What is safe to put with my male betta?

Question

I got a male betta fish with a small betta tank for my birthday.
( I already had a 15 gallon tank at home...) I have decided to move my betta from it's small half liter tank to a spare two gallon tank I had in storage.... Is it safe to put one of my algae eaters in with him in his new tank? If not/ what are some fish I could put in with him, if any? (I'd prefer some practical fish, like alae eaters to help keep my tank clean, etc)

Answer 1

You shouldn't have algae problems in even a 2 gallon tank if you are cleaning it properly. O.o (You should clean a Bettas tank once a week unless it's 10 gallons or more and in that case you should get a filter. (Making sure it's not too powerful though because Bettas don't like a lot of water movement.) And you really don't need an algae eater if you just set up the tank as algae wont start growing for atleast a month and like I said, if you do proper cleanings you wont -have- an algae problem. I really would suggest against any other fish being with him (Guessing it's a him? Since sadly most people don't see the beauty in females.) in such a small tank. Unless you go with a 10 gallon or more with a well planted tank with some caves you will just spend money on fish who are going to be killed. If you do decide to up your tank and go with other fish then go with live plants so you don't have an algae problem. (Algae grows off what plants survive off of.) My problem with people getting algae eaters for their small tanks is that most commonly they get a Pleco or Chinese Algae Eater. Plecos grow to 18in long (WAY too big for that tiny tank. He would need atleast a 30G to be comfortible full grown.) and Chinese Algae Eaters have been known to kill off fish (Even big Goldfish thats 20x their size!) because they are aggresive when they are older. You could however go with a Cory Cat (Corydoras) but I'd still recommend uping to a 5 gallon or more. Corys will clean the bottom of the tank for you and they are cute. < 3 (But this doesn't mean you can skip cleanings) If you go with a 10G or more you could get a little Cory and maybe 3 or 4 Neon Tetras. (Again, if you do this get LOTS OF PLANTS AND HIDING CAVES. I can't stress that enough. A small cave for the Cory would be good too if you go with one of those and nothing else.) I would go against anything that gets bigger than about 1.5in, has a long tail, another Betta (Even males with females will fight. The only way you can mix Bettas is to have a 10G+ well planted tank with 3+ females. Males can't live together and male/female pairs can't live together.), or anything that could make the Betta feel it's not "pretty enough" and result in the other fish being beaten up and possibly killed. An aquarium rule is 1in of fish per gallon. (Though some species have to go over the rules in order to live comfortibly.)

Excuse any typos and I may have missed something but I'm not sure. (It's 3:22am here. x.x;)

JR, thats NOT true. Bettas can live long and healthy lives in big tanks. My friend breeds them and keeps her females in a 30G and she hasn't had any problems with them. Her males are kept in 5G tanks for each fish and again, never had a problem. I've even known one person who loved her Betta so much she gave him a 50G aquarium and added a Common Pleco, some Neon Tetras, some Black Neon Tetras and a few Cory Cats. Did the fish stop eating and die? No. It lived for 4 years in that tank with his buddies and swam around all the time. He even greeted you when you'd come up to the tank and would follow your finger. :P

Answer 2

Most algea eaters would be too big for the 2 gallon tank. You might look into an otto though or a bushy nose pleco (they are probably still too big though, they would work in the 15 gallon no problem as would the betta). Other fish I've had with a betta include small tetras like neons, also sicssor tails, rasbora hets, white cloud minnows. You don't want any thing with large flowing (especially if they are colorful) fins, the betta will attack it. And you don't want large tetras like black skirt tetras or danios or barbs, all are too aggressive and will kill the betta (yes I said they would kill the betta, I've had it happen with the large tetras).

Answer 3

I have a male betta in a 10 gallon (w/filter) with 1 cory, 1 pleco and 4 neon tetras. Each type of fish was added separately. With each of the catfish the betta nibbled on their fins when they first arrived but after the first week all was well. The Betta never even acknowledged the tetras arrival into the tank.

Answer 4

I think you've received good advice. Bettas will do fine with tetras (maybe not the nippy ones like serpaes and a few others), corys, etc. Just out of curiousity, what type algae eater do you have? the chinese algae eaters that are most commonly solde in pet stores like Petsmart and Petco get quite large and will become very aggressive as they get older and eventually attack other fish and try to suck the clime coat off them. They are definitely not good tankmates for flatbodied fish like gouramis and angelfish.

Answer 5

Most likely add fish that are not aggressive and do not have long fins like the Betta. However, adding goldfish will also not be a good idea because they swim more and bettas like still water for the most part.

Answer 6

In a 2 gallon tank I'd only throw in a mystery/apple snail. 5 gallon tanks and below tend to be too small for a betta to live in peace with his tank mates. He might be fine in the 15 gallon if his tank mates are peaceful, not fin nippers like barbs, and large tetra, showy finned, or slow swimmers.

Answer 7

Its not safe to have anything else in a 2 gallon tank. Your betta should have a heater and a weak filter with it. What's in your 15 gallon? Perhaps he could go in there unless you have fin nippers.

Answer 8

Although this depends in the different personalities of each fish, male bettas normally leave other fish alone unless they are fancy and look like bettas to him (ie. fancy guppies and some gouramis). Your algae eater should be fine, or a snail.

Answer 9

you can try red eye tetras. I have 3 red eyes in with my Barnaby :). he nips at their tails almost affectionately. I think it's cute. Well, he is THE sweetest fish ever! once, I stuck my finger in his tank and he swam around it and played with it for, like, 10 minutes! ok, ok, srry. I got carried away. but yeah, try small, but not TOO small(like neons), and he should be fine!

Answer 10

u cant get algae eaters because they outgrow ur tank.. up 2 7 in. is the smallest. u can get a couple of snails or shrimp