# 20gal or 20gal long for sorority?



## DoberMom (Feb 3, 2012)

Hello, I'm thinking about getting a twenty gallon but I'd like to know what would be better. A 20gal regular tank or a 20gal long tank. One more question: how many females might I be able to house in a 20gal?


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## DoberMom (Feb 3, 2012)

Would a 20gal regular tank work?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

It doesn't really matter.. Longer tanks are better since fish prefer swimming side to side however. But both are pretty roomy.


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## DoberMom (Feb 3, 2012)

ok. Any idea how many betta's could live in it?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Hmm.. With no other tank mates I'm sure you could have around 12 without a problem.. Maybe someone else has a better idea too.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I have a 29 long. I like the long, because bettas prefer shallow and long, over deep and narrow. 

in a 20, you could go with 4-14 I'd say. Just remember, every time you add a couple girls you'll need to take extra steps so they don't get mauled. I have 4, going to be 5, to be put back into the 29 =D I prefer the long tanks for another reason: more ground room for decor and plants!! Means, denser and makes it more fun ;-)


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## DoberMom (Feb 3, 2012)

Ok cool. Would you post a picture of ur tank? Please?


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

once I have it up and running I will post an updated one...sorry for the bad quality =D

first picture was old version of a 20, second picture was newest of the 29... When I can get everything back into the 29, I'll take a picture of that too


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## DoberMom (Feb 3, 2012)

Very nice tanks  I wish I had an example to go off of on how to properly set up a tank made for a sorority. I know lots of hiding spaces but does that mean a lot of plants or a lot of decorations that can be used as caves?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Plants to break the line of sight- so they can't zoom across the tank chasing each other without bumping into something. This will decrease fights.. Caves, girls don't seem to be very fond of caves, some use them, some don't


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Like Sena said, bettas like shallow areas. I love my 20 gallon long. I can easily raise up to 40 young bettas in it. For a sorority of 12 it should work great!


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I add caves, short plants, tall plants, and floating  This allows them to be at any level without being stared down... Savannah is fiesty and I may have a problem with her - but we'll see :lol: Add as many plants as possible! Too much is never too much ;-)


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

Here is my 15 gallon sorority. It is a NPT, so it has dirt in it and live plants. With live plants the density is always changing from trimming. The rule is is look at it from the side, you shouldn't see the other side. On mine I chose to keep the plants back from the glass but have dense cover in the back, I have a front shot that I literally just took and a side shot. Btw the only cave I have is the Buddha head.

Hope this gives you an idea!


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I cannot wait to add more plants haha. It was easier in a regular 20, with floating plants... But in the long tank I can actually add more bottom density without just one cave/rock taking up the space


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

Yeah longs are easier to have dense because with a tall your gonna need some tall plants. In a long it can have more shorter plants, and they usually cost less. 

Live pls.ra are really good to have as you can buy them small and once they grow enough you can add the girls. Another thing is, if you have enough live plants and they grow a lot, your water conditions will be way better. The way I have mine setup, I only have to do a water change every month, but I get rid of all the plant debris, or at least some of it every 2-4 weeks.


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## DoberMom (Feb 3, 2012)

Wow, a lot of good information. And thank you for the pictures  looks great. I'd really like a long tank. I just think it would look better too. I don't think I will be doing live plants because there's just too much that I don't know. I might do a couple of moss balls but that's about it. The rest will be an assortment of fake plants. You guys have given me some great ideas. Thanks!


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

If you want a hardy live plant, java fern :3 I got some. And it grows, and grows and grows...and grows and grows and grows... :lol: I haven't had it die on me yet.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I had five females in a standard 10 gallon/40 litre tank. Then I had eleven or so and it started to get a bit crowded. So I moved mine down into an 18 inch cube, which according to online calculations, is a smidge over 20 gallons. 

I still have eleven females in that, and even with its lack of horizontal swimming space, I've had no troubles with them in there.

Here's a semi FTS to show the sort of density I recommend for a sorority


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I love your tank ^^


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

My tank is in desperate need of some scaping. At the moment it looks like a plant display at an LFS. However, the females love it in there and so many plants provide a lot of cover. Rarely, does a chase last more than a couple of seconds.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Beautiful, LBF! 
I also have a very tall, very narrow sorority tank with no trouble whatsoever. I wish I had a long shallow one, though.


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## Misakitty (Dec 8, 2011)

LittleBettaFish said:


> Here's a semi FTS to show the sort of density I recommend for a sorority


LittleBettaFish, what kind of plant is that down in the front? I'm really bad at identifying plant species, and I don't think I've ever seen that one before. I like it! I envy your dense plants. This gives me a much better idea of what to aim for when I build my sorority tank.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

That's just wisteria. When I get mine I cut the top off the plant and leave on a few leaves below that and then plant it. I find it grows much more uniform looking and looks less messy. 

The stem plants behind that are ambulia and the one on the right is mayaca fluviatilis, which is a really nice plant whether floating or planted into the substrate.


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## Misakitty (Dec 8, 2011)

It is a very nice effect. Seeing well-established planted tanks just reminds me how very far I have to go still with mine!


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

It's hard for me to find decent plants for a good price that won't die or carry black algae hair :/


... except the plants I have now, I got like....6 more pieces of java fern growing here and there


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## makoisland (Mar 2, 2012)

I'm looking forward to starting my sorority, but I'm -not- looking forward to having to buy a bunch of plants. :lol: Gotta admit though, it'll be fun decorating the tank with the plants and hiding places. :3

Ooh, I love aquarium pictures, those tanks are beautiful guys. <3


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

haha I have to start over! my 29 long cracked due to lame blinds on the window. shattered part of the crack ( think of pressing down on a flimsy piece hard, how it will crack and in turn the crack will be pressured and pieces around the crack shatter). so I have to stock a 40 gallon, with plants I do not have! I had enough for a 29.  ugh. lol


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Hey Sena, check out the crazy one-species-of-plant aquascapes that amano does. If all you can get is java fern, use java fern. With some driftwood and some moss, if you can get that, you could do something incredible.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

I had a 20 long for my girls, but I had to improvise since I didn't have a lid or many tall plants. So I used cups and put fake plants in them to make them taller. I had very little agression with my girls and I had 10.

If I do it again, i'm gonna have a coherant theme - not just random decorations shoved into the tank. And a lid. I could make a tacky hippie themed tank with all those stupid brightly colored caves I have.


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

Tikibirds the yellow female looking away from the camera looks like mine, just mine is so much smaller.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

I got lucky with her. She was colorless when I got her and still growing. Not a baby but not that much older and she just happened to turn out yellow :-D


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Your girls are all really striking, Tiki.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

love the hippy style :lol: and pretty fish!


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## DoberMom (Feb 3, 2012)

I'm starting to think a sorority is just not for me. Out of the 11 females I had in the tank, only 5 remain alive. One doesn't look so good. I took the aggressive one out and there has been no more fighting but the sick one has buggy eyes and can hardly swim right. She wont eat. I feel like a failure. I lost one of my favorite girls this morning. Idk what to do next. Thinking of just rehoming the rest of the healthy girls and going with another type of fish for my 29 gal. I'm so depressed.


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## DoberMom (Feb 3, 2012)

REST IN PIECE!! I'm sorry I failed you, Ghost.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Was the tank cycled? did you clean plants/ornaments with something? anything new like conditioner? New live plants? don't give up yet! How new are all the girls? if fairly new, quarantine all for 2 weeks.


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## DoberMom (Feb 3, 2012)

The tank is being cycled, fish-in. I lost one girl to dropsy and the other has fin rot. She is in a QT while the last two are in the 29 gal. I know its not good to keep only 2 females but I dont have a choice. I guess I could try one more time to restock the females it's just hard when they start dying like they were. The females are all very new except for the problem child, Shredder who no longer lives in the 29 gal due to her aggression.


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