Suspense! Will my betta accept community living? He's in!

[PineSong]

Fingers crossed. I chose today to add him because my schedule will allow me to stare at the tank as long as needed. I floated him in a breeder box for a few hours so he could get the lay of the land, and added him in the afternoon so he could explore and find a good sleeping leaf before lights out.

On the side of safety: he's 2 years old, he's slightly handicapped by having ventral and pectoral fins on one side that are half the size they should be, so he's slower than the average long-finned betta. The other fish in the tank are smaller, faster, younger and more athletic.

On the side of danger: he's a betta. 

So far, he's making rather a point of ignoring the other fish, running away from them if they swarm him in a group. And he's inspecting the gravel like someone is paying him to. No idea what he could be seeing there as I've never kept shrimps in this tank.

I'll be so happy for him if it works out!

[sudofish]

Hopefully it works for you. I don't think mine would tolerate a community. She'd be like "ok who here has read lord of the flies?".

[Streetwise]

I made this move with a female Betta, from a heavily planted 3.5 to a community 16, and it has worked out swimmingly! I think that she enjoys the space and stimulation, and doesn’t mind the other inhabitants. Because of the wood, she has a spot where she can chill and just look into the room.

I think having the Betta as the last inhabitant is the way to make it work.

[PineSong]

On 8/7/2021 at 5:17 PM, sudofish said:

Hopefully it works for you. I don't think mine would tolerate a community. She'd be like "ok who here has read lord of the flies?".

Yeah, I would not even try it with my other betta. He's super alert and even though he's old he flares a lot and I think I would be counting entirely on his long fins to slow him down as far as other fish's safety. I'm not sure if bettas are like goldfish and their fins get longer with age but his tail is ridiculous now. Still, I won't trust it to hold him back so he's destined for life alone. 

[PineSong]

On 8/7/2021 at 5:22 PM, Streetwise said:

I think having the Betta as the last inhabitant is the way to make it work.

I do have other fish headed for this tank when they are out of QT--probably another ten days from now. I thought I'd see if he stakes out territory and if so, put him in the breeder while they acclimate and move some plants around and re-release him. If he stays as mellow as he has been today, I will not be worried. If he gets more snappy between now and then, I may reconsider.