betta comes home - move to tank?

[LMOUTHBASS]

Hi guys,
I have to bring my betta home from work - he is in a 1 gallon bowl - i don't want to upkeep a seperate bowl at home - can i just put him in my 55g? i think i can but my main concern is quarantine purposes - i've had him for over 7 months - i mean if i had bought him for the tank his qt time would be well over - but since he's lived alone i don't know if he might have any hidden nasties - i doubt it since he's been healthy and eats regularly - is it safe to put him in my big tank -


companions will be angel fish - gourami, cories - will he be freaked out by the tank mates having been a loner?

 

[knashash]

Im pretty sure the Gourami will be a problem and possibly the Angel, but you never know........I would say give it a try cause its a big tank and if there are lots of hiding spots it might be ok....if you do put him in there keep a very close eye on things.

 

[SnakeIce]

My concern would be the double stress of a new tankmates, with the fact that he has been in non moveing water for so long that he isn't as strong a swimmer.

if you have any way of transitioning him from the bowl to a tank with current for a couple weeks befor you put him with the other fish I think it would go better.

bettas and gouramis are both in the same family and could be trouble, depending on the individuals.

 

[rrkss]

My concern would be that his long flowing fins get nipped on. Quarantine should not be a problem if you have had him for 7 months and he has appeared completely disease free during that time. If trouble does occur you could always put him in one of those in tank breeding containers to seperate him.

 

[BettaAmy]

The gouramis might give you trouble. If they're not nipping at your betta, your betta might start harassing them because they are in the same family as was mentioned.

I just moved my bettas into a bigger tank and they transitioned just fine. They were begging for food just half an hour after the move . . .

It wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure that the water parameters are as close as possible to each other, although bettas are fairly hardy and can tolerate differences.

All of my bettas seem to be fascinated by anything flowing . . . so just beware of any fish with fins . . .

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[graphicdesign_r]

If the gourami is your dominant fish in that tank (the "tank bully"), you should segregate him when you introduce the betta, I recommend using a large perforated container like a big spagetti strainer.

After a few hours so the betta has a chance to acclimate to the tank and find a few nice low current hiding spots, let the gourami out and watch the tank for an hour or so and see that they get along OK. Any fish will be more succesful transitioning to a new tank if it's not being stressed and harassed as it explores it's new environment.

Whoever posted the warning on housing him with fish that have similar finnage is absolutely correct, bettas will mistake fish with long fins (like fancy guppies) for other bettas and attack them.

 

[LMOUTHBASS]

thanks guys for the help! The gourami's are peaceful - i don't really have a tank bully - the angel fish only pay attention to each other bickering over their own pecking order, it seems they could care less about anyone else in the tank, and my two gourami are very peaceful, one's a moonlight the other a platinum, once in a while they bump heads but largely the tank is community friendly and no one fights


i was concerned about the betta being scared with all the new fish - i think i'll give it a try n see what happens if it doesn't work i guess I'll have to house him in his own little bowl again


merry xmas!