# who to put in a 10 gallon with my betta



## bitsoglass (Feb 8, 2012)

I currently have a male crowntail betta that lives by himself in a little 1 gallon bowl. I am in the process of putting together a 10 gallon tank for him, and was originally planning on dividing it and getting another male, however, I'm beginning to change my mind on that front. Basically, I was wondering what would be the best tankmates to put with him in that 10 gal if I don't divide it. I was thinking about a couple of ghost shrimp and maybe a few tetras. I know that with neon tetras you need at least 6, so I was not sure if a 10 gal would be big enough for all of them? I was also wondering if it would be okay to put a few mollies in the tank as well?


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## fraviz (Jan 29, 2012)

I would go for 6 black tetra or glow tetra.... and no mollies as they like more salty water... more than Bettas can handle ( I think) 
Ghost shrimp could be but they could end in your Betta's belly.... depends on Betta's personality... 
I have a dragon type (short fins) in a 26gallons... and seems to be ok.... and nobody is nipping..


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## bitsoglass (Feb 8, 2012)

Thank you. I was just at a fish store and talking with one of the clerks.. After talking with him, I was thinking 2 panda corys, 2 ghost shrimp, and 5 or 6 neon tetra. I am afraid that might be overloading my 10 gallon, though..


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## fraviz (Jan 29, 2012)

Quick suggestion.... corys are lovely but they like to be on groups... 5 minimum.... check other sites on line.... most of store clerks do not know what they are talking about.... Neon tetra is a good choice... I suggested black or glow tetra because are darker than neon, some Bettas tend to attack the brighter color fish... but it is worth a try....
If you consider only the 6 tetras...shrimps and maybe a couple of snails... you should be ok with a 10 gallons tank .
Do a 20% change every week for the first month
20% every 2 weeks for 2nd month 
and if you have a strong (20/40 gallons) filter you can do a 20% change once at month...

Best luck


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

+1. Never get less than four of any one species of cory. I'd suggest going with either the cories or the neons, not both.

Another lovely tetra (goes really well with bettas) is the ember tetra. You could have up to 8 in a ten gallon with a betta.

Fraviz: Unless you have a soil-based Natural Planted Tank, you need to do at least a 25% change per week, regardless of your filter strength.


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## fraviz (Jan 29, 2012)

Bombalurina said:


> +1.
> Fraviz: Unless you have a soil-based Natural Planted Tank, you need to do at least a 25% change per week, regardless of your filter strength.


 Why? shouldn't that depend on tank size? amount of food? amount of fishes? type of fishes? I have a planted aquarium....


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## SmokeNLark (Jul 22, 2010)

Neons will be fine. They have been known to be fin nippers sometimes though, watch for that. Other small tetras and rasboras will work. Cories are always the best choice. Shrimp may or may not be eaten. Keep in mind every betta is an individual, some are ok with tankmates and some are not. Just have a plan b 

As for the mollies, I wouldn't. 10 is too small for them, and from my experience, they can be aggressive fin nippers. They seem to be the more aggressive community fish. lol.


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## diablo13 (Jul 1, 2011)

Yes, if you have a 125 gallon aquarium, you could do it once a month, but unless you have a drastically understocked NPT, I would stick to weekly changes. I'm not too good with remembering the stuff, but I think the waste will overload the filter bacteria or something. Neons can be nip, especially with long fins, in a small tank, Ember Tetras would be better, like Bomb said. Cories could work, but they absolutely need at least 3. They'll be happier with 5, but they can live a full, natural life with 3. Harlequin Rasboras are good, Platies are a personal favorite of mine, they're like mollies a little, except stay smaller and don't need salt. In a 10 gallon with appropriate filtration, you could do 3. Make sure they're either all female or all male, they breed like rabbits.


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## daniomania (Feb 12, 2012)

I have 3 Mollys, 5 Zebra Danios and 1 ghost shrimp and my betta completly leaves them alone! I think it just depends on the betta's personality but you could alwyas try putting one of the min the tank to see if they get eaten!


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## bitsoglass (Feb 8, 2012)

Thanks for all the suggestions.. What I ended up doing was getting a divider and another betta (he was just so pretty in the store I couldn't resist) they are doing fine so far, mostly they ignore each other but when they come in contact by the divider they flare for a bit and then go away (not too often). This morning I added two Japanese algae eating shrimp, one on each side. I'm not sure, but I think my newest Betta might be scared of his shrimp because when the shrimp was hanging on the divider he wouldn't go near him to get his blood worms.. He waited until the shrimp left before getting his food. Am I being paranoid, or should I think about giving the shrimp to a friend of mine instead?


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## fraviz (Jan 29, 2012)

It seems to be working..... but maybe you can put a couple of plants on the divider wall.. so they do not see each other that mucha and get stressed....


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## bitsoglass (Feb 8, 2012)

The bettas aren't actually the problem, this morning I saw them both laying next to the divider just hanging out. It's the shrimps I am worried about.. While my one betta doesn't seem to mind them, my other seems skittish of them. And I can't just put them both on one side because one of them keeps changing sides of the tank by squeezing through this little hole that's only big enough for him


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## ordieadams (Feb 14, 2012)

My betta lives with 2 corys, 3 octos, 1 neon, 1 glow light and they have been living happily together for the last six months.


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## hedgehog (Sep 1, 2010)

ordieadams said:


> My betta lives with 2 corys, 3 octos, 1 neon, 1 glow light and they have been living happily together for the last six months.


I don't know what size your tank is so I can't comment on the bioload in the tank. I will say that cories, neon tetras, and glow light tetras are all schooling fish. As schooling fish they would be much happier with proper size groups. Cories should be kept in groups of at least 4 members of the same species. Neon tetras should be kept in a group of 5 minimum as should glow light tetras. Ideally you should get more cories, neons, and glow lights. Of course this depends on the size of your tank but as schooling fish those three species would all be happier with more of the same fish.


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## ordieadams (Feb 14, 2012)

they all seem very happy and active, they all eat well and are always swimming around


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

They can seem happy, just like people, but can actually be stressed or lonely or depressed. Just because you see someone taking a walk and they eat does that mean they are happy? Not trying to say that you aren't a good keeper, but part of fish keeping is meeting ALL of the fish's requirements.

To the OP, for the shrimp you can try to fix that area where he gets through. Also that could get bigger and one of the bettas may go on the other side.


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## daniomania (Feb 12, 2012)

LOL thats cute!!!!!! yeah i had one of those shrimps...and it wasnt very pretty...my betta killed it!!!! i thin kthey have species rivarly!


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## TorisExtraordinaryBettas (Nov 12, 2011)

The neons are fine so are the shrimp... it also depends on the bettas temperment, i had a male betta who lived in a 30gal tank with 6 tetras and 10male guppies and he did amazing until i put 2 mollies in there then my betta got agressive... only two the mollies tho; sooo i wouldnt do mollies


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