i have had a male short finned betta with 5 kuhli loaches and lots of snails in a 10 gallon planted tank and i haven't had a problem. But few days ago i decided to try to add schooling fish since he was really nice and careless with kuhlis. And decided on cardinal tetras since i heard that they are calm and could be good tankmates for bettas. So i got 10 cardinals and at first my btta didn't seem to care at all was just avoiding cardinals but today i saw some chasing. He doesn't flare at them just chases. Cardinals are fast and my betta cant get to them but he chases them especially around feeding time. At what stage should i be worried or seperate them and what can i do to make it better? (Cardinals dont seem stressed and use the tank really comfortably) ps a video of the tank and fishes
https://v.redd.it/e2ixjebn3gqe1
Posted by PsychologicalAd4037
7 Comments
The tank is beautiful! That being said, it’s over crowded, Can you separate the cardinals into another tank?
cardinals were not a good choice
they need at the very least 20g, and can be very nippy with betta fins
separate them into another tank, or rehome
Sick tank
What a stunning looking fish. Advice from others is very good by the way.
Cardinals not a great choice honestly. Chili rasboras etc would work better. I’ve read cardinals can get nippy
Just observe more , like betta likes to chase away fellow tank mates for space , and for bettas fast paced tetras are perfect since they escape easily , but if betta looks stressed , less active and chasing for majority of time then reconsider
I had researched few months back , before setting my tank , even some types of tetras seem to be aggressive comparatively , so check it once