, bottom feeders are usually what most people think of right away. I personally usually suggest 5-6 pygmy cory catfish as they are very fun, active, daytime schoolers. They attain a maximum size of an inch. Your betta would be fine with them and they would definitely leave the betta alone. I think it's a great combination.

 

[powellmacaque]

I was also wondering if my food choice was good for my betta and its tank mates. I have a 3-day rotation of BetaMin flakes, TetraMin crisps, and shrimp pellets. My betta seems to love the little brine shrimp particles the BetaMin has, so I thought it would like the shrimp pellets, but it seems to love the crisps...

 

[powellmacaque]

http://www.aquariacentral.com/species/db2.cgi?db=fresh&uid=default&ID=0013&picture3_page_view=1 this is the variation of betta that I have, and mine looks nearly the same, except the fin that is long and flowing here is much shorter.

 

[Harlock]

Well, they can often have the same coloration, but a different tail style. I don;t even know that much about bettas, but I know there are delta-tails, veil-tails, single ray, double ray crown-tails... it just goes on and on. If you have actually seen the fin shredding, then it may very well be fin rot, but you said it always had a short tail, right?

 

[powellmacaque]

I really don't remember, but I'm pretty sure it might have been maybe a few millimeters longer, but nothing outragous. It's tail isn't tattered, so if you didn't know any better you would think that it has had that short of a tail all its life.

Another betta-related question, I was looking up on this site for the different kinds of betta, and I found quite a few like the peaceful betta and et cetera. Does anybody know if they are available for purchase, and what place sells them. I will probably be buying a 55 gallon and a couple of other tanks in the near future, and I think it would be cool to have some bettas besides the normal Siamese Fighting Fish.

 

[Analog Saint]

Paradise Fish will become increasingly aggressive with age. If you do keep paradise fish, keep them individually, and keep them separate from the Betta.

Don't get me wrong- paradise fish are wonderful little cretins... I love my paradise fish but they're rough company, and the betta probably wouldn't be happy with them. I'd return the paradise fish and get some placid company for your betta... Ghost shrimp are very entertaining to watch. A couple dwarf frogs would be good- but they are kinda hard to feed. Maybe some hatchets or tetras, a few snails, or some otocinclus catfish?