I have a Male Betta and I'm thinking about getting him a tankmate.?

Question

See I want a tankmate for him, but not really to play with or to keep him company, I kinda want something that will help keep his tank cleaner, like by the day or day and a half after I clean it, it gets kinda nasty again, I have a filter with no heater in a 1.5 gallon tank.

Answer 1

The only thing that would fit in your tank would be a snail.

Answer 2

What ever you do DONT  get another betta fish. they are trained to kill anny other beta fish in the same tank as there own. evey week just put him in a cup of water and clean his bowl. that way it wont get dirty

Answer 3

Don't ever put another male Betta with another they will fight until the other is dead.

Answer 4

what you really want is a cory catfish. they only get about 1.5 inches and get along with everything. and they clean the algae. good luck

Answer 5

The only thing that will really fit comfortably into a tank that small and will eat both leftover food and algae on the sides of the tank is a snail.  I'd suggest an apple snail.  They reproduce sexually, so you don't have to worry about a snail infestation and if the betta tries to get aggressive with it, it can just duck inside its shell and hide.  

However, this doesn't really address your problem.  The reason your tank water is getting murky is not because the water is dirty.  What you are seeing is cloudy water from a bacterial bloom, because your tank is trying to cycle.  Here's what happens:

In any fish tank, the fish produce waste (pee, poo, uneaten food, etc.) the waste breaks down and produces ammonia.  Bacteria grows to use the ammonia and produce nitrites.  Then other bacteria grows to use the nitrites and produce nitrate.  Once there is enough of both the 1st & 2nd type of bacteria in your fish tank that there is no more ammonia and no more nitrite present in the water, but only nitrate being produced, the aquarium is said to be "cycled".  As both ammonia and nitrite are very toxic to fish and nitrate is much less toxic, it's important to let your tank cycle.

Every time you clean your betta's tank, you are killing all the bacteria.  Then when you put in the new water and add the betta, the bacteria starts to grow again.  All the madly growing bacteria, trying to deal with the ammonia produced by the betta is what is making your water look "kinda nasty".  It's happening so fast because your tank is so small.  Also, every time it happens, your betta gets a big dose of ammonia and is stressed and probably damaged.  What you need to do is this:

1) Get your betta a heater.  He's a tropical fish and needs to be kept at 76-80 degrees F.

2) Don't change all the water in his tank.  Just use some kind of a suction device to suck up the gunk at the bottom of his tank and change 20-30% of his water at a time.  You can use a gravel vacuum or a piece of air hose or a turkey baster.  This will prevent all the good bacteria in his tank from being killed every time you clean his tank.  Your filter will clear up the murky water if you give the bacteria a chance to settle.

3) Get your betta bigger tank.  1.5 gallons is really too small for him to be comfortable.

Answer 6

a good friend would be a heater

bettas like being alone

Answer 7

First things first - swap the filter for a heater. Bettas are tropical fish, and need temperatures between 76-80 degrees or they'll be sluggish and lethargic, not to mention be at a greater risk for diseases. Filters are used to cycle a tank - since a stable cycle is nearly impossible to obtain and maintain in such a small tank, it's pretty much useless.

Second of all, what are you cleaning the tank with? If you're just dumping out the water and re-filling it, you aren't cleaning the goop off the sides and bottom of the tank. That could be your problem. Get an aquarium scrubber (you can find them at any pet store) and give the tank walls and bottom a good scrubbin' and a spray with hot water during each water change. Never use soap or any other cleaners when cleaning a tank, however - even the tiniest amount left behind will kill your betta.

Third, there are only a handful of acceptable betta tankmates, and quite frankly, most of them would require you to get a bigger tank. However, I've included a great link to an article about all good, bad, and possible tankmates for bettas.

Good luck!