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With neon tetras and cories not sure which breed yet is there anything else i could keep.
and also the tank i am looking at is a 54ltr not sure what that is in gallons 2ftlong in other words 24" long and 60cm's and it comes with a lid light and heater anything else.
and oh i am wanting some pictures on the various speices i am trying to toss up between the normal and the crown tail is there any others in the family?? The colour i am wanting is the dark blue,purple and also do they change colours like you get a blue and it has a variation or is how they are bred

They say fishes are dumb, because humans need to be smarter in keeping the fishes alive.

how many neon tetras will be in the tank, because if not kept in a school they may be a little nippy towards the betta.

if you are at all concerned about the breed just pick out which you find more attractive. they are about just as hardy as each other and there are a few varieties (ie half-mon tail, crown tail, delta tail) yo should probably just research which breed you want or just see what you like at the LFS. another option would be to buy a female or more bettas. the femals can co habitate amongst themselves or with other tank mates or can live solitarily. also you will get more color choices with females (as you get to choose three fish) but their fins are not as long and are not flowing like the males'. it is often a tough descision. i think 54 ltrs might be about a 20g... but it also might be 10g. i think that if you have about 8 neon tetras and three females in a 10g in theory you should be fine, but you never know. also live plants are a must!!! and if you do get a male floating plants are needed. you will also need a low current as they are naturally from still rice flats. i would say that a male betta or a trio of females would be an excellnt addition to your tank. but i do not know what your tank is like (other thatn it is 54 litres) post more about the tank so i and other FishProfiles users can help you more easily.

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

I'd start with a male betta, then after a couple of months, add about 7 neons, couple of months later 4 corys.

I think you'd be pretty much fully stocked by then.

There are a LOT of different fish you could keep with Neons and Cories (provided they're not unreasonably large, in which case they might be tempted to chow down on the Neons). But I'd be hesitant to keep a male betta in a community tank. In my experience they seem frightened of the other fish and will tend to hide in a corner until they actually starve -- possibly because a lot of Tetras will chew on their long tail fins. (By contrast, female Bettas seem to get along just fine in community tanks.) If you want to keep a male in the tank, I'd keep him in one of those little plastic boxes that hang on the aquarium's rim for Betta display or for protecting fry and other very small fish -- but make SURE you keep its bottom very clean when feeding him. (I lost one of the most beautiful male Bettas I've ever seen last year in the library tank that I keep, because I couldn't be in there every day to keep his enclosure clean and he caught fatal bacterial food poisoning from partially decayed food in its bottom.)

Also, I'd definitely buy Cardinals instead of Neons, given the prevalance of that maddening Neon Tetra Disease. (Some books say they're more delicate than Neons; but if this was ever true it isn't true now -- and NTD is the very devil to deal with, the worst fish disease by far that I've ever encountered, and extremely common now in store-bought Neons. Also, it kills not only other types of tetras, but other kinds of fish in general. Cardinals, being still wild-caught, almost never carry it.)

Finally: 1 gallon is roughly 4 liters, so you're talking about a pretty small tank. DON'T overcrowd it.

Yeah, a 15ish gallon tank like yours will probably only be able to hold like 6-8 Neons MAX (Maybe only like 6-7 Cardinals). I wouldnt suggest a male betta with the tetras, as the nippiness could be overwhelming. And also, i wouldnt put it in one of those breeding traps, no matter how much you wanted it. It could build up toxins, bacteria, waste, and much more, sooo quickly. If it has holes connecting the tank with the container, then that might be ok, but, it dosent give the betta much more room to swim, and essentially making it a lethargic fish. And it might not look as good as it would in the tank.

Hope you make up your mind, and have fun!


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Yes, some tetras nip, but cardinals are usually fine and generally healthier than neons, at least IME. Small Rasboras are a better bet though, with a betta. They like the same water qualities. Perhaps harlequins or, if you can find them, dwarf/pigmy rasboras. The dwarf/pigmy is about the same size as a neon.

The key to a happy betta in a community tank is to keep him with peaceful, non-fin-nippers that are smaller than he is. I've had great success with bettas in community tanks when keeping this in mind.

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Now the cories which one would be better a panda or a leopard???
I know they love being in a school i was thinking a pearl gourami but i have heard nope lol so wont go there i was thinking guppy but nope wont go there..
Harliquins and rasboras me is going to do a check on those and also i have to bare in mind the types we get in nz. i am still to check the avaliblity of half moon bettas they are beautiful. esp the black ones anyone has those ones?? And also tommorow i am to arrange my room to accomodate and also when i get the tank i will be doing a fishless cycle how long will it be to get the temperature and also what sort of thermostat stick on or one that is on the inside or both??? the filter will be an internal.

They say fishes are dumb, because humans need to be smarter in keeping the fishes alive.

nowadays they make themometers that have a probe in the tank and a digital face mounted to the outside of the tank. thsi can give you an accurate reading as well as many can be set to alarm if the water gets out of the desired temperature range. i usually use the floating thermometers they sell with a suction cup attached. these are cheap and are pretty well accurate. the fishless cycle can take any amount of time and you can tell when it has an ammonia spike. you will need a water test kit to monitor this to tell when this happens. you can speed up the cycle by buying a few danios or feeder fish and putting them in the tank. they may ot survive but they will help to speep up the cycle. also you can buy fishless cycleing products such as CYCLE. it is a liquid additive. it really helps to speed up the cycleing period.

it is all really up to personal preference (and the money you have available).

the corries should also be added last as they are the most delicate and they need a nice stable tank with algae and bacteria. also research their water conditions as i have heard they are tricky to keep. if you are getting them for their ability to keep the tank clean, try some mystery/apple snails. they are great grazers/scavengers and come in a variety of interesting and beautiful colors. if you chose to use snails you could probably add more to your tetra school or add another school all together.

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

We have a product in Canada called Stability that I have found to be much better than Cycle. It's made by Seachem in the USA. I don't know if you can get it in NZ, but, with luck, you'll be able to find one or the other.

Panda cories are darlings and generally grow up to be a little smaller than Leopards, so, as far as "fit" goes, are a good choice, although either will be happy with your betta. Leopards tend to be a bit hardier. BTW, there are three different cories that are commonly sold as "Leopard" where I live, oddly enough.

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Thanks for that i will get a themostat for the outside and one for the inside.. And for stability we dont have that as we have cycle instead...
When using chemicals for the tank i have cold water so i know i can do a bit of guess work and things are fine.
but do i have to be more accurate with the tropical tank at all and btw i have now got a space for the tank to go and with it having a light do the trops need light on 24/7 or can i turn it off at night and back on in the day or dull day?? i have a light with the cold water tank but dont need it
And i have a few snails for the coldwater tank already coneshell and ramshorn can they be adapted to live in the trop tank i know the ramshorn can but the coneshell. And last of all the gravel what type of gravel is the best.

They say fishes are dumb, because humans need to be smarter in keeping the fishes alive.

gyspy any kind of gravel will be fine just make sure it is an earthy color and is from an aquatic store... or is aquatic safe... you might want to warm up the cold water before putting it into the tropical tank when doing water changes and the "coneshell snail" is probably a malasian trumpet snail or MTS and they ramshorn and the MTS can be put in a tropical tank as long as thy are properly acclimated. i would say a drip acclimation would be best, but maybe try floating then poking a few holes in the back so the waters can equalise. the light should be turned off during the night and turned back on in the daytime. make sure they get at least 8 hours of dark! and thats seems to have covered all of your questions! post pics soon of how your tank is coming along. also dont forget the plants!

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Lights are best on a timer (about $10 from a hardware or department shop) and 12 hours on/12 hours off is fairly normal, though you can also do 10 hours on and 14 off. Fish need a period of darkness so it is best that the light is not left on 24/7.

There are plenty of types of bettas, and if you can find a breeder you should be right to get something in the colour you want. Some fish will change colour, but only if they are bred with the marble gene. Most stay the same colour all through their lives. Purple is *very hard* to breed for, but dark blue is easy and copper can look purple.

They come in lots of different tail types. I'd avoid crowntails and halfmoon tails in a community tank. Veiltails, spadetails, plakats and females of any type should be OK. Females come in exactly the same colours as males so don't worry about having a boring brown fish. I'd go for a female over a male mainly because the filtration in those all-in-one tanks is fairly hefty.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Yes seem right i have covered all of my questions. I have a space for the tank.... Now the money to get the tank and taking it from there... And well i now know someone where i can get some fighters from and was told i can have some females in with the males they sort the order out... And the rule of the thumb as long i have schools they wont bother each other too much.

They say fishes are dumb, because humans need to be smarter in keeping the fishes alive.

Sometimes a male can be kept with at least 3 females. SOMETIMES. But be prepared to rehouse the little guy on a moment's notice. The females will work out a pecking order, which can change from time to time. But a randy male can wear out his female counterparts very quickly. An aggressive male even more so. A 54L tank doesn't give the girls much space to get away from a male, so I'd really advise against it.

Also, for gravel, if you decide on a few little cories, make sure the gravel is fairly small and rounded, so that their little barbels don't get worn down from foraging around in rough gravel.


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Ok so i'd be better with one male ok here is the list of fishes i am thinking of putting. Let me know which ones the most compatable and easier to look after so i can shorten my list. These arent all together but the list i have in mind

Half moon siamese fighter.
Guppies
Pearl gourami
Angelfish
Cardinal tetra
neon tetra
Panda corie
Leopard Corie
Bristlenose Plec

So who in this list can i put in

They say fishes are dumb, because humans need to be smarter in keeping the fishes alive.

Be very careful with the HMs. Be prepared to pull it out of the tank if necessary, as they can have difficulty swimming against the current of the all-in-one tanks and end up plastered to the side of the filter intake.

I would probably try to pick between guppies and bettas because although they are generally compatible, both can be a bit nippy. Both have very tasty tails

Angels won't fit in your tank, they get quite large. They are also grumpy and wouldn't play nicely with bettas or guppies.

Pretty sure the pearl will be way too large also, and the rule of thumb is that mixing different species of labyrinth fish is not a good idea. I'd give that a miss.

All tetras are fine and dandy. Have you looked into black neons?

I'd be hesitant to put the cories in, because you'd need at least 3 for normal behaviour and the tank will be fairly well stocked with other things. Either species would be OK IMO, but I'd consider kuhli loaches instead.

Pass on the plec unless you really need one for algae control. They are messy.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

I agree with Callatya that you should skip the Guppies, Pearl gouramis, and Angelfish. I also think that any pleco will be too large for your tank.

The most you should consider, IMO, would be one male betta, 6 Neons, and 4 Panda cories, at the outside. If you'd prefer a larger tetra or a large cory, then go with tetras or cories, but not both.

Although I've never kept them, I think that kuhlis would get too large as well. Chain loaches would be great, in place of cories, but they're hard to find and very expensive.

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Thanks guys now lol i also have on my list another cockatiel which i have been wanting to get for ages then to put aside 200 for the tank then it will be going uphill from there.

They say fishes are dumb, because humans need to be smarter in keeping the fishes alive.

Hey is coloured gravel is ok to use??

They say fishes are dumb, because humans need to be smarter in keeping the fishes alive.

Colored gravel is fine to use. Some of the cheaper kinds have the paint flake off which can cause issues. Make sure what you buy is actually aquarium gravel (and not something for flower arranging) this tends to last longer.

^_^