My betta story and new tank set up

[suicune]

So i've heard ppl say many terrible things about putting betta with guppies and other long tail fishes. I did it all. In my little 12 gallon fluval edge, i kept my betta for almost 2 weeks. Not a problem, none at all. I was worried the betta will attack my delta tail guppies, but not a fin damaged so far. I got lucky and bought myself a very timid betta. I do believe that betta is much smarter then what we give them credit for. In my case mine is able to tell the difference between other fishes and its own kind.

With this success i will try another challenge, i'm getting my 40 gallon stretch hex ready with carpet plants and driftwood. Soon all 12 fishes i have will move to that tank, which is roughly 22-24 inches of fishes, then i'm gonna get 10 neon or cardinal to have a shoal. Again ppl say it's a bad idea but i think once we got enough space it can be done.

[HERM]

Good for you . Good luck with your upcoming project . Keep us posted

[troy tucker]

Battas have a bad rep. but are not bad fish. Male battas will fight with other male battas. not with other fish. Female battas get along with others very well. Ihave 9 female battas in a tank together. never had a prob.

[TexSun]

Re: My betta story and new tank set up

Yeah bettas are cool.

[suicune]

Yeah i'm just waiting for new tank to get stable before i get the shoal of tetra in there. Very excited!!!! Only 3 days in and the moss carpet has shown sign of growth, was expecting it to be much slower

[barrettsline]

Come on, wheres the pics?

[Geral]

My wife used to have bettas with 14 neons and they were fine

[suicune]

I'll post pictures after I move them to new tank ) right now they are still in the fluval 12

[Totenkampf]

betta splendins can be aggresive to other fish, so i dont think its an entirely bad rap. i have one who didnt like the dwarf powder blue gourami he was with at all. he made pets out of the black molly fry in there though. they are smart enough to have personalities so they are all different. from what i have read, the other betta species are even less tolerant of similar fish. you never know until you try it. i have a dragonscale crowntail in with much smaller chilli rasboras and CPDs and he doesnt look twice at them. i have seen him nudge them out of the way to get food from the top when he could have just eaten both items.

it is important to not that the 'inches of wish' rule is cubic inches of fish per gallon. a 1" cardinal tetra or zebra danio is no more than .25 cubic inches IMO. I could probably fit my 50 member school of microrasboras in less than 3 cubic inches. A 4" puffer or synodontis is possibly closer to 8 cubic inches of fish. that being said, i prefer the 'square surface area' rule for a stocking go by. 40 breeder (648 sq inches at surface) aquariums can sustain many more fish than a 37 gallon tall (360 sq inches at surface), for example

[suicune]

photo (1).jpg

New Tank set up, finished yesterday evening, 40 gallon stretched hex. I'll move the fishes to their new home tomorrow, since I'm working today XD... it needs more plants... if anyone (preferably living near northwest area) want to donate a plant or two that'll be great, I'm a bit short on cash after putting all these things together :(... btw, the Finnex Ray II is amazing for the price, I'd recommend it.

Bottom line, this is plenty of space for the guppies and betta to live in, I will wait for the tank to get stable before I introducing a shoal of tetras.

[suicune]

photo (2).jpg

with plants, I'm waiting for the plants to grow tall so I can propagate them out to fill the back. Also waiting for the moss carpet to grow, will takes quite sometimes I know but patient is the key!!!!...

[Geral]

The tank look really good with plants and a lot of hiding spots for fry

[suicune]

Thanks, The layout isnt in any shape right now, i'm trying to fill the tank first, wait for the background plant to grow tall so i can propagate them. Also the moss carpet will take at least 2 months.

[bettascapes]

That's a great start to a beautiful bettascape! Do you use root tabs or is that soil under the sand cap? I'm going to be doing a 55 Gal sword & crypt with black diamond black sand and root tabs(no soil) soon once my leds arrive. The rest of my tanks use potting soil and pool filter sand. This tank is going to grow in very nicely keep us updated!

[suicune]

That's a great start to a beautiful bettascape! Do you use root tabs or is that soil under the sand cap? I'm going to be doing a 55 Gal sword & crypt with black diamond black sand and root tabs(no soil) soon once my leds arrive. The rest of my tanks use potting soil and pool filter sand. This tank is going to grow in very nicely keep us updated!

That's ecocomplete black substrate I'm using, I also put root tabs around, then I put the white plastic mesh with java moss inside on top. The back will be filled with water wisteria, ludwigia, I'm trying to find some red amazon sword too. and then around the front there are some hair grass, anubias and java fern. The driftwoods are completely covered with java moss and xmas moss.