Tropical Fish Forums

[Picasso Trigger]

I'm getting a new 10 gallon tank and I was thinking either a breeding pair of bettas or some malarbar (dwarf) puffers and some amano shrimp
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Gonna destroy everything I touch

[lenoirj]

Ummm......
I can't read your post!

[milo]

Unfortunately I wouldn't try either of your setups.
1. Male betta can get aggressive and may kill your female.
2. Your amano shrimps will make a taste and expensive lunch for your malabars.

[Jun]

I do not suggest your first idea -- as Milo said, males may kill females, or even the other way around with females killing males. They're rather savage when put together. xDD Unless they are being spawned, which will not happen unless the pair has been properly conditioned and are still of breeding age (which pet store bettas are NOT), males and females should never be kept together.

However, a 10 gallon full of JUST female bettas can be a very beautiful and pleasing tank, although it will need to be closely monitored, especially in the first few weeks. I wouldn't suggest more than 3 for a ten gallon, simply because of territory space (Despite what pet stores say, female bettas both fight and claim territory, just not in the extreme ways males do). I would then add some "dither fish," like a small shoal of neon or glo-lite tetras (make sure they're not too tiny... Otherwise they'll make a tasty snack for your females. x.x), to aid in keeping aggression down by being a distraction to the females. All that said, you'll need to add the tetras first, and then at a later time (a week or so later), the female bettas. When you introduce the girls, then, make sure to introduce them all at the same time. This way they will all have to work out the pecking order and none of them will have an advantage over the others. I warn you, though, female bettas can be hard to keep, because if one is overly aggressive, then your other females are going to suffer and die from infections and wounds. Use good judgement, get females that are roughly the same size, in good health, and keep in mind that if for whatever reason your females don't get along and absolutely can't be together, you will have to separate them and take care of them individually. They are beautiful and very personality-orientated fish, but they can be a handful sometimes.

Good luck in finding a peaceful and successful tank!
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[Kit-Kat]

Well, I think you could do a male betta with some tetras and snails in you tank, or just the male betta. THis is what I would do

1 male betta
6 neon tetras
5 pygmy cories or snails(3 snails or more)

BUt you can just do the betta and the shrimp, but it all depends on your betttas temperment. Some can't tollerate other tankmates and other can, its up to your betta, and add him last.
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Lifes short, so waste it wisely, and eat dessert first!!