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Anonymous
Question about a small aquarium I want to set up:

10 Gallons, planted
1 (Very-Nice, Non-Pet-Shop) Betta
5 White Cloud Minnows

My concerns:

Is the tank overstocked? Especially considering that the tank will be planted. So "10 gallons" would turn into significantly less after a bunch of dirt and whatnot is added.

And are 5 minnows a large enough school to keep them happy? The alternative to either of my concerns, of course, is just going with the solitary betta.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
>> Anonymous
overstocking impacts both water quality and oxygen levels.

The betta can live by gulping air from the surface, so don't worry about that. The clouds like being in a tight group, so space to move isn't an issue.

You should be fine, but if you're worried, just be sure to keep an eye on ph, ammonia and nitrate/nitrite levels, and if you're worried about oxygen, put in a fine bubbler.

I wouldn't put all the fish in at once, as that would cause a spike in ammonia and you could lose them all.
>> Anonymous
10 gallons planted might be pretty crowded, especially once the minnows become full-grown. A well-planted aquarium might help keep the water quality stable but you'd still have to watch for aggression. It would suck to have your fancy betta's fins nipped to shreds.
>> BitterAnon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>244201
I'm pretty sure this has some bad advice in it. OP should keep an eye on PH and amonia and all of that and shouldn't dump everyone in at once, but the rest..

I don't think its a good idea to put a beta in with minnows without a very large tank and lots of places to hide. I would suspect that either the minnows will nip the fuck out of the betta's fins or the betta will eat the minnows.
I would suggest you go betta only, with some plants, as it would be win. While yes, betta are labyrinth fish, they do need filtration and a good amount of oxygen in the water. Having plants should provide that. Please don't expect the betta to eat the plants, however (if you got a breeder and not petstore beta you should know this and you should also ask said breeder's advice regarding keeping it with minnows)
>> Anonymous
OP here.

Thanks for the thoughts, guys. I've been keeping fish for about 20 years, so I have a pretty good handle on all the general dos and don'ts; I've never kept a betta though, and never kept such a small tank.

The Betta/White Cloud setup was something recommended to me by an out of town friend who runs a little fish shop; However, to me, it just sounds like it would be a little overcrowded.

I am afraid to keep any less than ~5 or so minnows because I figure that if they are in a comfortable group that they will be less likely to nip at the betta. But some of these posts seem to be relaying back my concern about overcrowding. Perhaps the solitary betta would be the safest choice.
>> Anonymous
My boyfriend has one betta in a 10 gallon and a few plants. He's the happiest fish in the world because he got rescued from that crappy little petstore cup and put in a mansion, so I reccommend just having him alone. Then again betta temperments can range from slightly grumpy to great white shark, so you never know what will happen to tankmates. My boyfriend's fish for example used to have 3 little ghost shrimp neighbors who he chased around and generally terrorized until he ate them all :(