Disclaimer: I had a negative reaction to this article when I originally published it, but I'd like anyone reading to know that we did A LOT of research before putting any of these fish together and only tried combinations that others had found successful. Our bettas were all female, which often get along well. When we removed our large, unhealthy plant, the fish still had many hiding spots available. We have been fascinated with the process but have never intentionally left any fish in danger, removing aggressive fish and re-introducing them in recommended ways. Finally, through listening to expert advice and then experiencing some trial and error, we have established a harmonious, well-functioning community tank.
I never really thought of fish as interesting pets. They don't do much, and you can't hold them or interact with them like you can with furry animals.
A few months ago, I wrote about our attempts at a betta sorority (See "Our Betta Sorority," July 2021, https://literarylamb.blogspot.com/2021/07/). By that point I'd already realized fish keeping was a pretty action-packed hobby. Little did I know how much drama was still to come.
Our three new girls--Belle, Little Red (Alaina changed her name to Makayla) and Ella--did get along well, just as we'd predicted, coming from the same tank at the store. They were healthy and active ... working as a team to eliminate all the other fish in the tank. The other betta (May) was the first to go, followed by the two male guppies (some bettas can't handle seeing other fish with beautiful, big tails), and then the female guppy, Claquesousette. So, the bettas were left alone with the clean-up crew to rule the roost.
After much debate, we decided to add two African dwarf frogs--Eric named them Marley and Marley.
Fortunately, these guys haven't proved a threat at all--they are dull colored and love the bottom of the tank, so the bettas have hardly even acknowledged them. Eric and I love to watch them shooting up to the top of the water and then back down, especially at bedtime.
Then one of our bettas died (Belle), and we found that our "terrible three" had been so well bonded that the other two went into mourning for her. Ella actually went into hiding and didn't come out even for food. We'd also taken a big, scraggly plant out of the aquarium, so even though there were still plenty of live plants and places to hide, it seemed a bit lonely and depressing with more empty space and so few fish visible.
We wanted to add some new fish to make things more interesting and started thinking about creating a community tank--which (according to Alaina) requires at least five different varieties of water dwellers. We had four, so what could we add? We considered a few different options, but when we got to the pet store, we settled on ... more female guppies, along with a new plant.
This definitely accomplished our goal of livening up Eric's aquarium and drawing out Ella, who started swimming to the top a lot more. Our three new guppies (Angelica, Eliza and Peggy) were very active, chasing each other around in a friendly way. The two bettas seemed to be leaving them alone, too (maybe Belle had been the ring leader?), so we were pretty proud of ourselves for creating a harmonious community.
But, I forgot to mention that the male and female guppies at the pet store had been kept together, and that we found out later (the next day when we went back to get Alaina some guppies, too) that they just "assume that most of the females are pregnant."
I didn't think too much of it, until last night when Janae, Alaina and Eric called me downstairs to see the "baby guppies." There were two (already named King George III and Samantha), and they were so tiny and cute--barely visible, but definitely there!
While we were reading up on what to do with baby guppies, Janae and Eric witnessed Makayla eating King George III in a single gulp. Apparently, bettas, adult guppies and African dwarf frogs all consider baby guppies to be a tasty treat. In fact, some people keep the frogs with guppies to "manage the fry population." (One of our frogs actually looked suspiciously round compared to how we had remembered it, so there might have been quite a feast before we'd even realized baby guppies were there. Or we might have baby frogs coming, too....)
Alaina came up with the solution to keep the baby in our small fish net, suspended at the top of the tank so the little fry could stay in the aquarium but be safe from the snackers. Today, we got a breeding tank: a mesh box that also suspends in the tank but that provides more room for swimming.
So, we don't know if little Samantha will survive--or how many brothers, sisters, or cousins might be coming, since female guppies can give birth up to six months after being around males--but we are learning A LOT about fish.
And I can honestly say, they are at least as interesting as our other pets :)
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