I want to set up an aquarium, please give me good information to help.

Question

I plan on buying a starter kit that comes with filters and everything since I've only kept fish in bowls and gallon tanks that didn't need filters. I'd like to know what type of fish I can keep with bettas (I'm not sure whether I want to buy 3 females for the aquarium or just a male), because I've heard mollies and tetras are good, but some of the information I've read about water quality/hardness needs somewhat dispute that. Could I keep fancy guppies with them, or would the fancy tails cause a male betta to fight them? What kind of plants should I buy? Also, I want a small tank (15 gallon if possible, 20 if not), so I want to buy some Otos since Plecos often grow quite big and also nibble on the plants, so are Otos available in most pet stores? Would it be okay for me to add table salt to the aquarium with all the fish I'm considering? My top choice right now would be getting some neon tetras and 3 or 4 female betta fish. I know that you have to give the tetras dim light and a dark environment at the bottom of the tank, so taping black tissue paper around the bottom of the tank would be fine, right? Would the current of a filter that comes in a starter kit be slow enough for bettas? And one more thing, about how much (estimate) would this all cost me? Thanks in advance for your answers, I know I'm asking a lot here, but I'd be grateful to at least get some of it answered, or get links to websites that can explain some of my questions. I have read up on this but I haven't found anything great.

Answer 1

Great questions...if you want as much information as possible it may be better to break your queries into separate questions/categories.  Then post each one in the forum and follow their progress.  You will also earn more points and give some points to all your best answers!!!

BTW I would go for tetras and danios in your tank.  And a mystery snail and a couple of small bottom feeders.  Do some research on the fish suggested here and also other fish you are interested in to learn more about their requirements (tank size/environment/feeding), habits, compatible tankmates.

Good luck!!

Answer 2

Here is a helpful article on setting up a freshwater tank.

Answer 3

Guppies and male bettas are not good choices together, because, as you mentioned before, the flowing tail of a guppy will cause a male betta to attack. Honestly, in such a small tank, I would not put bettas in with any other fish. Female bettas need a lot of space for themselves, and males dont like any fish that have large fins, so even certain tetras (like skirt tetras) would be a temptation.

Lets say you go with a 15 gallon tank. A good choice would be neon tetras, guppies, and 1 female betta, or another "show" fish, like a single peaceful dwarf gourami. Also, look at female paradise fish.

Since your tank is too small for a pleco, you can look at a siamese flying fox which is a very small algea eater. You can also look at bushynose plecos, which only grow to be about 6''.

You can not use table salt for any aquarium- you need aquarium salt or sea salt.

The kits are usually fairly inexpensive, but the stuff that comes with them is not the best. It's usually better to build your own tank. Also, you can find complete setups in classifieds sometimes that are great deals- try www.craigslist.com, you can usually find slightly used setups for a fraction of the price in the stores, just make sure you clean them!