Orchidman's Medium tech 10g

[Hilde]

Originally Posted by orchidman

what should i do??

I wonder if distracting him with live food or a female in a bowl next to the tank would help. You could put some worms, those used for bait, in the tank. OoglyBoogly has them in his tank. Keeps is fish busy.


On the other hand you could get some Cory's. If he is very aggressive though he will chase them into hiding.

[orchidman]

i meant what should i do with the neons. i cant keep them in here. also, any tankmates that he wouldnt attack?

[Betta Maniac]

Hard to know what he won't attack, but certianly something larger than the neons would be a good idea. Also, I'd try botttom feeders, as they won't be in his main "zone". My bettas all get on just fine with the corys in my tanks.

As for what to do with the neons, maybe you can give them away on Craigslist?

[orchidman]

i got my brother to set up a small tank for the neons. idk, what else i could put in. im not sure how the cories would do.

and scape ideas? to take it to the next level? maybe something that doesnt involve purchasing more stuff. im broke :\

[Hilde]

Cory's usually ignore most other fish to the point that they get their eyes attached by fish, such as kribs, when they have fry. If your Betta is aggressive he will go after them. With Betta you never know how they will behave. I have found getting one that doesn't stare me when I check him keeps to itself.

Years ago, when I moved, I left a 20 gallon long tank with friends, which had a male Betta and guppies. He swam on the bottom. When he died they replaced him. The new one ate all of the guppies, so I was told.

If you want more tanks. Check out craigslist and freecycle. I once got several 10 gallon tanks free through craigslist.

Another thing you coud do with the neons is donate them to Petco or perhaps you can find an independent pet store that will give you credit.

[orchidman]

like i said, my brother is gonna take them

i think ill just get 2 more otos, and see how they do. maybe it would be a good idea to get 5 total?

[AquaStudent]

honestly you could have tried keeping the neons in the tank. I had a couple disappear at first but now I've had no problems with this group for a week (problems the first two nights but nothing since).

It may just take a few nights for your betta to get used to the tankmates.

You could also try Zebra Danios. I had some with my betta and they were just too quick for him to attack them. As long as they don't start fin nipping they will get along.

My only concern with Zebra and Leopard Danios is that their speed may be stressful to the betta. I haven't see any signs of stress from a danio but other people have, at times, reported this.

[Hilde]

I think otos are better than danios. For the danios I feel should be in a tank bigger than 10G. The otos are fast and stay on low ground, thus will be out of the way of the Betta.

[orchidman]

i wouldnt want to put danios in that small of a tank. ive done it befopre, but i felt bad. the neons are still in the tnak, and i havent seen any aggression. so hopefully *knock on wood* everything will be alright.

im def getting more otos though

[AquaStudent]

Danios are better in something more like a 20 gallon but they are ok in a 10. I admit they don't live to their potential in a 10.

More otos are a good idea. I'm trying to convince my local walmart (sadly the best place for fish in the area) to carry some otos. I need to call them tomorrow.
I'm glad to hear that the neons are still doing ok. Although I thought you moved them to your brother's tank.

[orchidman]

i was going to get him to set a small one up, but he didnt yet. so it has to wait. there is some minor chasing going on.

ive had danios in a ten before. they were energetic, but i feel better with them in a larger tank. just my opinion.

[orchidman]

algae is creeping back i think i might try starting with ei today or tomorrow. why wont it stop??? i got alot more plants like recommended, but its still creeping back

[defiesexistence]

You could do a little DIY yeast co2, the algae won't much like that, but any co2 is beneficial to the plant, no matter the tech.

But right now, be patient. If one of your orchids gets scale, and you treat it, you have the bugs gone, but there is still problems that the plant is working out. The plant will eventually recover and fix the damage, no? Think of the algae as the scale, and the plant as your plants, but also your tank in general. The algae will go away when the tank is balancing itself.

[orchidman]

speaking of scale, been battling that all summer!! grr!

i dont want to go the co2 route. ill be ordering some metricide soon which is a substitute for excel, which gives carbon...right?

[orchidman]

the neons are seeming to do fine. i think leroy has gotten used to them. plus, if i feed him well, they should be fine. so i got 3 more neons.

i also got 3 more otos, the sale is ending soon if anyone was thinking of getting something. get them soon. i dont excpect all to make it, so i will just exchange the dead ones if some die. i shouldve gotten extra to account for the fatalities, because its not often they have otos. but i didnt think of that until later :P

i saw a fluval osaka, i kind of love it :P