Well, I really didn't want to bring the betta home without learning about their needs first but I didn't want someone bringing him home, he has so much spunk and he is gorgeous! So... last night I bought the Betta, a bowl for him, and some extra gravel. I stopped by my mom's a grabbed some betta bits from her. Well the good news is he isn't dead yet... but I want to make sure he will be ok in my current setup. I have a couple pictures up on my webspace of him, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post the link?

My question is, should I attempt to put him in my aquarium with my big goldie and a few small rosy reds, 2 baby comets (all only about an inch or so) and 2 crayfish (which are about to head out to a nearby river) I'm overstocked in my 20 gallon, I know, but I have yet another free 20 gallon on the way and I will even it out. The Betta is fairly active and aggressive. He flares up when I look at him in his little bowl. He is really pretty and I don't want to lose him!

Any other tips and whatnot are definitely welcome! (sorry for the long post)

Make sure he has someplacee to hid, especially if you try puttng him in with the other fish. I housesat (fishsat?) at a place that had 5 3-5 inch goldies and a beautiful betta all living in the same tank, and there was a sunken ship in the middle of the tank that he fit into, but not the goldies, so he could take a break from everyone and destress. My new little guy is by himself, but he still has a teracota pot to hid in. I only know this because other people here have mentioned the hiding place thing on this site (thanks all!)

Good luck with your little guy!!

I would not put him in with the goldfish. I tried that when I was a kid, and the goldfish killed the betta.

The betta may also attack and nip the goldfish fins.

Can you get a 2-5 gal tank for him? Or even a large bowl or jar? If your house is warm, he will be warm enough.

Jessica

My room is very warm... the house I live in lacks central heat and air, and I live in Florida... so yes, the room stays fairly warm

He seems happy enough, he eats all the food I give him about 3-5 small granules of Betta Bits 2 times a day. I put a small sprout of Amazon Sword plant in with him and he seems to hang out around that. I'll put the links to his pictures, shame on me if I'm in the wrong for doing that...

here he is flared up at me for taking his picture:
http://www.thelonelytree.com/random/DSC01100_sm.jpg

here is another of him just hanging out:
http://www.thelonelytree.com/random/DSC01101_sm.jpg

bump...

that tank is too small for him. they need one gallon min . i would say a strong no to puting him in your other tank its wayover stocked as it is and bettas dont go realy well with goldies. other than his tank being to small its fine. just make shure u do water changes every other day. battas r hardy but get fin rot easy.

well that bowl is only going to be temporary, like I said he was an impulse decision and that was the only bowl I could afford after I bought him and my big goldie last night lol. I really should have waited, but like I said, I didn't want to lose him to anyone else, I'm really greedy

I planned on changing that little bowl's water about every day or so. Like I said he seems fairly happy, he eats and is active, his fins look beautiful, and I hate to say it, but you should see the little cups we have them in at PetSmart to be sold in It's really depressing...

I post too much in my own threads, but I always have lots of questions lol. Is there a checklist type thing for bettas that you could post here, like water requirements, levels, etc... ? Thanks a ton!

this is a really helpful website on bettas:
BettaTalk.com
also, i don't think you should put the betta in with the goldies. a 2 gallon tank is fine and fairly cheap. the goldies may hurt the betta or vice versa.
your betta looks gorgeous, by the way!! B) also, this reminds me of when i went to NJ Pets a week ago, there was one betta there on display in a tiny little cup-sized bowl. the bowl was very stylish, but the betta was not!! it had about an inch of fungal growth on it!!!

Thanks for the suggestions/tips everyone. I'm also torn abouyt the bettas in my local Petsmart. On the one hand, I would like to rescue them and give them a good home. On the other, buying them just encourages them to mistreat them... *sigh*

Sooner or later, I know I'm going to cave in and buy one.

That is how I felt about the bettas at our local nooppee. I caved in last week, though, and bought Cinnamon. He just looked so pathetic, flopped in the bottom of that horrible cup, in about 1/2" of the yellowest, dirtiest water imaginable. Also, he was the last one on the shelf, and they were due to get there new shipment in the next day or so, so he had been there for at least two weeks.

He is now thriving and enjoying life in his brand new 2 gallon tank ... from rags to riches

If you put him with the goldfish make sure you keep a really close eye on the goldfish and chech his fins everyday. Some bettas can live with goldfish but some don't. Whe I wanted to put my betta with my goldfish I bought a new golfidh, just in case it died, i wouldn't feel that bad. And two days later his tail was really repped up. So I put him in my tank and he got better. Then after a month he died because the ammonia got too high, i think thats why.

I would get him a 2.5 gallon or maby even bigger.
I wouldn't put him in the Aquarium with the goldfish
he will attack them and the water temps arn't the same.


Any way can't wait to see pictures

If You have the room you should get a 10 gallon tank. Many petstores have specials where its liek a starter kit with a 10 gallon aquarium. I'm gonna do that and then get another betta and have a separator. Then you could have more bettas, plus cut down on water changes because you would have a filter.

You know I don't know why they sell the tiny little tanks and call them betta tanks. I mean they are to small. Plus your betta looks like one of my male betta's.

when my daughter was interested in a beta, we looked through the information pamphlet (not online..)
but it was said, that betas in their natural environment live in rice patties, in small mud puddles of water.
it was then reasoned that they like only having smaller amounts of water, for this is their natural habitat, that once all the food is eaten in their little puddle, they flop into the next, fighting and killing any beta there to have all the food.
We also read that larger amounts of space could make the beta nervous, that too much room would stress it out too much.,

we had our beta (this goes back 4 years or so) in a small bowl. maybe a quart of water.
we thought we were doing good by it. and he blew bubble nests and ate the dried blood worms. He grew sick after living with us for a year, with a folding-in-half disease/illness, that i tried very hard to treat. We have not had betas since.

anyhoo...
just as there is mis-information for goldfish and their needs, there is also mis-information for probably any pet out there. Betas included.
But is it mis-information, or does it come down to the care given? (i was told of a goldfish that lived for 8 years in a 1gal bowl, my sister had a 15 year old 9inch goldfish in a 2gal tank.. they must have done Something right?)

had you asked me before i have read here, i would have said that betas LIKE small enclosed spaces with little water.

-Toot

yeah, I was basically told at work that Bettas like smaller areas and don't need nothing extravagant due to their "natural environment". Well... I was fixing to read about bettas and gouramis tonight at work but we were horribly busy and didn't get to read at all... thanks for all the heads up though, I will look into a larger habitat for him and all... he is really spunky I love him! I'll keep him in his own little bowl for the time being, at least until I can afford another bigger bowl for him or even a small 1-2 gallon aquarium for him.

As always, thanks guys & gals

I think they like smaller OPEN areas of water. But not small amounts of water. Put lots of plants in the tank!

I notice he always hangs out under the tiny sword plant shoot I put in there with him... I think I'll snag some more from work I take it they like bigger leaf plants? Something they can hide under?

Yes, they do like the larger leaved plants, and will even lounge on the top of a leaf

Haha yea Marley sits at the top of the tank on a tall plant I have up there and rests his big fins on it!

wow, that's awesome! Now I definitely need a larger tank to get some nice big-leaf plants for him