# Tank mates



## JayPe3 (Feb 21, 2013)

Alright, I know this has been asked over and over, and I've been reading the stickies over and over, but there's no actual info on what the best compatibilities are.

Birdee is a younger (not exact sure on age, but he has grown since I got him)
multi-color veiltail. He was recently (yesterday) moved into a 15 GAL tank. It's a lot of space for him to be by himself, so I would like to put some "buddies" in with him.
What would be the "safest" choices?
I'm not worried about Birdee killing/eating another fish, I'm worried about another fish killing/eating Birdee. If that makes sense.
I'm thinking a Dwarf Frog, or some kind of shrimp. Would rather not have snails.
Maybe a small school of something, like tiger barbs?
Sorry for the repetitive questioning, thanks for the help.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Yay on the upgrade! 

Big big no to tiger barbs. They are active, nippy and aggressive. 

What are your water parameters (hardness and ph)? This will determine which fish will live happily in your tank


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## JayPe3 (Feb 21, 2013)

It's water, so.. It's wet.. and warm, lol.

Not sure, i'll have to get some pH paper to answer those questions.


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## Rosalina (Feb 3, 2013)

I have corydoras with my betta, they like to be in a group and require 10gals or more. If you get them, try to get 3 or 4 of the same kind so they can school, they are really entertaining. 

When introducing them, be careful. I took out my betta, re-arranged all the decor and changed the water in the tank. I then put the cories in first let them get situated, and then put the betta in. This makes the betta think that he is in a different territory. 

My betta doesn't mind them at all, which I find weird since he tried to eat the snails I got. (One snail floated (which happens, they are still alive) then he tried to take a bite.) Once the snail got bit, it never came out of it's shell, and if it did my betta would nip at its feelers. It eventually died.. 

African dwarf frogs are so cute, but I talked to someone and they told me that if you get them and you have hiding spots in your tank, you will never see them again. Another person at petsmart told me they are very picky eaters and they had to feed them through a turkey baster type thing because they wont come out for food and their sight is very bad. 

I recommend Corydoras. I was surprised how well my betta got along with them. He flared at first, and chased, but cories are very fast and he gave up quickly and now doesn't mind them at all, they'll even swim right into him and he wont care. They are also very entertaining and my albino cories are very very active.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

JayPe3 said:


> It's water, so.. It's wet.. and warm, lol.
> 
> Not sure, i'll have to get some pH paper to answer those questions.


Yep, that's pretty much water. 

pH strips can be inaccurate - liquid tests are much better. The API master kit is great. However, another way to do it is contact (or google) your local water authority, who should be able to tell you the hardness and pH of your local water. 

From memory, cories like water on the soft side with a lower pH.


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## JayPe3 (Feb 21, 2013)

Considering the LFS I go to is close to my home, the waters levels won't be too drastic.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Remember that pet shops fill their water with a bunch of stuff, though, because they have to keep fish with a wide variety of needs in water from the same source that runs through the same filter, so their fish have to make do with much softer or harder water than they normally need, generally with a neutral pH. So, whilst my local shop uses the same source water that I do (very soft, low pH) they fill it with conditioners to make it only slightly soft with a neutral pH. Thus my levels are very different to the levels of the shop.


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## JayPe3 (Feb 21, 2013)

What do you guys think about red finned sharks?
They're a scavenger, so they should be rather docile and do well on the bottom of Birdees tank. Opinion?









I introduced one of the ghost shrimp from my sons tank to Birdee yesterday with a sandwich bag. Birdee bumped the bag a couple times, then left it alone. Didn't flare at all. After about an hour I let the shrimp into the tank, and Birdee didn't really bother with him. The shrimp just went to the drift wood.
I haven't seen it at all today though, but this shrimp disapeared in my sons tank and I only found it because I cleaned it and moved some of the decorations around, so he's a good hider. 
Birdee hasn't gotten fat/bloated, so I don't think he ate him.


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## nicolaas (Jan 15, 2012)

Hi.

Rainbow(red fined)sharks are not docile and it will most likely kill your betta they are very aggressive.

Otos should be good tank mates.

Get slow mowing fish that won't stress your betta.




Nicolaas.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Also, sharks shouldn't be in less than a 55gal because they need schools and grow enormous.


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## JayPe3 (Feb 21, 2013)

It seems like every fish that would be compatible are some boring, ugly ass fish.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Tetras, kuhli loaches, cories, platys and Endles are boring and ugly-ass?


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## JayPe3 (Feb 21, 2013)

Everybody is saying tetras are fin-nippers.
That kuhli loach is pretty cool, but loachs get relatively huge, don't they?
The corys that I have seen are weird looking, they look like a smaller pleco lol.
Some platys are cool, but that wasn't suggested. Endles weren't suggested either.

My question wasn't "what fish is good for my hardness of water and ph level", it was "what are good breeds to mate with a betta."
That question has not been answered.


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## Kwomais (Dec 31, 2012)

If you look at your water conditions, you can pick fish that will be good with your betta AND will thrive in your tank (ie not be stressed due to adapting to less-than-ideal conditions, weakening their immune systems and leaving them open to a host of infections, even death). So, before we suggest fish for your tank from the options available, we want to narrow it down to compatible fish that are compatible with your betta and his environment


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Since you haven't told us your hardness, we can't answer your question. 

Some tetras do nip fins. Personally, I've never had a problem with it, but I have embers, not neons. Larger tetras like blackskirts are likely to be nippy.
Some loaches do get huge, but kuhlis stay small, maxing out at 4 inches and very skinny, with a relatively low bioload.


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## JayPe3 (Feb 21, 2013)

I picked up 2 Panda Corydoras (all my LFS had, I plan on getting 2 more when they're in) and 2 ghost shrimps.
The pandas are young, relatively small, but Birdee hasn't bothered with him. He's followed them, chases them when they go near his castle, but that's about it. No flaring.
The shrimp he chases, but they're WAY too fast for him. I haven't seen any in a while, I have a feeling they're climbing into the driftwood. This is Birdees tank, the castle is from his small tank, it's on black rocks and surrounded by larger smooth aquarium stones, with the rest of the tank being dark/light, and white mixed rocks.
More decorations will come as time goes, some will get switched out, ect.









My tripod isn't high enough for the tank, so the pictures I got of the fish are blurry.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Be careful with the panda cories on gravel. As they are such small cories, their tiny delicate barbels can very easily be damaged on gravel and really only should be kept on sand.


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## JayPe3 (Feb 21, 2013)

I'll keep an eye out, thanks for that bit of information. 
It was between the Corys, or Siamese Algae Eaters, I liked the Corys better.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

SAEs would be too large for your tank anyway - they need 20 gallons minimum as they get pretty large and are very active.


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## JayPe3 (Feb 21, 2013)

Ah, good call on my part then.
I saw a few cool looking tetras today as well, thinking whether or not to pick a couple up in a few weeks. They were pretty small though, so that concerns me.
I can't remember their name, sadly.


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## Aurie (Jun 22, 2012)

I'd get either neon tetras or porkchop/hengeli rasboras .. I love my hengelis.. I don't have any with my betta but I"m upgrading soon to a 20 and might try them together.


Here's the Hengeli Rasbora


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## JayPe3 (Feb 21, 2013)

Those look awesome. Thanks!


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## JayPe3 (Feb 21, 2013)

Yesterday one of the Pandas was swimming around crazy fast on the upper levels of the tank, I guess he stressed out Birdee, because he went for him, literally grabbed him, shook it, and threw it LOL.
I saw the whole thing, was pretty funny.
The pandas fine, has a little nip on the bottom of its rear fin, and Birdee hasn't bothered with him since.
I guess he just doesn't like the panda all up in his grill.


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## Crowntails (Feb 12, 2013)

I'd do a school of 8 Ember Tetras and 4 Otos for the bottom.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Embers need soft acidic water. They are also quite shy and may lose their colour in tanks that aren't densely planted.


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