# 10 gallon tank and 4 betta girls..can I add more?



## Kiwimommy (May 4, 2011)

I have a 10 gallon with 4 betta girls in it and was wondering if I could add some other fish?
I've tried various tetras..but they keep dying on me (Go figure) and the ghost shrimp don't last long either.. 
My girls leave fish alone, but shrimp are a fun playtoy for them and I really don't feel like getting any more until I have more hiding spots for them since the decoration in the tank is the hiding spot for my girl Lioness..and she's the most aggressive of my girls (she HATES male bettas..any breeding attempts with her have failed and gotten my boy's tails torn. I gave up)

So in short..
What should I get for the tank? I'm hoping to upgrade to a 20 gallon soon, but for now I'm stuck with the 10 gallon


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

You can get a snail but I hear they poop a lot. Or you can get one more girl. But with 4 carnivorous, aggressive fish in there, you're pretty well stocked. Bettas have a larger bioload than many fish. :/


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## TheCheese909 (Aug 11, 2011)

A good friend of mine has a 10 gallon tank. She had kept 6 female Bettas in for awhile, but recently had to take two of them out because they had started acting ill. (They should be put back in soon) 

She tried putting 3 tetras in but they ended up making the girls aggressive because the tetras were instigators. Right now she has 4 Algae Eaters and a Plecostomus in with the girls. 

From what i've seen with others is that Mollies, like the spotted ones (nothing too flashy) will go well with the girls. Especially since they don't get too huge and the stores usually sell them when they are a decent size. They are also mellow fish and not bad to look at.

I love Guppies but they are usually far too colourful to be in with Bettas who love to beat up on the pretty ones. So I would try acouple Mollies, they aren't too expensive at PetCo or PetSmart and sometimes WalMart even has them. Just make sure you QT them for a little while first, a week would be best, just to make sure they are not sick and won't be bringing any yuckies in with them to make your girls sick.



Hope that helps.


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## dragonflie (Aug 5, 2011)

Dalmation mollies? I wouldn't recommend those...they get fairly large (over 4 inches) and are very messy (read, big poopers lol). Seems the general recommended minimum for those is 30g. 

I'm a big believer in going easy on bioload, especially in a 10g, where cycle fluctuations can happen fairly easily. I know not everyone agrees with me in that regard though. Since you already have 4 bettas in there I'd take care to not add a whole lot more.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Cheese, that friend of yours uhm, might seriously be overloading that 10g. Is she aware that algae eaters get 6" and plecos get 24"? They'll be needing a big tank soon, like a 20 or 30g.


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## TheCheese909 (Aug 11, 2011)

Sakura8, it kinda seems that way doesn't it? The eaters and the sucker fish are all very very small right now. And yes, plans have been made for when they grow larger. I've heard horror stories about how giant plecos have chased and trapped other fish in aquariums and ate them. :\ But right now they are all very little and two of the algae eaters are supposed to be in another tank. They were put in awhile ago after failed attempts at getting the water to clear up came about. They have since made it super clear.

The girls in the tank are all so very even tempered and mellow, they don't fight with each other and they even tolerate the occasional eater coming up to 'groom' them. They even mimic the eaters on the glass sometimes until they get bored. Very funny to watch.

There is a fair amount of plants and hiding spaces in the tank so the eaters and the sucker fish can be hidden most of the time. And the girls do their own thing, they go and do their own thing like play in the air bubbles, but they all come to the surface when you put your finger in the water, they actually like to be pet.

But back on track..

From what i've seen a few different types of school fish are dirty, similar to goldfish. I just thought that the mollies might be a good idea because they are so mellow. I've watched 'fruit' Tetras in pet stores and in my friends tank and they always seem to be instigators. And they seem to be fairly dirty. But if Kiwi's girls were aggressive and she really wanted some other fish in her tank her best bet would be a very nonaggressive even tempered fish of some sort.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Good to know your friend has taken into consideration the size of those fish. Plecos are peaceful more or less but their size makes them kinda destructive. I've heard stories of them wrecking equipment just by moving their tails. 

The betta girls sound funny, I wish mine were as mellow. They get along (as in they don't try to kill each other) but they do like to chase and nip. They all have such ratty fins!

Platies would be a good alternative, similar to mollies in temperament but smaller. And Fruit Tetras are bad, they're just dyed white skirt tetras who usually die within months of purchase because of the trauma of the dyeing process. Sigh, I wish people wouldn't dye fish, they're plenty colorful on their own.


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## Vizja13 (Jul 18, 2011)

I have the same issue with my tank, exccept I could only get three girls...everything was fine for awhile, but then they started beating up the bottom girl. They're all seperated for now, so can I put two more girls in to spread out the aggression?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Vizja, yes. The minimum you want really is 4 girls so if you can get two more and reintroduce them, that would help with the aggression a lot. And don't worry, sometimes you have to separate and reintroduce several times before they all get along.


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## Vizja13 (Jul 18, 2011)

Okay, I will try to get two more tonight!


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## Fishehgobloop (Aug 13, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> Platies would be a good alternative, similar to mollies in temperament but smaller. And Fruit Tetras are bad, they're just dyed white skirt tetras who usually die within months of purchase because of the trauma of the dyeing process. Sigh, I wish people wouldn't dye fish, they're plenty colorful on their own.


Sakura8, you're telling me that my tetras are DYED? seriously? -.- Well. I did not know that. Nothing I read on them said that. Well. 

BTdubs, I'm the friend with the tank. lol. I just couldnt believe what I read just now about the tetras. =/


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Fishehgobloop, sorry but yeah. That's what I read when I went to research them.
http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/tetras/41804-what-fruit-tetra.html (also just google "fruit tetra")
It's okay, you didn't know and I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Watch them carefully, you should see the color start to fade after a few months if they live that long.


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

6 bettas are really the max for that size tank. No other animal should go in that tank. do 50% weekly water changes. that's my two cents


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## Kiwimommy (May 4, 2011)

My girls are really sweet  I saw my smallest girl brush up against the most aggressive one (to males, anyways) and neither seemed upset about it. Actually, I think my girl brushed up against the other one on purpose!
I may get 2 more girls until I upgrade to a 20 gallon.


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## Fishehgobloop (Aug 13, 2011)

Kiwimommy my girls are the same way! I love how well they all get along (Azrael is the exception, but I have her in a different bowl). And I'm getting a bigger tank, as well. I'll probably split my 10 gal in half and put a couple of my males in it. 

Sakura8 I will keep an eye on them as long as I have them. They seem to be prone to getting sick, so I think you're right that they aren't going to last long. =/ Shouldda looked them up before I bought them.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Fishegobloop, I'm sorry about your fruit tetras.  But at least your bettas are doing well.


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