10 gal and betta

Question
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Followup To
Question -
i have a 10 gal tank and i like to know if i could put my betta in it. i heard from another expert that the betta would slowly suffer and die because it takes too long to get to the surface for air and it's not a community fish.
Answer -
Hi Kathryn;

Bettas can indeed be kept in community tanks. I have had them in 55 gallon tanks and haven't had one drown yet! They are even happier and more colorful that way too. You just have to be careful what kind of fish are with them and make sure the filter flow (and bubbles or whatever) aren't too strong if the betta isn't used to it. What other kind of fish and what filter do you have?

Chris Robbins

follow up question -
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in my 10 gal tank i have a Whisperer (30 i think) filter that came with the tank. i think the current might be a little strong. i also have a Blue Ram, Golden Ram, Angelfish, and cory catish (all young). i'm not sure if Ram's are fin-nippers or not. should i just put my betta in it and keep an eye on it?

Answer
Hi Kathryn;

You could try it, but rams and angels are cichlids and they can be fin nippers, so watch them all carefully. Bettas can't move very fast with those long fins so they are easy targets. The angel will get pretty big for your little tank too. Just their body size without fins gets about 4 inches long. They really need at least a 20 gallon. That's another idea too. Move the angel and rams to a larger tank and use the 10 for smaller fish like platies, neons, cory cats, etc.

There is a do-it-yourself device to divert the flow of power filters you can try if it seems to move the water too fast when you put him in the tank. Here is the link;

http://www.petfish.net/currentkill.htm

Followups welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

Come on over and join us on the freshwater fish forum at About.com to get even more information too;
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/questionsanswers/a/naavigateforum.htm

My member name is ChrisR62. See You There!