Question about beta fish

[FastEddy]

I recently got a Beta as a gift. Its in a little desktop bowl. When I got it there was snails in the bowl that kept the algae off the sides.
They multiplied like..... Snails. I methodically picked them all out and they are finally gone. Now I have algae.

My question is what kind of sucker fish can I put in with it? From what I understand these guys are real aggressive with other fish.

On another note, this guy is awesome he lets me pet him and he eats just about anything I give him including hamburger, bread and vegetables. He will even brake watter to grab food from my hand. I love this little guy.

 

[twopie24]

from my understanding they only mess with other male beta's but I'm not sure....it's been a few years since I've owned one....

 

[El Pirata]

Originally posted by FastEddy
My question is what kind of sucker fish can I put in with it? From what I understand these guys are real aggressive with other fish.

Just put one in and find out. Make sure you have a camera handy too....

 

[30%NitroBoy]

Whaddup Eddy,

A beta huh..hehe. I've had lots of Betas over the years (and chitloads of freshwater and salt reef tanks). Any "suckerfish" will be fine as the BETA shouldn't mess with anything other then another BETA fish. You can put him in a larger container but IMO they're are usually fine with a small container as they aren't active fish (unless their's another Beta in the tank and then everyone dies). Just make sure you don't "airate" the container with an airpump and stone as they get air from the top. I've actually had Betas in regular Freshwater tanks with various fish that died from all the air in the water. They're pretty low-matinence fish, just make sure you do regular water changes like any fish tank big, small or tiny. Finding a good PH that your Beta likes can bring out some awesome colors in them like many fish.

"Hamburger"...lmao. I've never feed Betas anything other then various fish foods but I've heard they're phucking garbage disposals. They like to eat from the top water where they get their air. I've had Betas that loved lived brine shrimp but most IME want bother unless they're starving.

 

[RoadRunner]

Yeah Eddy. No hamburger or any other meat or fried foods. This will quickly contaminate the water and cause all sorts of bad bacteria and disease leaving you with a dead friend.

 

[Çh®i§tiªñ]

I agree with most of 30%.

Plecos are typically the best for keeping a tank clean. But a tiny bowl?!?!? Snails are better. Plecos get big. If you have a BIG bowl then a small small pleco will do just fine.

As for airation in a tank, well, the whole reason for airation in a tank (real reason anyhow) is to create surface movement. Surface movement is what brings oxygen into the water. If the water is stagnent, then airation isnt a bad idea as the surface needs to move. But until you have a TANK I wouldnt be concerned (like your big tank Ed)

However, the biggest cause for mass algae is natural sunlight. If you have the bowl where there is a lot of sun, move it somewhere else where it doesn't get as much. Like your kitchen counter. If I recall, the counter closest to the back door doesn't get that much direct sunlight. That might be a perfect spot for it.

Hope this helps.

As for burger, just dont over-do it. The excess that he doesn't eat can cause high high high amonia levels and ultimately kill the fish.

Beta's are great fish and are very societal in fresh water tanks. Typically, not agressive unless with other betas. But even then, its not uncommon to have 4 betas in the same tank with no problems, just depends how big the tank is. You might lose one, but the remaining 3 could get along just fine.

PahKhats (if I remember the spelling) is the TRUE Beta fighter and cannot be co-existent with other pahkats. They are also a bit more expensive and not nearly as pretty to look at. Shorter fins etc.. These are also the same fish people will buy and gamble on fighting.

 

[gutterboy]

Man I had a 75 gallon tank and had african chicilads in there. Well I was trying to go all natural with the greenry and wood so I went down behind my buddys work in louisville called kosmos. They are lined up with the Ohio river so I went down there and got some nice pieces of drift wood. Put this poop in my tank and two days later had all kids of snails in my tank they pretty much covered the walls and you could see there egg pouches. Betas are cool, bought a 10 gall and put a divider in between wit ha red on one side and a blue on the other. Lifted the divider and they went at it. The red one won but was ate up and still lived for about two weeks, thats when I flushed him.

 

[Çh®i§tiªñ]

Anything you introduce to your tank from outside should be soaked in a bucket of bleach for a couple days.

Rocks and wood alike.

You will need to drill a hole in a piece of slate, or other flat rock, and use a galvenized screw to hold the drift wood to the rock. This will keep it under the water.

As for cichlids, I used to bread the African Peacocks and 7 bar frontosa's years. Made a decent buck but the monthly electic bill for thos tanks wasn't pretty! lol

Someday I might setup another tank. I only have one left. Its a 55 gal display tank. Maybe some discus are in order. The turqois discus are fragile but awesome when they get big!