# 3ft tank - fighter fish



## CornSnakeLover (Mar 8, 2008)

Hi I have a male fighter fish, and hopfuly moving him to a 3ft tank when Im able to get one. I know how to move him etc, I just wanted to know what type offish could he go with, and how many small-med size fish could I get in there etc... 
Thanks for your help


----------



## Trillian (Jul 14, 2008)

While some people do keep SFF successfully in a community tank, I'm a firm believer in keeping the males in their own separate Bachelor Pad to avoid any possible conflict. In general though, avoid any long-finned fish such as Gouramis, Angelfish and Guppies as the SFF may view them as a rival and attack them. Also, no nippy fish like serpae tetras or barbs as they'll nibble the long fins of the SFF. You'd prob be safe with one or more shoals of Neon, Cardinal or Black Neon Tetras.


----------



## RepBex (Jan 17, 2008)

You Could have some small catfish for the bottom of the tank maybe


----------



## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

most smaller catfish and loaches.
larger shrimp (amano, bamboo)
snails
i find that platy's do quite well 
:2thumb:


----------



## _jake_ (Jul 3, 2008)

There is actually quite a large amount of fish that can go with. heres my little list:

Neon Tetra /cardinal tetra & black species - a large shoal, so aggression is evened out
Larger spercies of tetra, such as congo - mostly all tetra species
White cloud mountain minnows
Cherry barbs - peaceful species of barb & attractive
Livebearers - Excluding guppies & long-finned types
All types of snails
Shrimp - ask esfa on species
Maybe even a large amount of females, and plenty of hiding places in that size tank.. i personally wouldnt, but just oppening up opportunitys.


----------



## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

do you have to move the fighter? if you kept him by himself you could put a bigger variety of fish in the 3 foot


----------



## Trillian (Jul 14, 2008)

_jake_ said:


> White cloud mountain minnows...


Their physiology is better suited to coldwater tanks...:whistling2:



> Maybe even a large amount of females, and plenty of hiding places in that size tank.


Not a good recommendation IMO. :bash:


----------



## CornSnakeLover (Mar 8, 2008)

*R.E*

Thanks for the help. I was going to keep to tetras anyways and some corys maybe or clown loaches are cool. I like bright schooling fish.

Yep I have to move the fighter due to it being brought for me, and mother isnt best pleased with it staying in a little breeding tank in her tank so its best suited to move at the moment.


----------



## _jake_ (Jul 3, 2008)

Trillian said:


> Their physiology is better suited to coldwater tanks...:whistling2:
> 
> 
> 
> Not a good recommendation IMO. :bash:


Oh, never knew that lol.. thought they could just tolerate a wide selection of temps.. and if you read the rest of the sentence you'd see i didnt mean you could lol. Gah


----------



## CornSnakeLover (Mar 8, 2008)

*R.E*



_jake_ said:


> Oh, never knew that lol.. thought they could just tolerate a wide selection of temps.. and if you read the rest of the sentence you'd see i didnt mean you could lol. Gah


What do you mean you didnt mean i could ?


----------



## _jake_ (Jul 3, 2008)

_jake_ said:


> i personally wouldnt, but just oppening up opportunitys.


 I wrote it wrong... but, you get what i mean lol


----------



## Boccia-Boy (Jun 9, 2008)

SFF can be kept with quite a large aray of species such as shoals ect ect avoid fin nippers and othe brightly coloured fish that the SFF may mistake,


----------



## Lamprophis (Jun 12, 2008)

yeah basically just avoid any fish with long(ish) fins and with a similar body shape.... so fish such as molly's, guppy's and gouramis... a shoal of female fighters could be cool in there (4+ to even out the agression), along with smaller shoaling fish such as cardinals or neons....


----------



## LiamRatSnake (Jul 3, 2007)

don't get clown loaches. They can get very very big.









I find tetras do well. I've even kept one successfully in a community tank which included guppies and angels, with no losses or damage. The one we have at present lives with various tetras and some platies.


----------



## Aquai (Feb 11, 2009)

You'll be alright with most community fish in a tank this size...

Out of interest what colour is your fighter (i have found in the past the reds to be more aggresive)

There are fish however you should avoid;
Guppies (Can be mistaken for other fighters by your male)
Barbs (not all, but a lot are known fin nippers)
Cichlids (I would not recommend mixing with fighters)
Gouramis/Paradise fish (from a similar family to fighters = fights)

Fish i'd recomend;
Danios
Tetra (Rummynose/Neon)
Rasbora
Corydoras
Dwarf Plecs
Loaches (Sumo/Yoyo/Kuhli)

Have a look on Live Aquaria and post ideas of what you like and i'll be willing to help.

James


----------



## CornSnakeLover (Mar 8, 2008)

*Fish help*

Well my ideal fish tank was going to be a fighter fish, and a couple of clown loaches, 2 small goramis and the rests tetras. Though by the seems of it I cannot do that

My old fighter was a blue, i dont want to make him move tanks again so I will be buying a new one, and un usualy colour if possible. Would I be aloud 2 fancy goldfish in there or is that a no. And could I changed the clown loaches to a slow growing catfish I perfer them to corys or plecs. 

i will send you another email saying the type of fish i like


----------



## Aquai (Feb 11, 2009)

Clown loaches are very slow growing and sell quickly when they get bigger, so as long as you're not going to get too attached i can't see a problem with buy a few (you want at least 4 to see their pack behaviour) however have a look at some of the other loaches i listed as these are more suited to your tank size.

Gourami's is generally a no go with fighters but i have had succes in the past, a lot comes down to the personailty of the fish.

Fancy goldfish is a no go i'm afraid, especially with a fighter.

You will want something to much on any algae you get, so if you're not getting a plec can i at least suggest an otocinclus. Most catfish grow very big, very fast and thus are not suitable unless you have future plans. The only exception i can think of is a Jaguar catfish but these are hard to get hold of and will still get too big.

James


----------



## CornSnakeLover (Mar 8, 2008)

Loricaria Cat thats what I like, 
Buying 4 clown loaches wouldnt leave me with much. So I will buy a catfish or a plec. 

I understand about the Goldfish and goramis I will keep them on stand still etc. My fighter if very laid back and happy with other fish, but got a bit depressed and kept to bottom so put him back into breeding tank and he seems to be happier there. I also like thr humbug catfish, but you dont see much of them in the tank. 

*The tetras I like are:* neons (but people say go for cardinal), rummynose, cold neon, congo tetra

I also think I will go for a crowntail fighter this time, and would he be able to go straight in the tank with the other fish? 

I like a normal platys - but they are diry fish
I like Assorted Pseudomugil Rainbow
As the fighter is going in a box could i have a shark in the water ?
I like Harlequin Rasbora


----------



## Aquai (Feb 11, 2009)

Whiptail cats and humbug cats get fairly big, what's the total volume of the tank?
Yuh clown loaches aren't cheap unfortunately.

Sounds like a good move with the fighter

Tetra wise;
Neons i've never had much succes, to heavily bred now, cardinals seem to have better immune systems but my personal favourites are rummynose's but again not cheap. Again you'd want a school of at least 6 for most tetra species.

You could get some dwarf rainbows, they're great fish and really colourful.

Do you mean a red tail black shark? If so yes, but be aware of potential size. But what do you mean by a box?

Harlequin rasbora, would be an excellent choice, and are a cheap species, again a decent size school is needed.

James


----------



## CornSnakeLover (Mar 8, 2008)

A box is something that keeps the fish thats in the box away from the main tank, they are used for bettas, arrgessive fish and ill or preganent ones. 

I really cant remember the messagemants of the tank, sorry. I was looking for a 3ft but htere isnt on for a good price in my erea. 

I was going with:
crown tail betta X1
Humbug catfish X1 (Can always swap him into the 4 foot tank downstairs)
Congo tetras X6

And these are if I can get any more in etc. 
Harleguin Rosboras
Gold neon tetras
Danios


----------



## davebrum (Feb 12, 2009)

CornSnakeLover said:


> Hi I have a male fighter fish, and hopfuly moving him to a 3ft tank when Im able to get one. I know how to move him etc, I just wanted to know what type offish could he go with, and how many small-med size fish could I get in there etc...
> Thanks for your help


avoid any larger fish or ones that are messy feeders - as Siamese fighting fish need very still water and cannot cope with a large filter current.

If you live in a centrally heated house that stays warm at night, then why not keep the SFF in a half water filled, deep wide topped vase on his own as it does not need to be heated -ad with a few sontes in the bottom and bit of plant mareial cn make an interesting and safge focal point for him (so longas you are sparing on hte feeding then a filer is not needed either).

I used to actually breed mine this way with old glass sweet jars


----------



## Aquai (Feb 11, 2009)

Sounds like a good combo, congo's are lovely, just watch out for any fin nipping =D

You should be able to get more stock in than that, i'd get a bottom dweller other than the humbug just to get any scraps and an otocinclus group or maybe a plec for any algae problems.

James


----------



## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

davebrum said:


> If you live in a centrally heated house that stays warm at night, then why not keep the SFF in a half water filled, deep wide topped vase on his own as it does not need to be heated -ad with a few sontes in the bottom and bit of plant mareial cn make an interesting and safge focal point for him (so longas you are sparing on hte feeding then a filer is not needed either).


i know breeders often heat their fish rooms as it's easier when you have hundreds of males in individual jars but i'm not sure room temp. is sufficient as fighters appreciate high temperatures :hmm:


----------



## Aquai (Feb 11, 2009)

You CAN keep bettas in jars without heating and filtration but imo it's not fair on the fish... Yes these fish live in "puddles" in the wild, but i assure you they are more than 1L capacity.


----------



## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

Aquai said:


> You CAN keep bettas in jars without heating and filtration but imo it's not fair on the fish... Yes these fish live in "puddles" in the wild, but i assure you they are more than 1L capacity.


smallest thing i'd keep one in would be a gallon jar but as afore mentioned that would only be if i was breeding and had a lot of males, and i certainly wouldn't keep them at room temp

look better in a 10 gal planted tank by their lonesome : victory:


----------



## davebrum (Feb 12, 2009)

the sweet jars held about 3.5 litres that i had - no idea what that is in relation to gallons <G>

They were all in an unused bedroom with no additional heating - used to do a lot of Betta species and killifish


----------



## _jake_ (Jul 3, 2008)

Aquai said:


> Clown loaches are very slow growing and sell quickly when they get bigger, so as long as you're not going to get too attached i can't see a problem with buy a few (you want at least 4 to see their pack behaviour) however have a look at some of the other loaches i listed as these are more suited to your tank size.
> 
> Gourami's is generally a no go with fighters but i have had succes in the past, a lot comes down to the personailty of the fish.
> 
> ...


No, No, No, No!. Clown loaches need a shoal, and are quite messy fish. Buying a fish 'just becuase i like them, and will sell them later' is very, very wrong. Have you thought about how the filter would cope?, plus, they arent at all 'that' easy to sell, you need a large tank for a shoal, not many people have them.:bash:



CornSnakeLover said:


> Loricaria Cat thats what I like,
> Buying 4 clown loaches wouldnt leave me with much. So I will buy a catfish or a plec.
> 
> I understand about the Goldfish and goramis I will keep them on stand still etc. My fighter if very laid back and happy with other fish, but got a bit depressed and kept to bottom so put him back into breeding tank and he seems to be happier there. I also like thr humbug catfish, but you dont see much of them in the tank.
> ...


Generally, cardinals arent as inbred/outer bred as neons, and with really good water, you should be able to keep them succesfully. Congo's I personally wouldnt recommend. As tetra's need a shoal, and in my 6' tank, the biggest is 6inches, and for them to reach their potential, I wouldnt in a 3ft tank. The fighter should be able to go straight into the tank, depending on the other fish. DONT put the betta in a 'breeder box' they're inhumane. Keep it in its own tank. Or dont get one at all. Sharks are actually quite peaceful fish. Aslong as it has plenty of hiding places and can make its own terriotry. Platies arent messy fish imo. And Harlequins would be a great choice: victory:


CornSnakeLover said:


> A box is something that keeps the fish thats in the box away from the main tank, they are used for bettas, arrgessive fish and ill or preganent ones.
> 
> I really cant remember the messagemants of the tank, sorry. I was looking for a 3ft but htere isnt on for a good price in my erea.
> 
> ...


Read my previous posts.



Aquai said:


> You CAN keep bettas in jars without heating and filtration but imo it's not fair on the fish... Yes these fish live in "puddles" in the wild, but i assure you they are more than 1L capacity.


I dont like you recommendations, sorry. Keeping a betta in a jar is wrong, you CANT. Its inhumane, end of.:bash:. Betta's dont live in 'puddles' at all, but large rice paddies, that are sometimes seperated, but is never the size of a 'puddle'. I know this straight of, as my grandad lived in Thailand for a while. His friend used to collect them for the pet trade, and he tagged along sometimes. He took pictures of the area they were found.: victory:


----------



## Aquai (Feb 11, 2009)

I think you've misread what i put,reread it, "imo it's not fair on the fish"

Hence why i said it's not fair on the fish and why i said no less than 4 clown loaches, and clown loaches on classifieds sell with days given the right price, trust me, i've been trying to pick them up on there for ages.

As i've said before i would never keep a tropical fish without filtration or heating.


----------



## _jake_ (Jul 3, 2008)

Well dont say it then, you said you CAN. should of said CANT. Plus, 4 clowns isnt enough imo.


----------



## Aquai (Feb 11, 2009)

I said you can cos people unquestionably do it, but if you read it, you'll realise i'm against it . . . Just cos you CAN do something doesn't mean you should


----------



## _jake_ (Jul 3, 2008)

dont post then. simple as.


----------



## Aquai (Feb 11, 2009)

???

Someone asked a question so i answered. A betta CAN be kept in a vase/jar and live etc BUT i feel that it shouldn't be done and am against it. If you didn't understand what i wrote that's perfectly fine, but there's no need to get nasty.


----------



## Sweetcorn (Aug 2, 2008)

Just some clips from our website:

_Betta Splendens are more commonly known as Siamese Fighting Fish. They originate from Thailand and can be found in rice paddies, shallow ponds and slow moving streams._
_ Contrary to what many people think, Bettas do not live in muddy, small puddles all the time. It is only in the drought season that they can be found in these puddles and for most of the year they live in waist deep water. Bettas thrive in planted waters, where they can hide and rest in the roots of trees from the water banks, in reeds and under fallen leaves. This environment provides a good source of natural foods, idea places to breed and only a small current. Therefore we recommend that they be kept in a minimum of 2-3 gallons and do NOT condone them being kept in any type of bowl or ornamental vase._


_As they are tropical fish they need to have heated water, kept at a temperature of 26/27c. They do not do well in cooler water and will become listless and prone to disease as it will weaken their immune system. Not only will it keep them physically healthy, it will make them look really beautiful too. An unhealthy fish will not only be listless but dull in colour, Bettas in appropriately heated tanks thrive, not just survive._


----------



## Aquai (Feb 11, 2009)

Thank you, this is exactly the point i was trying to make.


----------



## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

_jake_ said:


> Generally, cardinals arent as inbred/outer bred as neons, and with really good water, you should be able to keep them succesfully. Congo's I personally wouldnt recommend. As tetra's need a shoal, and in my 6' tank, the biggest is 6inches, and for them to reach their potential, I wouldnt in a 3ft tank. The fighter should be able to go straight into the tank, depending on the other fish. DONT put the betta in a 'breeder box' they're inhumane. Keep it in its own tank. Or dont get one at all. Sharks are actually quite peaceful fish. Aslong as it has plenty of hiding places and can make its own terriotry. Platies arent messy fish imo. And Harlequins would be a great choice: victory:
> 
> 6"?!?!?! what on earth have you been feeding them?!?!
> 
> ...


you can, easily. some bettas dont like larger tanks, and actually fare better in smaller ones. 



_jake_ said:


> dont post then. simple as.


what would be the point of the forum if no one posted?! :|


----------



## Trillian (Jul 14, 2008)

Aquai said:


> You CAN keep bettas in jars without heating and filtration but imo it's not fair on the fish...


Agreed. I rescued my Betta from a petshop where it was being kept in a pint glass of coldwater...:bash:


----------

