# Few questions on mixing fish



## Narnian (Mar 20, 2010)

Firstly, thank you to everyone for putting up with my non-stop questions. 

I will be getting a 5 gallon hexagon tank, and was thinking of putting 1 betta and 2-3 neon tetras. Does that sound ok?

Secondly, do you recommend adding the tetras first, THEN the betta a few days later? I was thinking a betta may be more territorial to introduce new fish to _their_ tank, rather then the other way around.

Thirdly, how do you all go about feeding multiple fish? If I use pellets for the betta, and flakes for the tetras, how do I prevent each other from eating the other one's food? I have visions of the betta grabbing EVERYTHING lol! :shock:

Anything else to know about mixing fish? I plan on having lots of plants and such for the tetras to hide in. THANK YOU FOR THE HELP!!


----------



## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Well, a 5 gallon is too small to have actual fish tank mates. You could have a few shrimp, or maybe a snail, but thats about it in a 5...
If you want to upgrade and get a 10 gallon or larger tank, you could get a nice school of 5-6 tetras....they need schools of at least 5. Be careful though, bettas don't always get along with their tankmates and tetras can be fin nippers. Be prepared to separate them and bring the tetras back/get a separate tank for your betta, if you want to upgrade that is 

As for feeding shrimp or snails with the betta if you want to go for those, I'll let someone else jump in who keeps them and knows a bit more about their care


----------



## Narnian (Mar 20, 2010)

Darn, it's too small? Aw, oh well. Yeah, I can't upgrade to a 10, only want a 5 at this point. And I would love to get shrimp, but every store around me seems to have discontinued carrying them, saying they were "too hard to keep track of for inventory". UGH! I wouldn't consider ordering them online............so, it sounds like I'm stuck without any tankmates? 

I thought of a single African dwarf frog too, but again don't know how to feed it without the betta swiping the food.


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Look for a local aquarium club, great place to find shrimp and plants for a lot cheaper than on-line or pet shops for that matter.... you can find a list in the back of most aquarium magazine, if you don't have any magazine tell me your state I will look them up for you....


----------



## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Ahh, yes, almost forgot about the frogs....A couple ADFs in a 5 gallon would work, they like being in pairs.....but I'm not sure about them in a hex. Hex's don't really have a lot of room, a standard 5 gallon would be better if you'd rather frogs then trying to order shrimp online.

As for feeding....you can probably find some info on google, and I know there are a few users on here who have them....hopefully they'll pop in and offer advice. But you can always catch your betta in the cup he came in and float him in the tank while you feed the frogs, feed him in the cup, then let him go after everyone has been fed


----------



## DanMarion (Apr 13, 2010)

I have a betta with 2 frogs in my 10 gallon. To feed the frogs, soak whatever food you want to feed them in aquarium water so it will sink, and then shoot it down to the bottom of the tank with a turkey baster. Thats how I feed mine.


----------



## Narnian (Mar 20, 2010)

Thanks for all the info everyone.  I still can't decide whether the frogs are cute, or if they creep me out. haha! That sounds awful, because they really are cute, but sometimes their jerky behavior weirds me a little bit.

It still seems like a frog would take up more room that 2 tetras though.


----------



## kevint1030 (Dec 9, 2009)

Well it really depends on your betta..mine cruises around the bottom eating EVERYTHING..so When i feed the others in my tank I have to put him in a breeder box with something to cover the top cause he'll jump out of it.


----------



## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Stocking isn't so much about how much space in the tank a creature takes up as it is about bio-load, activity level, and if that fish is a schooler or not. Tetras have a low bio-load(don't poo a lot)but they are active fish who need proper space to swim and require a school of at least 5 to feel secure, as I mentioned. A 5 gallon is too small to provide a proper school with enough swimming room. If they don't have enough swimming room, they'll feel cramped and stressed and start going after one another and your betta. Only keeping two or three together will cause stress as well because they won't have the 'security' of a school.

A couple ADFs may be a little bigger then a couple tetras body-wise, but they're not nearly as active and don't need a lot of friends, so they don't need as much room.
Therefor, a pair of ADFs is far better suited for a 5 gallon then tetras. I also personally think ADFs are cute as heck and I'll probably end up getting a couple for my 5 gallon after I move some fish around


----------



## Mister Sparkle (Apr 13, 2010)

A standard 5-G could handle a very small school of neons w/ your betta, but I don't know about a hex. That extra height isn't as useful to them as the length would be.


----------



## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Mister Sparkle said:


> A standard 5-G could handle a very small school of neons w/ your betta, but I don't know about a hex. That extra height isn't as useful to them as the length would be.


A standard 5 still isn't quite large enough for a proper school and a betta IMO. You _might_ be able to pull it off, but there is a high risk that the neons will go after the bettas fins/betta will go after the neons due to the lack of space.


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Agree, 5g just not big enough for a proper school of Neon tetras.....


----------



## Narnian (Mar 20, 2010)

Thanks again for the info everyone. It's strange, because all the neon tetras I've seen seem to sit in one spot and not swim around much. They just sort of turn from side to side (like, if one fish turns around to face the other way, they all turn, but not much swimming.) We used to have 3, actually, in a small cube thingy (don't kill me, I didn't know any better back then), and they didn't swim much either. 

I'll take a peek at the frogs next time I go to the store.  Now if I wanted to put 4-5 tetras ONLY in a 5 gallon (no betta), would that work? Just curious for future reference.


----------



## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

If tetras remain stationary like that, they're not in proper conditions. They're either in a tank that is too small, they're not in a proper school, and/or are with unsuitable tankmate(s) that are going after them. I had a school of neons in my 50 gallon a couple years back, they were very beautiful and active fish, lots of fun to watch.

4-5 neons only in a 5? I wouldn't recommend it and I doubt any responsible fish keeper would. There just isn't enough room for them to swim and be active to their full potential, and they should be in schools of at LEAST 5 with 6 or more being the best. Its similar to sticking a betta in a small bowl or vase.....there isn't enough room for proper exercise and the betta wouldn't be active and displaying its natural behavior to its full potential.


----------



## Narnian (Mar 20, 2010)

Ok, I won't do it then. Thank you.


----------



## Mister Sparkle (Apr 13, 2010)

5 in 5 could work. I've seen it lots of times before. That's still 16 body lengths to zoom across the tank, and I don't usually see them go any farther than that at one time in ANY volume!


----------



## Narnian (Mar 20, 2010)

Um......so what about guppies? Are they also schooling fish?


----------



## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

No, guppies aren't schoolers as far as I know, but I think they're like ADFs and enjoy the company of a couple other guppies. You might be able to get away with three male guppies in a standard 5 by themselves, but you couldn't keep them with a betta in such a small tank and you couldn't keep female guppies because they reproduce too quickly(even if you don't get males, most come preggo already).


----------



## Mister Sparkle (Apr 13, 2010)

Guppies hang together, but they aren't really "schooling" fish in the same way that tetras and barbs are.


----------



## Narnian (Mar 20, 2010)

Ok, so 3 male guppies and nothing else in a 5 gallon. Will keep in mind for future. Thanks again for helping me out!


----------



## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Sure, no problem


----------

