Male Siamese fighter

[snosball]

Hi, is it advisable to house a single male fighter in a well planted lido 120 which has 2 kribs (m&f) along with cardinals , black neons, cordos and shrimps ?

 

[PARAGUAY]

It could but have the Kribs got territorial? That could be a issue

 

[greying_mantis]

I would avoid. Fighters have very variable temperaments. Some will attack other fish and shrimp. And they are often targets for bullying themselves. If long finned, they are slow swimmers and thus can’t easily avoid being harassed. I‘ve seen tetra absolutely go to town on their fins. Some find busy community tanks rather stressful and become reclusive or even unwell. They also prefer slow moving or still water and shallow tanks that allow them to breathe at the surface without a long swim up. I’m not saying it never works to have them in communities but it is, in my opinion, a gamble at the expense of the fish.

 

[JohnCooke]

Some nice planting there. Agree with Greying Mantis above. If you do decide to try adding a fighting fish, then it will help to first establish some floating plants. These will make the fighter feel more secure. In addition, a fighter without long flowing fins is a safer bet. However, as suggested above, it's a bit of a gamble....

 

[BarrWarr]

Sorry to jump into this thread but I’m after some Betta advice too. I have recently rescaped (well, taken out 80% of the rocks, added bog wood, created a few caves/overhangs and rearranged all the plants) my very low tech 60ltr tank in prep for getting a Betta. The only fish in there currently are three very young platies which I’ll be giving to my father-in-law within the next month.

The question I have relates to the filter flow. I have an Oase filtosmart 100 and I’ve turned the outflow pipe down the minimum but this is causing a stagnant surface on the other side, which has a visible film on it. I think if it was on full, it would be too powerful for the Betta but naturally would give good surface agitation.

What would folk recommend to be the best solution with the flow? I have ordered my Betta so sorting the flow trumps not having a Betta.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Fishfur]

Can the output from the filter be aimed vertically or into a corner or wall?

 

[BarrWarr]

The spray bar is visible on the right - I could turn it round so it hits the wall behind it or remove the spray bar and point the L-piece that it connects to in any direction.

 

[Fishfur]

I’ve had quite good success aiming filter outputs straight up (typically these are from small internal canisters located fairly low in the tank) in tanks where currents need to be gentle but I still want good movement on the surface. Aiming at the corner or a wall as near the surface as is possible works almost as well.

The flow gets spread out which greatly softens its impact on fish but there’s enough surface disturbance to prevent film formation.

 

[BarrWarr]

Would it matter if only 3/4 of the surface was agitated? I've turned the spray bar around to hit the wall behind it and it has lessened the direct flow but the surface at the far end is still stagnant.

Thanks.

 

[Fishfur]

It can matter. I’m fond of tanks that are longer & lower in height & I usually end up having to use a little internal power filter at each end to ensure enough surface movement to keep surface films at bay.

 

[BarrWarr]

I've added an air stone just to cause some agitation at that end and that seems to have things just right now - we'll see how it goes when the betta goes in.