# Good tankmates? (10 gallon)



## Gale (Aug 31, 2012)

Hey everyone,

Just got a beautiful twin tail halfmoon male Betta today for my Marineland 10g LED aquarium, and while I plan on waiting for a couple of weeks or so, I would like to introduce a few more fish to the habitat.

I would like atleast one bottom feeder, and an algae eater to help maintain cleanliness. I have been considering a couple of small cories, and possibly a snail. Another possibility would be a couple of ADFs, but I'm worried about either the betta nipping on their feet, or the frogs latching onto the betta's fins for a ride.

Any suggestions/recommendations?

Thanks in advance


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

If the Betta is hyper aggressive no tank mates no cories like 20 gallons 2 or three Otos might work algae eaters to avoid the Chinese algae eaters common plecos one is aggressive one grows 2 ft some some Pleco species might the smallest species grow 4 inches apple snail would be good ADF are not a good idea they can be picky eaters and the Betta might steal the food some Bettas can live with Neon tetras or Harlequin rasboras but it is not worth the risk avoid any Barb or fin nippers white cloud mountain minnow might work but they prefer cold water and can tolerate tropical water some dwarf and pygmy cories might work it would be a good idea to have a lot of silk or live plants with caves for hiding apple snails live shorter in tropical but are more active in tropical white cloud minnows are healthier in cold water.


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## Sapphoira (Jul 16, 2012)

ChoclateBetta said:


> If the Betta is hyper aggressive no tank mates no cories like 20 gallons 2 or three Otos might work algae eaters to avoid the Chinese algae eaters common plecos one is aggressive one grows 2 ft some some Pleco species might the smallest species grow 4 inches apple snail would be good ADF are not a good idea they can be picky eaters and the Betta might steal the food some Bettas can live with Neon tetras or Harlequin rasboras but it is not worth the risk avoid any Barb or fin nippers white cloud mountain minnow might work but they prefer cold water and can tolerate tropical water some dwarf and pygmy cories might work it would be a good idea to have a lot of silk or live plants with caves for hiding apple snails live shorter in tropical but are more active in tropical white cloud minnows are healthier in cold water.


Holy run on sentence!!


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

ADFs are a lot of work, you must hand feed them everyday if you have a betta with them. I would only get a snail for algae, otherwise you are not gonna be getting any other fish really. Nerite snails work really good, or you could get pond or apple snails.

Platies are good fish but they are livebearers so don't get males and females... There is a compatiblility chart as well so you can se what fish you like most.


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## finnfinnfriend (Feb 3, 2012)

A lot of people seem to have Pygmy cories without problems.... And they are pretty cute.


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## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

i used to have bettas (only one at a time) in my 10 gallon molly/platy tank but they kept dying, i think it was the stress of so many fish making them susceptible to infections. you might wanna steer clear of fast-moving fish who could over-stimulate your betta.


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

Sapphoira said:


> Holy run on sentence!!


:rofl:


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## Gale (Aug 31, 2012)

finnfinnfriend said:


> A lot of people seem to have Pygmy cories without problems.... And they are pretty cute.


Thats what I'm thinking at this point. Maybe a small school of 4, considering they max out at .75". They'll help keep everything clean, and provide alot of lively entertainment from what I hear.

That will be plenty for my tank, I think. From the looks of it, I might have to hunt them down a bit, as no major chains or online vendors appear to advertise them.

I defintely want ADFs, but I'm going to save them for their own habitat.

Thanks for the advice and opinions everyone


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

You could have 6 pygmys.


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## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

Gale said:


> Thats what I'm thinking at this point. Maybe a small school of 4, considering they max out at .75". They'll help keep everything clean, and provide alot of lively entertainment from what I hear.
> 
> That will be plenty for my tank, I think. From the looks of it, I might have to hunt them down a bit, as no major chains or online vendors appear to advertise them.
> 
> ...


it's weird, but i've never had the problems other people report on here with ADFs having feeding problems and tankmate conflicts...all of mine have been very happy, healthy and well-fed little frogs, whether in a tank with another betta or in the community tank.


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

Usually you need to handfeed them as most bettas will steal their food because they are little piggies.


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## Gale (Aug 31, 2012)

MaisyDawgThirteen said:


> You could have 6 pygmys.


I know they do better in bigger numbers, but I'd also like to give them plenty of space. Pros and Cons either way. Hmmm...


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## Gale (Aug 31, 2012)

So, I discovered a vendor that sells dwarf corys, and its maybe a 30 minute drive away. https://www.azgardens.com/default.aspx

Unfortunately they are mail order only. $35 min purchase with $25 shipping. Ugh! Wish I could just go knock on their door. 

Guess I'll just have to make some calls to pet stores across town when the time comes.


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

Gale said:


> Unfortunately they are mail order only.


 is there a phone number? Call them and see if they won't mind you picking them up and save yourself $35.

hey, that's a cool store!


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## Gale (Aug 31, 2012)

There are a couple of numbers and a fax line (people still use those??).

They seem quite adamant about the mail order deal on their site, but I will give them a call nonetheless when I'm ready to stock some more. It never hurts to ask.


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## Gale (Aug 31, 2012)

Update: A great local freshwater specialty store got a shipment of pygmy cories in early, and I picked up a small school of 6 on Friday.

They are doing excellent so far. Most went right to work in vacuum mode within a minute of releasing them into the tank, and my Betta hasn't been aggressive at all, other than a short chase through the tank with one pygmy when they were first introduced. After learning how quick they are, he pretty much ignores them and shows no signs of stress.

Really cool little fish. Very lively, active and playful. The owner of the LFS said I could put more in easily with my tank setup, but I'd rather them have more space and filtration than they need than not enough.

I also picked up a black mystery snail a couple weeks ago, which I plan on moving to another tank soon. Betta was curious and nipped at it a couple of times after first introduction. I was ready to remove and return the snail but he got over it quickly. Now he does nothing more than play with her algae discs from time to time :lol:

Water parameters are great and I've had no issues so far. Thanks for the tips everyone


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