# Betta in 20 Gallon Long



## imadinosaur459 (Jan 24, 2012)

I have a 20 gallon long currently stocked with four mollies (all lyre tale) two male and two female, a male sword tail, and a female platy, two corycats, and a pleco.. Would my male veiltail betta be happy in the tank with those fish ? :shock:


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

You are really over-stocked anyway! 
AqAdvisor says you are at 365% capacity.
Pleco's get way to big for that. 
http://aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor.php?...stBoxFilter2=Choose&AquTextFilterRate2=N/A+&A


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## Myrtaceae (Dec 17, 2011)

That's a pretty busy tank already. Swordtails and platys can hybridize, so you might want to reconsider having the together. Male livebearers tend to be somewhat...err...eager, so it's usually best to have a ratio of at least 2 females for each male to avoid stressing the girls out. 

I've never kept plecos because of how huge they get. Do you know what kind he is? Some stay small but most of the ones sold in petstores don't.

Bettas are pretty individual, but I think he'd be stressed out by that much activity.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Sword tails can get aggressive towards betta.
Also, mollies have a really high bioload (the poo/pee a lot), I think they might need a bigger tank ;(


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

Maybe a 40g?


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## TheJadeBetta (Mar 31, 2010)

With what everyone else said. Cory Catfish need minimum 5 to a group. My female gets along great with Lyretail mollies. I currently have four and a balloon.

P.S. What type of Pleco is it?


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Rather than adding your betta, I would definitely boost your school of cories first (make sure they are all the same species!). +1 to what everyone else has said, too.


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## imadinosaur459 (Jan 24, 2012)

MaisyDawgThirteen said:


> You are really over-stocked anyway!
> AqAdvisor says you are at 365% capacity.
> Pleco's get way to big for that.
> AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor


 Thanks for the link!



Myrtaceae said:


> Do you know what kind he is? Some stay small but most of the ones sold in petstores don't.





TheJadeBetta said:


> P.S. What type of Pleco is it?


I've had the pleco for a little under a year now and he is about pinki length.. He's an albino bristle nose. When he starts getting a bit larger I plan on giving him away to some one with a larger tank.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

If he's a bristlenose, he'll be fine (size-wise) in a 20 gal. Those guys max out at 6 inches and albinos usually stay a tiny bit smaller. Bioload is your problem here, rather than size.


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## imadinosaur459 (Jan 24, 2012)

Bombalurina said:


> If he's a bristlenose, he'll be fine (size-wise) in a 20 gal. Those guys max out at 6 inches and albinos usually stay a tiny bit smaller. Bioload is your problem here, rather than size.


If I have a high bioload that means i need more filtration and more water changes correct?


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## Myrtaceae (Dec 17, 2011)

Bristlenose is cool  Everyone here is worried because common pleco can get to be HUGE. A lot of people get sold those without realizing what they grow into.

I'm still a bit worried for the livebearers-- mostly because I try to avoid hybrids. I'd stick with all mollies if you could. If you have a plan for the fry, that's cool too.

Admittedly, I've never kept cory cats on my own, but I have heard from multiple sources that they like larger groups though.

I still would avoid a betta in the mix; I've always kept my livebearers at a slightly lower temp than my bettas anyway.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Correct indeed. Live plants help with bioload too.


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