Siamese Fighting Fish [betas]

Question
Hi,
  I have had a tank for a while now and it is 61 cm in length 31 cm in width and 30 cm in depth. In my tank i have four guppy a Red-Finned shark a pleko 3 neon tetra and a Temminck's Bristlenose. Th temp of the water is about 75 - 79 degrees farenhight. I have recently been looking at the Siamese Fighting Fish as the are so colourfull and different and i was wondering wether the fish that i all ready have will nip at his long fins and make him distressed at all.  Thank you!

Answer
Hi James,

You are right in thinking that a betta may be nipped in your tank. I recommend you get him a smaller tank of his own, about 1 gallon in size (in any smaller sized tank he will fall prey to bad water quality).

Decorate it with some silk plants (plastic can tear fins), some gravel and he should be happy! Keep the water at 78-82 degrees and he will love it.

A word of caution about your current tank though: this tank is very crowded. A common pleco alone can reach 15 inches, and red-fin sharks grow bigger! If you cannot accomodate a larger tank (50 gals at least), your local fish store may buy the fish or you could give them to a friend with a big tank).

You sound like a person who cares a lot for your fish so I am sure you want them to be happy. And in a bigger tank they would be!

Hope this helps,

Prue