Author Topic: Tank mates for Barquentine (Read 20237 times) 41 replies

Diz1 · « **on:** January 31, 2015, 03:11:41 PM »

afternoon everyone!
It's been a few months now since I got Barquentine, my male half moon Betta.
We've had some fin issues - he arrived with some chunks missing from his tail, which got a lot worse in the first couple of weeks. I was really worried but, following Sue's expert advice, I persevered with daily water changes and Indian almond leaves and his tail is much better now.
He's in a 60x12x12 heated tank which has wood and live pants on lava rock. I change his decor every now and then and he has a Nerite snail in with him, but I do think he gets a bit bored. I was wondering if it might be possible to have a few fish in there with him. I was thinking about ember tetras (6 of them). I would be there to keep an eye on things and they could go into the main community tank if Barquentine didn't tolerate them.
What do people think. Should I try the tetras?

fishcake76 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 31, 2015, 07:20:05 PM »

Quote from: Diz1 on January 31, 2015, 03:11:41 PM

He's in a 60x12x12 heated tank which has wood and live pants on lava rock.

WOW!!! I've never heard of live pants are they a new kind of crustacean or something!!!!

FC76

Diz1 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 31, 2015, 07:25:40 PM »

Yep. New species - try eBay!

Sue · « **Reply #3 on:** January 31, 2015, 09:17:22 PM »

You could try ember tetras - one of the less nippy species, not to big to threaten a betta and not so small they'll trigger his "food!" reflexes.
But keep an eye on things. Betta's can see new fish as invaders to their space and attack them just on those grounds. Barquentine could accept them or he could try to see off the invaders.

Or try one of the dwarf cories.

Diz1 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 31, 2015, 10:05:46 PM »

HI Sue and thanks for the advice.
I did think of dwarf cories, but I've got a coarse gravel substrate, so didn't want to risk their barbels. The tank is on my office desk, so right in front of me and there's no way I'd miss any aggressive behaviour. I'll keep the QT tank going so they can be whipped out again if necessary before going in the main tank.
Any other species you can think of that might do well in the tank?

Sue · « **Reply #5 on:** February 01, 2015, 10:26:01 AM »

Depending on the size of the tank, harlequins or one of their smaller lookalikes (Trigonostigma espei and T hengeli) can be housed with a betta. Harlies are very peaceful and not brightly coloured. But they need a bigger tank than embers.
Some people have had success with male endlers. They may be brightly coloured but they don't have a guppy's long tail.

Diz1 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 01, 2015, 11:02:00 AM »

thanks Sue,

I've got very soft water, so Endlers are probably not an option. What about CPDs? Having said that, I'm happy with Ember tetras if that's the wisest choice

Sue · « **Reply #7 on:** February 01, 2015, 11:19:22 AM »

In theory cpds would be fine. But they are shy fish and I'd worry they'd spend all their time in hiding with a big fish in the tank.

Diz1 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 01, 2015, 11:28:02 AM »

Thanks Sue,

The CC doesn't really give me an option for Harlequins because of their size. it reccomends a group of 6, which would put my stocking level at over 100%. Think I might go with Ember tetras then. My thinking was that a group of six Embers would be more confident together and that Barquentine couldn't chase all 6 at once, therefore when he got used to them and settled down, they would all be fairly confident in the tank.
I did also think about getting a couple of larger fish instead (no idea which type), but thought they might be more of a target for Barquentine and that the larger size might make him more inclined to see them as rivals for his territory and cause him to be more aggressive.

Sue · « **Reply #9 on:** February 01, 2015, 12:15:00 PM »

The problem with bigger fish would be finding a species that didn't need a shoal and would get on with a betta. On paper, honey gouramis look like a possibility but gouramis and bettas should never be kept together.

I've always kept my bettas with just snails because of the problem of choosing tank mates.

Diz1 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 01, 2015, 12:31:43 PM »

Thanks Sue,
I know what you mean, and I'm still not sure whether I dare to add anything other than a snail to the tank (which is already in there). I'll keep thinking about it for a while before making a final decision.

bferg4 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 01, 2015, 12:43:13 PM »

I keep my betta with some cories and they seem to get along fine.

Diz1 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 01, 2015, 12:50:56 PM »

Hi bferg,
From what I can gather, it seems to be down to individual temperament as to whether or not a betta will accept tank mates.
I'm not sure how chilled my Betta is. He's around 6 months old and hasn't started building bubble nests or anything. he doesn't seem to flare much, even when I show him his reflection in a mirror. He's also right next to my community tank, so he can see the other fish through the end of his own tank, but he doesn't seem to react to them much.
All of this leads me to suspect that he's not overly aggressive – he's also fine with the nerite snail in his tank – which is why I thought I might get away with adding some fish. I can't go for cories though because I've got a gravel substrate. I'm just not sure whether my nerves are up to the stress of taking the chance of adding some Ember tetras!

Diz1 · « **Reply #13 on:** February 07, 2015, 06:35:46 PM »

Hi everyone,

Latest update on Barquentine. I've decided to set up my aquanano 40 tank to give Barquentine some more room and to enable me to get him some tank mates. I decided that I would try him with some cories, so I've set the tank up with some silica sand and I'm picking up 3 Pygmy cories next Tuesday.
The plan is to use mature media from my established tank. I'll keep the cories in the aquanano for 2 weeks, then add 3 more. Barquentine will stay in his own tank until all the cories are settled, then I'll move him in. His tank will then become my QT tank. If he doesn't get on with the cories I'll move him back to his old tank.

So, my question is about maintaining a sand substrate. I've got some wood, a silk plant and a little cave in the tank and I might put in a crypt on some lava rock. I know I have to siphon just above the surface to clean the sand, but how do I prevent the gas pockets from building up? I presume the sand has to be churned up, but how often and with what?

Any advice gratefully received.

Diz

Sue · « **Reply #14 on:** February 07, 2015, 06:45:31 PM »

I have sand in all my tanks and I do nothing to churn it up. Though I admit that because I don't have plants rooted in the sand it isn't very deep.
If you are worried, you could get some malaysian trumpet snails which live mainly in the substrate. If you had room for larger cories, they would churn the sand as they sift through it for bits of food. But my experience with pygmies is that they don't do that, perhaps because they are so small that even sand grains are too big.
Or you could just stir it up at the end of a water change after you've siphoned the debris off it.

You will suck sand up with the siphon, there will be less as you get used to it. Just pour the water out of the bucket slowly so as not to tip the sand out, wash it with a bit of tap water and put it back in the tank. The amount of tap water left after washing the sand is negligible and there will be virtually no chlorine going in the tank. I do this at every water change.

Diz1 · « **Reply #15 on:** February 07, 2015, 07:14:41 PM »

Thanks Sue

I did think about larger cories, but suspect the tank wouldn't be big enough.
I'll probably just churn it up at the water change then. That wouldn't be unhealthy for the fish would it?

Sue · « **Reply #16 on:** February 07, 2015, 07:20:16 PM »

There will be debris getting down into the sand so stir it gently. The trick is to free any gases without sending muck up into the water. You should have seen the muck in the sand when I moved everything from the 125 litre to the 180 litre last year

Diz1 · « **Reply #17 on:** February 07, 2015, 07:40:06 PM »

Ok, I will nervously stir when I do my water changes and hope for the best!

Diz1 · « **Reply #18 on:** February 11, 2015, 02:57:08 PM »

Well the Pygmy cories didn't happen. When I got to the owner, she could only find 1, so I left it. Instead, I've bought 4 Sterbai cories, which should be ok in my Aqua nano according to seriously fish. I'll get 2 more in a couple of weeks, so will have the recommended group of 6 before I add Barquentine.
My questions are now around feeding. I have Hikari sinking algae wafers for my BN (though all the other fish in his tank love them too and I have to drop 3 in so that I'm sure he gets some). Will the Sterbais be Ok with these? I also feed frozen daphnia and bloodworm and I drop in courgette and cucumber for my BN. Will the cories like these as well?

Diz1 · « **Reply #19 on:** February 11, 2015, 03:07:40 PM »

*EDIT*

Do they also need bogwood like a BN does?

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Tank Mates For Barquentine

Tank Mates For Barquentine

Author Topic: Tank mates for Barquentine (Read 20237 times) 41 replies

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