New to Bettas

nderouch

nderouch

I am Superman
Mar 4, 2008
89
0
0
OK. So I just got a new betta and I ahve a few questions.

First, I put him in a 20g tank and at first he swam around checking everything out, but now he is just hiding in the corner behind a rock. Is this normal?

Second, what other fish can I put in there with him? I would like to put some panda corys in there with him. i think they would be OK from what I have read. How many can I put in? What else would you recommend?

Lastly, like I said I am new to Bettas. I have a 29g community tank. What do I need to do differently for my betta than I would normally do for my community tank?
 
I think the pandas would be fine. Try 3-5 of them. Pretty much the same as any fish, change water etc. Be careful of flow from the filter they do not like strong currents.

He is probably adjusting to his new home, give him a little time.
 
Yep, he is just getting use to the surroundings.
 
Apart from getting used to his surroundings, bettas are not overly active fish. They tend to be layed back from what I've seen when I had bettas. Panda cories will be fine. Avoid fin nipping fish. There are several fish species you can add to your tank. You can add Danios, guppies, rasboras, platies, mollies and swordtails.
 
Whether or not they are active really depends on the fish. I have had really active bettas-always on the go, always exploring. I've had really peaceful ones and ones that killed everything in sight. Guppies are NOT good tankmates. From my one experience and other people's, Bettas love devouring a guppy's tail fin. Anything too long fined may end up the same way-again, depends on the betta, but I would just not put guppies in there. Check out the betta tag, which I am adding to your thread. And don't get freaked out by a fish getting used to its surroundings, even though I do :).
 
I'd avoid guppies for the nipping issues, and any other livebearers for that matter because I like to keep my bettas in peat filtered water.

Corys of any kind are great betta tankmates. Npt only because they genereally ignore each other but also because bettas strongly prefer to eat at the surface whereas corys eat off the substrate so there is rarely to never a problem with each eating the others' food.

If you have decent algae growth, otocinclus are also great. A clown pleco is also a good choice.

You may want to put a sponge over the power filter's intake to prevent injuries to the betta's fins - or worse, since many bettas are kept in those abysmal cups for a long time before being sold they can be too weak to swim away from the inlet and end up stuck on it. I have seen this a few times and it's heart breaking. If not caught in time, the betta will die.
 
I have only ever kept a betta in a community tank ONCE. I had a thirty gallon with a very large koi. The koi got a large spot on its side-come to find out the betta was attacking the koi. I seperated them and will only keep bettas by themselves now.
 
I have a betta with panda corys and the betta comes to the bottom to eat with them. I would recommend at least 6 panda corys. Mine became more active as their numbers increased, and many people here will recommend at least 6. I've never had a problem between the betta and the pandas. Also, I would recommend putting a sponge or some netting over your filter's intake. I found out the hard way that their long fins can get pulled into the filter... not good.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom