[LongTimeAquarist]

Hey folks, it's been awhile since I've been to a forum since I tend to keep to myself most of time so please bear with me. I've been doing aquariums for 19 years now, starting off with a 10 gallon fish tank I bought in a starter kit and March will make it a year since I've upgraded to a 20 gallon tank. From July to last week I've had trouble keeping fish in the aquarium because one day I've just added water into the tank and the fish started to die off. About a month or two later I find out that due to a salmonella scare, the town dumped a bunch of chlorine into the water supply making it lethal for the fish. Now a couple of weeks about I finally found the stuff that would get rid of it. A few days ago, in order to test it in a way, bought a betta from the local walmart and turns out that not only is the tank safe, I have a happy betta.

 

[Romad]

Hello and welcome to the forum :wave:

What was your solution to the chlorine? Assuming you found a good water conditioner that removes it.

 

[LongTimeAquarist]

Something called Sodium Thiosolfate, I got it at a college that teaches AquaCulture and one of the teachers gave me a handful of it. Said use one for every ten gallons, so I used two and it did the job. They also said to try stuff called Aqua Safe which is suppose to be just as useful.

 

[SeaHorse]

Hello! I moved your thread to our "Introduce Yourself" section so you'll get more attention.
Welcome to the forum. We're glad you joined us. There is SO much to learn and we're here to help.
Prime is another excellent water conditioner and can be used at 5x the strength in cases of emergency such as a chlorine dump in your city water. Been there, experienced that myself. It's not fun watching everything die in your tank because of a water change.

Get yourself an API LIQUID testing kit, a thermometer and set up that 10 gallon tank again for the Betta to live in... you got a 20 gallon tank that needs some fish!!

 

[LongTimeAquarist]

I'm going to get more fish for the 20 gallon in February and right now I'm trying to figure out what would be the best fish to mix with a male betta. Right now the betta says hi to me whenever I walk up to the tank. Anyway I'm thinking about adding a plecostomus, a few neon tetras and maybe a rainbowfish or two. Also wondering if I should risk buying shrimp or snail.

 

[SeaHorse]

I'm going to get more fish for the 20 gallon in February and right now I'm trying to figure out what would be the best fish to mix with a male betta. Right now the betta says hi to me whenever I walk up to the tank. Anyway I'm thinking about adding a plecostomus, a few neon tetras and maybe a rainbowfish or two. Also wondering if I should risk buying shrimp or snail.

Well without sounding harsh, it's time to read up on each of those fish! First off, measure the dimensions of your tank. How deep, long and wide is it and keep that in mind when researching fish. A tank too small only creates a situation of overcrowding and high ammonia which will cause fish to die. (Sadly it always ends up being your favorite fish that gets taken).

The Common Pleco grows to 2 foot long so he's out of the question for either of those 2 tanks.
Rainbowfish like groups of 5-7 and require a tank that is 48 inches long... that's a 75 gallon and up. I have 2M/4F in my 75. There is a dwarf variety but I found them harder to keep, more delicate ie harder to keep.
The Betta commonly 99% of the time is housed ALONE. Maybe a snail, shrimps or possibly the Neons.... I've never tried the Neons (with a Betta). (Don't make the mistake of buying a crayfish/lobster type fish... they hunt at night and will likely eat the Betta. I would never add one to my tanks, I value my fish too much. JMO.)
The Betta is a fighter and needs to be housed alone, no other Betta, unless the tank is securely divided. Many keepers here will divide a 10 gallon tank into 2 or 3 parts and keep 2 to 3 Betta. I give my Betta the whole 10 gallons to himself. They DO require a heater so many keepers make the mistake of putting them in vases & bowls sadly. They are highly social and interact with their owners. Enjoy him!! I dare you not to fall in love!!

Hope this helps. Please do yourself a favor tho... DON'T listen to the local fish store when they tell you YES these fish CAN go together, (they only want to make money). If you see something you want, go home and research it, then decide and go back the next day to get it/them.
We all want you to be successful and enjoy your tanks. But the wrong combination can be disastrous and highly stressful. Go slowly!!
Keep us posted, we're here to help!! You said you've had that 10 gallon 19 years?

 

[willow]

hello and welcome
i hope you'll enjoy being here. :-D

 

[LongTimeAquarist]

Nearest pet store is about 2-4 hours away and the local walmart only sells male bettas so I'm ordering mine online. I've done my research and I've also had to make sure that the fish aren't going to break the bank due to my budget. I've had a common pleco in my 10gal tank for 7 years without any trouble, so I know the risks, I'm even considering a clown pleco since they are smaller. I've kept a couple of Boesmani Rainbow Fish for months without trouble, but they died when I had to move to a location because the people who were helping me had things they had to do during the weekend and didn't show up until Monday and they died because I had everything unplugged. I'm considering any kind of tetra, either neon, cardinal or maybe a couple of silver dollars. I've had experience with fiddler crabs and know that they would be a bad choice, as well as the fact that they are escape artists. Had five ghost shrimp before and they were doing well until that time I told you about. Right now I've got a little wish list on the website so that way when the time comes and depending on the situation I can try possible combos.