# Feeding Bettas and Tetras



## Unity (Mar 26, 2012)

Hi All,

I have managed to settle 5 GloFish (Zip, Zap, Zig, Zag, and Wag) danios in my 5 gallon tank along with my Betta Dr. Augustus Pablo. Everyone gets along, nobody is particularly nippy or 'mean' thus far. 

However - Augustus is a pig. And I am having a hard time ensuring everyone gets fed at feeding time. I was wondering if anyone had any tips. I currently have three types of food. Betta pellets, Freeze Dried Blood worms and Tetra Flakes. 

Two of my GloFish are much smaller than the other three - there is no fighting going on, but in particular I want to ensure they are fed. 

Any tips on feeding these guys at the same time (or at different times) would be very appreciated.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I let my fish figure out the order for themselves. The betta girls pig out at the top of the tank and the community fish have learned to eat the pellets that sink when the girls thrash about at the top. 
If you need to, you can cup your betta during feeding time.

I really do have to say something about your stocking, though. Glofish are genetically modified zebra danios - incredibly active. They really do need a 2ft tank as a minimum. That's also a really heavy bioload for a 5 gallon tank, so you'll need to be doing a crazy amount of water changes to support it.


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## Unity (Mar 26, 2012)

This post is more about me worrying that my skinny glo's are not getting food because the more dominate danios and my betta Dr. Augustus Pablo are hogging the food. 

Thanks for the advice on keeping the fish that I have in a 5 gallon - I am new but dedicated and confident I have made the correct choices. Time of course will tell but I do not 'slack off' or anything and am not into keeping fish to have any single fish die due to irresponsibility. If you strongly think I am making a terrible mistake and should remove one or two danios, please speak up and say "Unity, remove, one, two or three, of those danios" or what have you. I am posting on this forum to obtain sound advice to keep my fish and their biosphere and the tanks bioload proper as well as to give my pets long and healthy lives. 

Thanks for your concern and advice in advance.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I don't think you should remove any of the danios - they are schooling fish and need groups of 5 minimum, more being better - but they do need a larger footprint than a 5 gallon can provide. An active fish in a small area will be a stressed fish, and a stressed fish is more susceptible to disease. Of course, I'm not saying your fish will all drop dead if you keep them in a 5 gallon, and I'm sure you will give them the best of care, but our purpose as fishkeepers is to provide the optimum for our fish, not the minimum.  After all, our tanks are their entire world and their little lives are in our hands. 
If anything, it's a good reason for you to upgrade to a 20 gallon. 

I also highly recommend that you test the water daily with a reliable liquid test kit to make sure ammonia levels stay under control. 

I do suggest cupping the betta to feed him, and feeding the danios all across the surface of the tank so that the underweight ones have a chance to feed in areas where the dominant ones are not.


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## Unity (Mar 26, 2012)

Thanks for the honest and intelligent suggestions. I have strips to monitor the tank, have a filter running 24/7 and a thermometer of course to make sure my heater is operating within parameters. 

20 gallons seems like a big hike for me, but the moment I find that my pets are suffering in anyway or that their ecosystems balance is off, I will just jump and make the change. 

And yes the main reason I moved to 5 danios so quickly is because I learned that they are schooling fish. I want an active tank but can only seem to obtain mystery snails locally and am not prepared for the way they procreate. I also simply am a little creeped-out by frogs so I passed on them. 

I realize there are bottom feeders that I can put in the tank but I passed there as well because everyone really does seem to be happy here. The danios are not fighting, I just want everyone fed. Hopefully cupping my Betta while feeding the rest will work. And I will be diligent on cleaning. 

Hopefully a mixture of your advice and my hubris will yield great results for my pets! I am sure that I will move to a bigger tank soon but it is not in the budget now unfortunately. 

Thanks a lot for the honest advice.


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

Really when every you can get a bigger tank. The fish won't die right there but prolonged exposure to ammonia will shorten the life span. Do not try to make it seem right, danios are active fish and require a bigger tank. A betta shouldn't really be housed with anything else unless it is a 10 gallon because they need space and the bioload.

Did you cycle the tank?

Not trying to bash you but you are ignoring information that will benefit your fish.


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## Unity (Mar 26, 2012)

I don't take it as a bash and am looking for advice - yes I cycled my tank and am in this for the long haul. 

Is the information that I am ignoring that I need a bigger tank? 

All of my initial research (including a ton on this site) spoke to that a betta should not be housed with others unless you have at least a 5 gallon tank. Am I really off by 5 further gallons? 

With the exception of my two skinny danios, there are no serious issues in my tank. 

Thanks in advance for your help.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Yep - the recommended minimum for tankmates is 10 gallons. It may seem like a lot, but for fish, it really isn't. And that's only for certain types of small, calm fish - ember tetras, Endlers Livebearers, small species of cory. For larger or more active species, larger tanks are needed.  The only thing you can house with a betta in a 5 gallon tank are inverts (shrimp and snails). I haven't seen anything on this site to suggest 5 gallons is suitable for any other fish...

A great temporary measure when tanks are too expensive: plastic storage tubs.


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## Unity (Mar 26, 2012)

Bombalurina,

In your opinion will a 10 gallon be sufficient for my 5 danios and Dr. Augustus Pablo (my betta)? 

And as a temporary measure (as I do have two of them) do you suggest that I move a couple of danios in the small tubs or are you suggesting I put my betta in there. 

Budget be damned if I am going to wind up killing my pets here - but I could use a little prep time if I really have gone in over my head. I am not sure I even have room for a 20+ gallon tank at the moment. Let alone the larger heater and potentially larger filter I may need.

Thanks again.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

In terms of bioload, a ten gallon would be fine, but footprint is really important for danios too. Do you have room/funds for a long 15 gallon? That would give you the necessary 2ft footprint without the expense of the 20. You may even be able to find a really long, shallow ten gallon with 24 inch footprint. 

This could be an option: http://www.petco.com/product/14978/Petco-Bookshelf-Freshwater-Fish-Aquarium.aspx. It is still tight in terms of bioload (you'd be looking at two 50% changes a week, I reckon), but it has a fantastic footprint, being long and shallow. It is a great betta tank and it gives the danios heaps of room to zip around.  Obviously it isn't ideal, but definitely workable, especially if you were to add some live plants to help with the bioload. 

Again, it's not an issue of killing your pets - I cannot convince my friend that his 8 inch tank, 4 gallon tank is totally insufficient for his betta and 5 danios, and they haven't died or fallen sick - it's just an issue of what's in their best interests for maximum health and "happiness", insofar as a fish can be happy.  

For the moment, I wouldn't suggest putting anyone in the tubs (if you were to do so, I would say the betta, unless your tubs have a larger footprint than your tank). You definitely don't want to split the danio school up.


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

I think you have one part of the fish keeping down. Just before getting a fish do your research, you will be surprised how much easier it is.

I would get a 15 gallon, there is a kit at Petco that is cheap and comes with everything. I would add the filter you us e in the 5 gallon with the one that comes with the 15 gallon Tetra if you do. The filter is for a smaller tank.

I don't know where you found information on the tank comparability, because people on here never advise any fish mates for 5 gallons besides inverts and snails.


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

I think if u save up for a tank and find a place, it should take a couple weeks, and u r fish will be fune untill then. I got one o those things u hang on the side of ur tank for baby fish and i put ym betta(s) in there while i feed the tetras and other animals.


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## inareverie85 (Apr 18, 2008)

My fish are spoiled. ~_~ My bettas are used to taking food from my feeding tongs directly, so they don't bother the other fish, really. They just wait for the food to come to them.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Same here - mine take their food directly from my hands/utensil, and the other fish I sometimes have with them ate what fell in front of them


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

i put my betta girls in a hospital tank to feed, which also adds amonia to keep it cycled and the tetras eat with ease ^_^


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## PersuAzN (Apr 18, 2012)

Bioload experience wise... It's not recommended but it CAN work. I know a few advanced teenaged hobbyists who do 10 % water changes every 3 days in a 6 gal housing 5 neons and a betta male live plants and the water tests are always good. 0 accross the board. It's been thriving for a year now. You just have to tend to it more often.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

For that example you gave, neon tetras are super active and should never be housed in less than 10 gallons, 20 being better, 30 being best. Personally I'd have to say I wouldn't care if someone had 40 years in fish keeping or 2 years in fish keeping, were beginner or advanced, it goes along the lines of "they can survive, but can they thrive?" I know people who have had goldfish live up to 5-10 years in a bowl. Doesn't mean it was the right thing to do. If I come across as mean sorry  I just don't want to see more stunted fish, sick fish, or stressed fish.


Also, OP what I find works best for feeding time.... is a wider feeding area... I found it more difficult for a few guppies and a betta to be together and not get on each other's nerves (or like you found with your skinny glofish who won't get food) in a smaller space, than a larger one. In a larger space, there is more room to feed. That's also why I love my long tanks :lol:


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## NoahG (Oct 24, 2011)

You could try what we do at work: mix the flake food with a bit of water and feed it under the surface with a baster-type tool. You can still feed your betta at the surface with the pellets and the flakes will reach the danios who typically make short work so long as you don't feed too much; it also spreads it out a bit, giving your smaller ones a better chance. Just feed a little at a time until you're satisfied they've had enough.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I found my one male, Spartan, had been with danios and he wasn't getting food since the danios swarmed. He got tired of it, head butted them, and they backed off xD eventually they should get it figured out what's what and who's who.


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