# Betta Sorority



## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

How many female bettas should i have in a 20 gallon tank?


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

I would say anywhere from 6-10. You could have more but overstocking can be trouble to newer people. Not saying you are though


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

Yes I am more new at this! I plan on making this my summer project in order to cycle everything properly and do everything right


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## wolfiegreen (Jan 23, 2012)

Id start out with no more then 7 to be safe it should be a little easier


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## Jrf456 (Jun 23, 2011)

I'd START with 5-6 after it's cycled and gradually add more girls. I'd say a max of 12, though. Make sure it's heavily planted!


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

Great! I am thinking six bettas for now then. Also I wanted to add in some cory catfish. How many would be appropriate with six female bettas? 

Also would I put the cory in first then the bettas or how would i got about introducing the two different type


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I have to disagree with Jrf. It is much easier to add all the girls you want at once, because every time you want to add a new betta, you have to rearrange the entire tank and cup everybody. It's a pain. Just add all the girls you want at once. 

As for cories, at least 6, but you could have more if you wanted. Just make sure they are all the same species (don't add one panda, one bronze, one peppered etc). 

It is usually advisable to add the non-bettas first, so the bettas don't see them as invaders.


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

I do agree with everything Bombalurina said. Rearranging a tank will be a pain. I hope I never have to, although I might. 

Not trying to hijack but what is a good number for a 15g NPT? 7 or 8?


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

So does 6 cories and seven bettas, does that sound like a good population?


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

In a 20 gallon, that would be fine.


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

What about Balloon Mollies. I would love to add some in the community? If I can should i decrease the amount of the other fish (betta and cory)


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Some people have success keeping mollies and bettas, others don't. They can be nippy and have big bioload. They also live longer, happier lives in brackish water rather than totally fresh, which cories especially can't tolerate.


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

aww bummer they are so cute! 

What about loaches?


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Loaches are great! In a 20 gallon, I would go with kuhlis. I'm going to have loaches in my 20 gallon!


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

So in a 20 gallon tank: 7 female bettas, 6 cories, and 3 loaches?

how does that sound?


Are you starting a community tank as well?


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

Is there something wrong with the clown loaches?


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Clown loaches get way too big and are far too active for a 20 gallon. Plus, all loaches are schoolers, so you want at least 6. For clown loaches, that would mean a 100 gallon tank. Speaking of schools, you could have your 7 girls, 6 cories and 10 kuhli loaches no problems.  The more kuhlis you have, the more you will see of them. Less than 5 and you'll never see them. They'll just hide all the time.


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## scootshoot (Oct 11, 2010)

Yea as other posters mentioned, Clown loaches get huge! 

If you want them to thrive and live to old age, 100+ gallons minimum


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

Okay so I went to petsmart today to buy a heater and I was just admiring some fish. I noticed that they have different types of cories. Can i mix and match or do they all have to be one type. Some were albino, other were called green, and there was one that was black with white dotes I forgot the name


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

I heard that green and albino come from the same family. I could be wrong but I would still stay with the same species. The one your talking about must he the peppered.


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

I think Im going to stick with the cories and the bettas and no loaches. Could I get like 6 albino cories and 6 pepper cories and seven betta for a 20 gallon?


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Yeppers. Make sure the 20 gallon has a nice big footprint, though, because that is crowding the bottom level a little bit.


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

Okay so I am changing my mind again. After youtubing Kuhli Loach I totally want some of those. I understand why You are getting some they are so adorable 

So back to my plan

-7 bettas
-6 cories
-7 loaches

what do you mean by footprint? 

Also with these type of bottom feeders do I need sand or is there certain gravel I can use. I was planting on getting live plants and I heard that it is hard to keep live plants with sand. Is this true or can I have plants with sand?


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## MistersMom (Aug 9, 2011)

10 :d


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Your new stocking plan is great too - I'd even up it to 10 kuhlis since they don't have a big bioload. 

Sand is definitely better because kuhlis prefer to burrow into the substrate. It is ok for live plants if you keep the sand aerated until you get enough root activity to do it for you. Malaysian Trumpet Snails help there.  Alternatively, you can try a soil-based Natural Planted Tank. 

The footprint is the space on the bottom of the tank. For instance, my 5 gallon has a footprint of 17x6 inches, and my 16 gallon has a very small footprint for it's size of 14.5x14.5 inches.


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

Okay so like the depth of the sand you mean make it pretty deep?


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I'd do it shallow-ish at the front, maybe an inch deep, and slope it up to maybe 2, 2.5 inches at the back.


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

Okay cool and I was thinking of doing these plants

-water sprite
-bacopa sp
-java fern 

what do you think? I want it to look very jungle like


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

Oh also if I get the malaysian trumpet snail how many because I dont want them reproducing to become a problem. Do they sell these in petstores or do I have to purchase somewhere else?


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

For any live plants you need a proper light as well. A T8 at 6500K is good enough. It actually makes the difference. If you don't want to buy a new light, I would do low light plants like java fern, anubias, etc. 

Though if you do go higher light, your choices are far greater, sure you can have some high light plants in low light, but with some plants, like ludwigia, the leaves will darken and get a redish color, if you have the right light.

Here is a picture of my tank, it is actually a sorority also. 15 gallon long btw, you can also see some of the dirt. If you do decide to do dirt PM OFL and talk to her, I messed up on mine a bit but it still worked out.


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

wow I love your tank. So excited to set up mine with some awesome live plants. are those floating plants in the second picture? What kind are those it looks really great

thanks for the lighting suggestion. Ill def. be checking that out


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

Oh also Do I add the plants in when Im going to start cycling the tank?


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Have to ask.. is this a 20 long or 20 tall tank? That can make a difference on how many girls you can have in there safely..


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

Hey Myates! The tanks dimensions are 12-1/2"L x 30-1/4"W x 13"H, 20-gal. size. I just have to make sure the measurements match with my Stand back at home. Would this one be suitable with my plan?


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## Karebear13 (Jan 23, 2012)

Hey so I was kind of thinking today that instead of getting the females I would like to have a 20 gallon cycled tank for one male and a community tank. Can I still go with my former plan of 6 cories, ten loaches? Maybe also add some other fish that aren't bottomfeeders? suggestions


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