Today was the day my betta got a friend... or six! I went out and bought six albino cory catfish to be in the tank with my Betta. I was going to put Jaws in with them, and he was fine with them, he just seemed curious, but I'm starting to think he could be getting sick, so I had to remove him to the 5.5 gallon to see if he recovers or if I have to do anything else. So to free up the 5.5 gallon I had to remove my betta Moo from the tank, and he was placed in the "Dip 'N Pour" I bought for transfering fish. and he was in the tank with the catfish, but he could not reach them. After a while some of the catfish came up to him and he didn't flare his gils or react at all.

So after about 30minutes in the Dip 'N Pour I tipped it and he swam out to take a look around. This was the first time Moo has been in the 20 gallon tank and the first time with the catfish. It was pretty interesting because he will swim right up to one and look at it but as soon as it turns around to look at him he swims as fast as he can the other direction.

Anyways, a couple hours later all seems to be going well, nobody has nipped fins and nobody has flared their gils!

I'll see if I can add some pictures later.

Mixed emotions

I have yet to actually start putting fish together and for sure decide upon which fish are going into the tank with my betta, but I'm already stressed out about the entire thing. I just really don't want anything to go wrong! I'm sure something will, something has to, but it's waiting to find out what that is that is stressful to me. On the other hand i'm really excited about it. I'm just proud of myself for trying. If all else fails I will get a goldfish to live all alone in my tank. At least it will be used.

Awesome news!

I gave my filter one last try, and I'm not sure what I did differently, but it works! It's definatly not a top-knotch filter but it works! I am planning to go buy plants and rocks tonight to add into the tank.

I've decided to do a Betta community tank. I've done a lot of research and when one site says a type of fish is good with the betta another says no way in hell, I've decided that it really depends on the betta individually and since I've got two right now I'm going to give them both a try (seperatly of course) with another fish or school of small fish (which is still TBD).

I plan to put them into the tank for a while then introduce my betta Jaws in a breeder to see how he reacts. If he does not react well I will try my other betta Named Cow(.. super creative, I know). Hopefully one of them accepts the other fish. If not I will try another mix of fish completely without the betta. Don't worry, even if the bettas don't work out they will still be cared for, just not in a 20 gallon tank......

ALSO.
I just want to add a negative section to the awesome post to balance it out.

Buying a betta from a pet store is NOT rescuing a fish. You do not rescue a fish by taking it from a small container into a larger tank. It doesn't matter if you're putting that betta into a .5 gallon or a 55 gallon. It is NOT rescue. You are simply making the demand for these fish higher and therefore causing an increased production and overall you are making the situation worse.

So do NOT tell me you "rescued" a betta from a petstore.

You did not.

Problem #1... Already.

I washed then put everything together, the light, the top and the filter. I turned on the light and it works perfectly. I decided to start filling the tank so I filled the tank up to 18 gallons and I put in the filter to test it out and guess what...

It doesn't work.

Yeay.

So I'll be buying a new filter soon along with a few more plants. I'm going to start out with the easiest plants to care for, just to start out. I also need to find decoration that allow little fish plenty places to hide, looks good, and isn't a million dollars. I'm still looking!

Introduction

I don't know a whole lot about fish, but I love to learn about them and I'm excited to start out. I currently have 2 betta fish. 1 in a 5.5 gallon tank and another temporarily in a 1 gallon. I used to own Mosquito fish (guppies). I came home with 3 and 4 years later I had 30. Unfortunatly I do not have them anymore, but I enjoyed them for the many years I had them.

I have a blue-purple Delta Male Betta fish named Jaws. He is currently in a 5.5 gallon tank. My other betta is a Delta Male and he is in a 1 gallon (for now) he is gray with a white spot and the ends of his fins are white aswell he is new and does not have a name yet. Jaws was my first fish in 2 years and boy has he started something. For my birthday my friends bought me a 20 gallon tank after seeing me drool over somebody else's.

This blog will be for me to look back at in a few years... or maybe a few months after and say "Oh man, I was dumb, but I've learned a lot since then!"

I got a used 20 gallon tank yesterday and this blog will be my adventure to starting my first community tank.

Wish me luck!