Almost bought a marine betta

[Bent]

My LFS had a good looking, large specimen for 65.00.

The problem is, I already have a good amount of large fish in the 75 already.

A Kole tang, a large male lyretail, a one spot FoxFace in QT, a flame hawk, an engineer that's about a foot long. Also a mandarin.

Did I make the right choice? I just bought some corals and left. I'm regretting not getting him, but I was afraid it would be cramped in there after everyone got put in.

[ReefsandGeeks]

I'd say you did the right thing. You can always get one at a later date or a smaller one if that's what you want. Personally, I try to make it a point to not impulse buy fish, because every time I go to the LFS, if I were to buy the fish that I really wanted, but didn't initially intend on buying, than My tank would be full of fish, and an empty wallet. not to mention you can only fit so many fish. I do the same thing and compromise by picking up coral frags and inverts instead.

[scooter31707]

Yes, not only are you at max load, the Flame Hawk and Mandarin may have been dinner.

[Bent]

I'd say you did the right thing. You can always get one at a later date or a smaller one if that's what you want. Personally, I try to make it a point to not impulse buy fish, because every time I go to the LFS, if I were to buy the fish that I really wanted, but didn't initially intend on buying, than My tank would be full of fish, and an empty wallet. not to mention you can only fit so many fish. I do the same thing and compromise by picking up coral frags and inverts instead.

It wouldn't have been a impulse buy per se. I've always wanted one. But after seeing just how blasted big that this is...I'm not sure now.

[GimpyFin]

Even with the fish you have, I probably would've bought him. One of the best fish choices I've made. Mainly because they're quite peaceful and like to just hang out and chill most of the time. Mine's pushing about 7 inches now and my tank isn't much bigger than yours. He hangs out in his cave a lot of the time, but watching them come out and just glide around is pretty cool. I've never seen or heard of them going after fish, but some may go after shrimp.

[nereefpat]

I don't see any compatibility issues either. Is the foxface the rescue fish? Will it make it to the display for sure?

It's probably good that you left so you could at least sleep on it. I might do it if I were you.

[FullBoreReefer]

You already have larger and more fish than my custom 90gal.

Good choice IMO

[Bent]

I don't see any compatibility issues either. Is the foxface the rescue fish? Will it make it to the display for sure?

It's probably good that you left so you could at least sleep on it. I might do it if I were you.

Yeah the FoxFace is the rescue. I'll probably keep him. He's doing great and really putting on weight. I'm starting to really like him, and I won't get another for free unless another sickie comes through the shop. He's really pretty and it's cool the way he hides and changes color. I didn't know they did that.

[Bent]

Even with the fish you have, I probably would've bought him. One of the best fish choices I've made. Mainly because they're quite peaceful and like to just hang out and chill most of the time. Mine's pushing about 7 inches now and my tank isn't much bigger than yours. He hangs out in his cave a lot of the time, but watching them come out and just glide around is pretty cool. I've never seen or heard of them going after fish, but some may go after shrimp.

My flame hawk has already laid waste to the porcelain crab population that I used to have.

[BlackTip]

Your tank is already over crowded.

[ThRoewer]

I would rather ditch the tang and get a pair of Marine Betta. It's one of the coolest fish you can have, not just from looks but also from behavior.
Though I still think you made the right choice not to take the large one. I would recommend to start with small ones, ideally tank raised. They will grow fast enough but be more outgoing and less shy than large wild caught.
The two I have in my 42 gallon tank are almost always in sight. The smaller one is tank bred by SA and the larger one was was a small wild caught specimen. Within a year both have doubled in size.

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[Lfunnyfarm]

Just bought a Marine Betta. It is a little over four inches long counting the tail fin which is over an inch itself. I watched him eat ghost shrimp in the LFS before I said "bag him up".

I am restocking my tank. I made a list of what fish I would like to have and prioritized them. I thought it best to put in the shy or calm/peaceful ones first. So now I have a Leopard Wrasse (the only survivor of the plague), an Indigo Hamlet, a Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, and the Marine Betta.

It is good to hear the comments from people who have or had Bettas because they are not very common here and I do not trust the LFS people all that much.

[ThRoewer]

I'm at 4 right now:
Two in a 42 gallon tank, the larger one is wild, the smaller is a tank bred from Sustainable Aquatics. In the one and a half year I have them now, both almost tripled in size. They are not shy at all and even take food out of my hand.

Here 2 videos that show them in their tank.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g96K8mzMgHY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QjhXcs19LX8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


Further I have 2 wild ones, the smaller (3") is from Blue Zoo's Collectors choice section and the larger (4.5") from LiveAquaria (QM).
The larger seems to be a primary male and is so far not really tolerant of the smaller, though right now they are only in a 10 gallon QT.

[Big E]

How are these guys in a stocked tank with fast feeders? When I had one in the past he was slow to react and also afraid to even nab food, but there weren't a lot of dither fish.

A LFS years ago had one and he was huge 7-8" and he was out front begging with multiple tangs at feeding time.

[chrisfont23]

I managed to 'squeeze' an 8-line wrasse into my tank about a month ago. I was in the same situation and chose the other path. They aren't too big and all, but due to the rarity of them and price I got, I added it.

[cleverbs]

My LFS had a good looking, large specimen for 65.00.

The problem is, I already have a good amount of large fish in the 75 already.

A Kole tang, a large male lyretail, a one spot FoxFace in QT, a flame hawk, an engineer that's about a foot long. Also a mandarin.

Did I make the right choice? I just bought some corals and left. I'm regretting not getting him, but I was afraid it would be cramped in there after everyone got put in.

The marine bettas don't take up any space in a tank. I had one for a few years and I loved that fish more then any fish and people where always amazed by it. I had a very bold one however that stayed out during the day and didn't hide. Only problem is you can't keep any shrimp at all with them. I tried a few times. Even for a huge cleaner shrimp and he lasted about 12 mins.

As for feeding you need to spot feed them. I fed mine big chunks of shrimp and large krill so that the other fish couldn't gobble it up before them. They are a pain to feed but they are a fish that eats a lot for two days then doesn't care about food at all for a few days after that.

[CafeReef]

I've been thinking a marine betta would be a great fish for my tank once fallow ends (tomorrow!!) thinking small this time, pair of clowns, betta and a diamond goby

[njcastillo86]

I've had my Marine Beta for a little over 2 years now. Definitely go with a tank raised. I got mine when he was a inch long and he was tank raised eating frozen food. I also have since added a Flame Hawk and they don't bother each other at all. All the fish will swim past him to grab food but I broadcast feed and he will find food floating around and grab it no problem so with him I don't have a need to spot feed.

[ThRoewer]

Feeding these guys should never be an issue. They actually will be hunting pods and go after leftovers. They have a rather low metabolism and won't starve easily.
Furthermore, over time they may even learn to take food from your hand. For that you just need to offer the food in a corner of the tank where they feel safe. Long tweezers work well too.
Ideally you would feed large shrimp, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find those as frozen fish food here in the US.

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[mysticobra]

Just my two cents.
Quick.
I had a marine beta for 16 years in a 58 gallon tank tank. Never got more than 4 inches long.
Had him a long time and thinking about getting another.
Richard.

[ThRoewer]

I would not trust on them not growing. All of mine always got to at least 7" total length. Though even at that size they will do fine in tanks as small as a 40B as long as there are enough caves.

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[saf1]

Do they actually have that large of a mouth to eat shrimp (not live/marine skunk cleaner type) over the counter? I'm thinking that is a large piece and the few I've seen (Beta's) are on the small side so trying to picture it is a bit difficult.

Great looking fish though and on my to-buy list once my 240 is up.

[xxsevxx]

Ive had mine for about 8 months now, and hes just awesome. My other fish are a clown, a royal gramma, starry blenny and a goby. I also have a fire shrimp in there with him the whole time and he has never even looked at it as far as ive witnessed.