# Tankmates for 1 male betta in a 50 gallon



## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

What other fish will I be able to add with my male betta in a 50 gallon aquarium without exceeding the bioload? The tank will be heated (78F) and filtered, moderately planted, and the substrate will be gravel. I am also getting 10 neon tetras. Thanks!


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 20, 2015)

soft or hard water?

I would recommend cories and guppies first off, but thats just me.


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

What do you mean by soft or hard water? I will use tap water that is treated with Seachem Prime.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Your water's hardness. You know, GH-KH? Some fish don't do well in hard water, some others don't do well in soft water. Bettas happen to tolerate both. These numbers may be reflected in pH, but pH doesn't affect GH-KH.

EDIT: what about shrimps or crayfish?


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

I have water that is on the harder side of the scale.


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

Knowing your PH and hardness will help a lot. I love shrimp and oto, but they require an aged, mature tank (cycled and planted for several months) to really thrive. Otos can be picky eaters, too.

I love the color and flash of guppies. Mine seem to do better in 76F water than 78.

For the bottom, I love dwarf crayfish. Mine are orange, but I've seen that there are some other colors available out there. Make sure you have a dwarf variety; the normal ones get big enough to eat whatever's slow enough to catch (like a resting betta). They do use caves and hides and will need something of the sort while they're molting.

There are a variety of snails that could do well in there.

Something that I love in my community tank is a colony of gammarus shrimp. I don't see them very often, but they make a nice snack in between meals to whatever can catch them.


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

With a betta in the tank you are going to need lots of live plants including floating ones, same thing for most bottom dwellers like Kuhli Loaches Corys and shrimp.


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

In my personal opinion, I wouldn't want guppies in there because I don't want to risk the betta attacking them since the guppies have bright coloured tails as well. I also don't want any snails since I have heard that they are really messy and leave eggs everywhere. I will probably also get a lot of ghost shrimp since some of them might become snacks. So right now its 1 betta, 10 neons, and 5 ghost shrimp? How many ghost shrimps do you guys think is suitable for a 50 gallon? I think I am going to stay away from bottom dwellers for now. I don't really have a lot of experience in the bottom dwellers department. I am also afraid of them starving to death and I currently do not want to purchase any extra food.

NickAu, could you explain why I need lots of floating plants if I have a betta in the tank? Is it so that the other fish can have a place to hide if he were to get aggressive?


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

I'm not Nick, but I like floating plants because: 1) they block lighting to make the tank appear darker to the fish. Remember that Bettas are low-light fish. 2) they're usually great nutrient sponges, and 3) they can help to deter jumping. TBH though, I don't care anymore what kind of plants do what. I just get all of them! Rooted, moss, floating, low light, high light... as long as they tolerate hard, basic, 80-82F water, I say SOLD! 

I read somewhere that Bettas attack anything sparkly is a myth. But then again I've never had a community tank nor do I have a desire for one. If you want shrimps, your tank must be mature and... wait, Sadist already said that. You got it then.

EDIT: what people hate are pest snails. Especially ones that just so happen to come in pairs. If you make sure you only get one, they're very beneficial to the tank. I can't talk a lot about snails though. Nick should know more.


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

What do you mean by nutrient sponges? Like they absorb excess ammonia produced by decomposing fish food? Thanks for all the great responses!


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Ammonia and nitrates.


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

Could I keep a sorority in there? A sorority is usually 4 female bettas right? Are they friendly to neon tetras? Are they easy to care for?


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## SplashyBetta (Jul 28, 2014)

Npinja said:


> In my personal opinion, I wouldn't want guppies in there because I don't want to risk the betta attacking them since the guppies have bright coloured tails as well.


That's a myth  if a betta will attack guppies it will attack any other similarly sized fish, regardless of colour or tail.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Npinja said:


> Could I keep a sorority in there? A sorority is usually 4 female bettas right? Are they friendly to neon tetras? Are they easy to care for?


Nope. Minimum tank size for sorority is 15gal, and they're definitely not easy to care for. Don't mess with it unless you really really know what you're doing.


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

Snails are great and the MTS is a must have IMO.



> *Malaysian Trumpet Snail *​ _Melanoides tuberculata_​ By: Ryan Wood​ The Malaysian Trumpet Snail is a great to have in any aquarium. There are some with different patterns, shapes, size, dark or light colored. It is a beautiful snail to see up close in person. In some forums as well as blogs the Malaysion Trumpet Snail is instead used as the acronym MTS.​ There is a lot of bad rep that all snails have received. A lot of hobbyists tend to think that having any type of snail in their aquarium is horrible and all must be removed immediately. There are even chemicals that are solely meant for killing snails in the aquarium. I highly recommend that you never use any chemical meant to kill snails in a tank with shrimp. Snails are not bad for your aquarium. Overfeeding your tank is what causes snail outbreaks. Most snails will actually leave your plants alone and instead eat the algae off of the leaves as well as glass. Do not think that a snail is a pest, they can be extremely useful in any aquarium.​ The Malaysian Trumpet Snail is actually a benefit to any aquarium for several reasons. It will not eat your plants at all. This snail also will not "muscle" your shrimp off of food meant for the shrimp. The Malaysian Trumpet Snail feeds on detritus and leftover food that is underneath the substrate. It actually burrows in the substrate and moves around throughout. You will rarely see this snail during the day. Occasionally it will emerge from the substrate. A cool thing is that sometimes you will see the substrate move and you will know that there is a Malaysian Trumpet Snail underneath doing its cleaning duties.​ The fact that this snail burrows and eats detritus is an excellent perk to having it. Another great perk is that while it is underneath the substrate moving it is at the same time aerating the substrate. Substrate aeration is a great benefit to planted aquariums as it promotes air exchange and root growth. They will not disturbed any plant roots or move wood/rocks around your aquarium.​ The Malaysian Trumpet Snail reproduces live young and does not lay eggs. They can reproduce rapidly however. Rapid reproduction is a sign that you either need to feed your inhabitants less or vacuum the gravel extensively. You do not want to rely on this snail to do all of the gravel cleaning. High temperatures can also result in rapid reproduction if coupled with overfeeding.​ This snail is an all around must have for most aquariums. They are very cool to look at, extremely docile, do not eat plants, aerate substrate, eat detritus, and do not harm other inhabitants. I highly recommend this snail to anyone.​





> Author Byron Hoskins
> *Substrate Bacteria*
> 
> The greatest population of bacteria in a healthy balanced aquarium occurs in the substrate, not the filter. The floc or humic compost that collects in the substrate is the host for the biofilms; this is why the substrate in planted tanks should never be disturbed, and many aquarists apply this to non-planted tanks as well.
> ...


http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/member-submitted-articles/bacteria-freshwater-aquarium-74891/


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

I will probably have to spend around $50 just fully planting the tank right? What other kinds of more natural decorations are there other than live plants and driftwood? My LPS has Malaysian driftwood. Would it be possible to throw in a few ExoTerra vines or ExoTerra forest branches or should I avoid ExoTerra stuff altogether? I might get 1-3 of those fake decorations (the castles or sunken ships) just to make my aquarium look better but they are so expensive! They cost as much as if not more than a good heater.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

I don't know if US sellers ship to Canada? I read through the USPS country-specific delivery restriction and I can't find "plants" listed for Canada. Nor can I find "live fish" by the way, but somebody else then said live fish is a no go. Try to ask around. There are lots of "plant bundles" or "plant packages" in AB so you can get a truck ton for less rather than buying each species one by one and accumulating the cost.


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

Get stem plants, Water wisteria, Water sprite, Ludwigia repens, Myriophyllum Sp, Hornwort, these usually come in bunches of 5 plants about 6 inches tall, Cut them in half or even thirds and plant them in no time they will grow like mad.


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

NickAu said:


> Get stem plants, Water wisteria, Water sprite, Ludwigia repens, Myriophyllum Sp, Hornwort, these usually come in bunches of 5 plants about 6 inches tall, Cut them in half or even thirds and plant them in no time they will grow like mad.


Are these plants that you mentioned all stem plants? Sorry I'm a first time planter.


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

Nope. Wisteria can either be grown rooted or floated. Hornwort the same way. Water sprite is often floated. Ludwigia is... I don't wanna be a smarta** and say they're rooted-only but I've never seen them floated. Myriophillum I've never heard of.


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

There's also cholla wood, and at least one person on the forum sells them in the marketplace area. They make good shrimp hides.

I'm not sure how many shrimp can go in a 50 gallon. You could get cherry shrimp, which breed quickly.

Water sprite can be floated or planted, and I really like it. Mine came with snail eggs, though. I don't mind -- baby snails can be fed to the other fish. 

I've gotta go -- kiddo needs something. Good luck with your tank!


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## SplashyBetta (Jul 28, 2014)

Seren27 said:


> Nope. Wisteria can either be grown rooted or floated. Hornwort the same way. Water sprite is often floated. Ludwigia is... I don't wanna be a smarta** and say they're rooted-only but I've never seen them floated. Myriophillum I've never heard of.


I grew some ludwigia repens floating in a 2g for a while. I didn't see much difference in the growth of the floating stems vs. the ones rooted in the same tank.


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## BettaBoy11 (Apr 21, 2015)

Seren27 said:


> Nope. Minimum tank size for sorority is 15gal, and they're definitely not easy to care for. Don't mess with it unless you really really know what you're doing.


Just out of curiosity, why not? Is the OP's tank too big? Why could a sorority go in a 15 gallon but not a 50?


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

A sorority tank needs to be heavily planted and I mean heavily

Something like this.
Image is NOT of my tank


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## Olivia27 (Nov 26, 2015)

BettaBoy11 said:


> Just out of curiosity, why not? Is the OP's tank too big? Why could a sorority go in a 15 gallon but not a 50?


The answer is I confused this thread with another one


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## Sadist (Jan 1, 2015)

50 gallon could work really well for a sorority. I've read that a sorority may be a stressful environment for the fish because they're so territorial. An illness on one fish can spread to the others more quickly because they're stressed, and minor injuries can become major illnesses more easily. Plus, like NickAu showed, your tank has to be super filled with plants to help everyone hide from each other.

That said, if you have the time, patience, and money to do that with your tank, I'm sure it would be stunning!


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## Npinja (Aug 12, 2013)

Does driftwood die if you just let it sit in the aquarium without any supplements?


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

No drift wood is already dead.


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## BettaBoy11 (Apr 21, 2015)

Sadist said:


> 50 gallon could work really well for a sorority. I've read that a sorority may be a stressful environment for the fish because they're so territorial. An illness on one fish can spread to the others more quickly because they're stressed, and minor injuries can become major illnesses more easily. Plus, like NickAu showed, your tank has to be super filled with plants to help everyone hide from each other.
> 
> That said, if you have the time, patience, and money to do that with your tank, I'm sure it would be stunning!


Also, if you did a sorority, you would have to move the male. It has to be all-female.


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