Betta + black neon tetras?
[First off, YES. Bettas have been kept fine in community tanks! I just don't know about this specific tank!]
I don’t know what is up with the betta tank, but it is completely infested with algae and keeps turning green within days of cleaning. I’ve given up on that thing. Malice needs something new. (I have another tank of the same make for my ACF’s feeder guppies, and their tank never even gets a green tint! Let alone so cloudy I can’t see my fish!)
I have a 10 gallon tank with much better filtration and no algae problems in the same room. In the tank are only three black neon tetras and a black snail. Would they fight? There are tons of places for the tetras (or Malice) to hide. Is there any way to introduce Malice in with the tetras to make the transition easier like with other animals?
They’re BLACK neon tetras, not plain neon tetras. Blacks are a bit bigger than your usual blue and red neons. Mine are black and white.
THANK you St Nothing! I slipped Malice in there with a holding tank on standby in case of incidents, and they haven’t even seemed to notice each other. The tetras stick over where the filter current is, and the betta just stays in the calmer waters. The tetras fight more with each other than with Malice. ^.^
And as for the algae… it probably is the case. The only other spot for a tank in my room was next to the insanely bright UVB-bulbed 100+*F bearded dragon tank. The only “sunlight” in my room is that UVB bulb because I live in the basement. That would also explain why my other tank of the same type on the OTHER side of the room is fine.
I didn’t even stop to think that maybe the dragon was the algae culprit.
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It should be ok neon tetras are tough even though there small ans they can handle a betta my neons alwaysfight with the serape tetras over food and the neons end up winning and the serpaes are 2x their size I doubt they will fight bettas rarely fight with tetras also for the record tetras are schooling fish so they need to be kept in schools of 6 or more and you have enough room for 10 neon tetras and a male betta
It is perfectly fine to mich them together. Not only do I know this from experience, but I know the science behind it as well.
Bettas, obviously, are very territorial, and agressive fish. In the wild, they tend to choose their own part of a pond (cave, crevice, a bunch of plants, etc.) to be their “territory”. When you put a betta into a tiny glass bowl, they obviously can’t get out, but they still consider it their own private area. When I say private, I mean they do not want any other fish trying to get into that area, or taking that area.
When a betta is introduced into a tank, believe it or not, they will find an area to call their own, even if its just a patch of gravel in your ten gallon tank. Mainly, they will try to defend their territory from other territorial fish, such as other bettas. Although they may consider the schooling tetras as a pest, they generally won’t bother them, because schooling fish tend to stay towards the surface of the water, and they do not claim specific territory. Thus, the betta does not consider them a threat or foe.
The betta may nip at their fins every once and a while, but this is more of a warning bite, nothing compared to a full fight of betta vs. betta! Also, the chance of your betta getting the same fish twice on a regular basis is quite slim.
Simply put, your betta will soon realize that the Tetras are not a threat to him, so he WILL leave them alone.
I hope this helps!
they might bother the betta a bit since there are only three of them. i would get 5 total.
http://bettacare101.googlepages.com
As you have found out – your tetras and Betta should be OK together in that size tank.
Your problem with the other tank going green? Too much light. Move it away from the window or shade it somehow. That will cut down on the algae growth. The green wont harm your fish, but it does look ugly.
Ian
You have some good answers above. I just want to add this about algae. If you are overfeeding your fish, that could also cause an algae bloom. When the food settles to the bottom it breaks down and feeds the algae growth.
So make sure you don’t overfeed as well as cutting down on the lighting.