"mslfl" wrote in message
...
I am in the process of moving my male betta to a 2.5 gallon tank from
a 1 gallon tank. I would like to put 2 or 3 fish in the tank with the
betta. The 2.5 gallon tank is filtered, ph 7.0-7.2, low level
lighting - mostly ambient during the day (the tank is in the kitchen),
about 6W from a mini-fluorescent in the evening, with no CO2
injection.

1) What fish would be good to put in this tank with the male betta?
2) What, if any, plants would do well in this environment?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Mitch



Given the size difference between your tank and mine, please bear in mind
that some of the following will not be suitable companions to your betta due
to tank size (gourami and angels, for example) and the others may not get
along with a betta anyway, without having the larger in the mix...

My tank is a 23 gallon, heavily planted (this is important IMO cos it gives
both the betta and the others hiding places within a few flicks of a fin).

It's stocked with:

Two angelfish - one will sneak up on the betta, and both will be sneaked up
upon.
Two pearl gourami - again, both will sneak up on the betta, and be sneaked
up upon.
Harlequins, cardinal neons, what appear to be dwarf flying foxes, khuli
loaches, dwarf pleco: sometimes any or all will fall under the attention of
the betta, but because of the numbers (8-10 of both harlequins and
cardinals, each!) no single individual gets picked on. They tend to leave
the betta alone.

Now, the betta enjoys seeking out the larger fish (angels, gourami) for a
bit of 'sport'. They respect him, but will also have a sneak up on him
occasionally (revenge, I suspect). I also suspect without the larger fish,
he'd be a lot more agressive toward the smaller fish - they seem to not only
hold his interest, but give him a run for his money that the smaller just
wouldn't manage.

Also, the dense planting gives both him and other fish plenty of places to
hang out where they can't be seen by other fish. Very important, imo. I've
tried a male betta in a community tank before, with much less planting it's
never worked out. He can hide away, others can hide away. Less stress all
around.

I'm not sure what I would suggest as tank mates in such a small tank, maybe
a few fast but small fish. I've never seen any of my harlequins or
cardinals nipping at the betta, but then they have a lot of other things to
be doing in the tank (like staying out of the angels way LOL). But whatever
you try, I'd stuff the tank to the gunnels with plants for refuge for all
the fish.

Velvet