I finally got my 60 gal tank up and cycled with plants, driftwood, etc. so I went out and bought 10 harlequin rasboras then transferred by betta, Foo, from his 5 gallon hex to the big tank. After a week, all are acclimated, but I think Foo is a little insecure with so much swimming room. Also, he invariably swims in front of the outflow at the right side of the tankand gets slammed against the front wall. Sometimes he swims around like he is comfortable, other times I find him hiding under a plant or wrapped around a heater (I keep temp around 80). Moreover, the rasboras grab all the food I put into the tank, including his Hikari Betta pellets. The only time he can compete with them for food, I have to dump a sizeable amt of frozen brine shrimp in or small bits of beef liver, which he loves. But the @#%$ rasboras go for the beef liver as well. I'm not psychic, so I can't read his mind, but I tend to think he may miss his 5 gal hex. Any advice?
Should I move my betta back to old tank?
- Thread starter Elfinbrook
- Start date
i would definately move the betta back to the 5 gallon hex. 60G's is a lot of space for a betta. they don't mind being lonely and probably prefer it that way. 5 gallons is more than enough space for him, he will be less stressed out (and less hungry too) being by himself. just give him some plants to swim through and maybe a snail or shrimp (if he doesn't attack shrimp).
you know your fish and their happiness. If he seemed a lot more content in his hex then maybe he should go back there.
That or you can restock the tank to make it more betta friendly. They dont like a lot of current and maybe the rasboras are nipping at his tail? Maybe that is why he is afriad to compete for food. My cory will chase much larger boesmani away if they get together and find food. It's pretty funny to watch a shoal of cory fend off a large school of rainbows.
That or you can restock the tank to make it more betta friendly. They dont like a lot of current and maybe the rasboras are nipping at his tail? Maybe that is why he is afriad to compete for food. My cory will chase much larger boesmani away if they get together and find food. It's pretty funny to watch a shoal of cory fend off a large school of rainbows.
well currently my betta is the only fish in my 20gl. he does some of the things ur betta does. he used to get pushed by the current alot. the first thing i did was raise the water level which seemd to slow the current a little. then eventually he learned the flow, he swims like a pro. as for hangin out by the heater and the outflow of the filter i have no idea why my mine does it also. he continully perform loops around the filter intake and heater, i think he just likes it. but as it was previously stated you know the personailty of your betta and should go from there. i say if it doesnt look like he is stressed or being picked on let him hang out in the big pond. it may be tht he is in a bigger enviroment and needs to time adjust, plus the addition of new tankmates takes some time to get used too after being alone. as for the feeding, bettas are smart IMO. show him a different feeding area, i tap the when its feeding time, and he knows to come to tht spot. i say try it for a few days give hime time to adjust, im all for lettin bettas swim in the big waters. goodluck
I would say if he can't compete with his tankmates for food, then he should not be in that tank. However, as bkw1982 mentioned, he may learn to compete with them for food, so I would leave it for another week to see how it turns out.
At this time, Foo seems to be acclimating pretty well to the big tank and swims freely, occasionally forgetting to avoid the filter outflow, but is feeding well and getting along with the rasboras. My task is to get some cory cats to clean up and some more tankmates. Alas, I don't have any other tank to use as a quarantine tank other than Foo's old Eclipse 5. That will have to do for now. 