# this work? o.0 [few questions.]



## pyro fiend (Oct 20, 2011)

i put this in beta sororities first. but no reply so ill try here..iv set up a 20H iv had it filtering for a few days.. now ik this will not cycle the tank.. but i plan on letting it sit at least a week more befor even adding a betta.its got dirt with sand on top of it for a substrate.. i bought some "Argentine sword" plant from petco. and am planning on planting it later... also got some 'betta bulbs' in jars im watching to see if they grow. and they will be added later if they do. but anywho.. if i say add a thing of java moss, maybe even some driftwood how many small girls can i fit in here? 

i plan on getting them from petco [we dont have anywere elese that sells fem bettas] and puting them in either 1g drums [if there adults] and maybe mason jars if there tiny [usually ur petco sells SUPER tiny girls only] but i wont put adults with juvie fems.. and quarintining them for oh, 2 maybe 3 weeks. leting my tank cycle a little. and give my bulbs and plants a chance to grow some if at all. i wanted to add a few bottom feeders. this depends on the girls size tho.. i was thinking a 1-2in alb- pleco. or maybe a mixture of 4 or 5 [total] albino and normal corys? with a few tetras/mollies or something running around?.. this wouldnt be over stocked would it? might this work if i give enough hides? i was thinking 5 maybe 6 girls... also could i add some ghost shrimps ik theyl be snaked on but if there in there befor bettas itd at least keep it clean and itl giv eme something to watch untell the girls are in..

also if this would work out [and i think it will if i get the right girls] what other plants or anything should i add in to break the line of sight, assuming the bulbs are a bust. ik alot of you are fans of anubia, java moss, moss balls [tho i dont consider it a plant more of a toy/chair] and amazon swords.. not sure what ima use for hides yet, thought of pvc,s pots, and maybe some rock item for a center piece. as i hav one laying around.. just one tho lol XD

BTW ik that pleco will need a bigger tank. once its up to size it will go into my 50 or 55 till i set up my 75 if it gets that big..

so mainly.. Q1- would liek 5 or 6 small females, like 6 cories max, and a few comunity fish[like say 3 or 4] be too much?

Q2- i seen some people mention they added like 20+ plants. i know tis aint a must. but with the type of plants i do have. should i add alot more? if so what?

Q3- now being a 20h it dont have a ton of floor space. so what should i use for hides to not only let the girls get away. but to give me the best look to it. the tanks a old tank with a crown molding looking trim on it [th tore off top cuz it rotted wiel in a barn lol]


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

> would liek 5 or 6 small females, like 6 cories max, and a few comunity fish[like say 3 or 4] be too much?


I don't know about the community fish but bioload wise a 20G can handle the 6 bettas and the corys. However since its taller then it is long, not sure how that plays a part. 

For pleco's I would go with a bristlenose as opposed to the common pleco or whatever one it is that gets huge. If you get a pleco, i think you need drfitwood or something for them to chew? maybe i'm thinking of something else but I think its pleco's...

If you want a few girls, you are going to need alot of objects that break up their line of sight. The more, the better. 



> i wont put adults with juvie fems.


 Honestly, I am not sure if it makes any difference. Some people say you will have more sucess if you use siblings from the same breeder or they should be the same age and size. In my experience, it does not matter the age or size. Either they will get along or they won't. The only thing I will caution you about is - some of those very young petco females are very young mislabled males. I got 4 young females from petco - put them in a 20G and they all grew like weeds. However one kept growing and growing..right into a VT male. I still have my guy with the girls - so far he is very submissive. However, I have seen alot of people on here that had to return the mislabled male because he is way to agressive and they did not have an extra tank for him.


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## pyro fiend (Oct 20, 2011)

well as for tall part yes im not sure if all the fish would be wize. but iv planted the swords [tho i feel like i didnt do it right for some reason] and plan on adding more plants, and such and prob take the rock thing [in pic] out but its just there because it was in a chiclid tank not too long back and it prob still has good bacteria. so figured it woudlnt hurt to throw it in. also plan on adding a peice of wood, for any fish. tho plecos dont usually chew wood from my experience. [had many and still have alot at friends indoor ponds] 

i was thinking bristol too. as i seen someone post on craigslist [as bad as this sounds]with a few albino and normal like 4mon old ones.. tho id put them alone in a 10g if small enough till i know there healthy. [dont wana ruin a nice tank cycle or anything]

but i was gona run it by alot more people on there thoughts befor i add female bettas. and make sure everyone thinks the plants are good sized, enough hides, exc ect

last thing i want is to look at it and think "im good this will do" and all or most of my girls get seriously hurt or die.. thus why im letting my tank cycle, my bulbs grow. and was gona let the comunity fish [like 3 total fish either platties sword tails or tetras] help cycle it [without bottom feeders] and if they all lived. and my levels are great. keep them n as apposed to feeding to my turtle or flushing. that was my original plan tho. not too sure of others thoughts to this plan. 



i do wana add a few more plants. but only ones my lps sell is "umbrella plants" which i know is a nono "crested java moss" not even sure what this is. but didnt look too great in the tube. "lillypads" and "argintine sword" i know nothing about any of these. or i know they realy arnt aquatic. besides swords. and a lil bit about java moss... but no other place around here sells live plants. we dont even have a plant nursery tht sells you aquatic plants/bulbs :C and petco is the only one with live plants  any ideas here? any pointers or critisizm is happily taken


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

both cory and betta breathe air. but in different ways.  the recommended depth for a cory is 1 ft or 30cm max, for fear of drowing.

Oh and the crested Java fern is also calle lace javafern or javafern windelov, that one is a true aquatic.

I'm also selling plants right now  Nothing that will fill a 20g right away though. But they're fast growing plants.


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## pyro fiend (Oct 20, 2011)

hmm.. well with java in its name i trusted that its aquatic lol but it said moss and it looked kinda like a nasty brownish oval mossball with curly Q moss.. idono. maybe its the way it was in the tube..

my tank from top to lower points of substrate is about 13.5-14 inches and i dont fill it to top, as you can see i took top trim off and im still adding stuff, and dont wana spill water or keep filling up jugs/buckets. but with it about where its water level is about were its gona be is about 13inches. so hmm :S to chance or not to chance... i dont wana add too much more sand. i only had .5in dirt and like 1in sand. plus the swords are prettymuch planted lol....

so question.. i got a log from a petco a few yrs ago. i was "driftwood" i used it to bask my bearded dragon on.. its been washed many times sence out of use and bleached once.. but i put in a tank of water last week n water started turning brown.. ik the tenner or w/e it is can be good for bettas. but should i let it sit in a dif tank and keep changing brown water till it goes clear? or put in as is? or just not at all.. i think itd be a nice little thing to put moss on, maybe even anchor a plant on and has nice hide for like shrimp [if i was to add them thinking of it now sence you say 12in is max for cories </3] 

no idea how to go about this with plants and iv never had agressiv fish together and i dont wana mess up lol


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

XD cories are one of those fish that sinks  if ur tank is well aerated, it's not too much of a problem. I'd say 13in is OK.
As for the tannins... you have 3 filters right? add carbon and that should absorb the tannins.


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## pyro fiend (Oct 20, 2011)

we;; was gona only use the smaller 2 the other one was to help the tank cycle a little quicker as it came from my buddies cichlid tank ;P kinda wana give it back lol as he was kind enough to lend it to me... solike add carbon behind the filter? in the filter pack things?? sorry im a moron im used to rock and 100% plastic plants and objects lmao but yay im getting the help of a ninja of planted tanks


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## pyro fiend (Oct 20, 2011)

as you can see i have alooot of spare room i need to fill n [again rock thing prob wont stay in there its 4 cycling] :C what elese.. maybe anubia or w.e it is? some moss?  again any tips will be apreciated


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## starrlamia (May 3, 2012)

you need to add a lot more plants for a sorority, like cover the majority of the bottom of the tank. 
Cycling will take 4-6 weeks on average, so I would hold off for a while before buying fish. 
For buying plants you can look online, Ive heard good things about live aquaria and aquarium plants.com


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## SpookyTooth (Dec 23, 2011)

If you've used dirt then you'll really really need to plant it out heavily with stem plants, they'll use up the nutrients in the dirt and stop the tank from going toxic (from what I've read); not only that but as mentioned before a sorority needs _loads_ of planting.

Water wisteria, anarcharis, rotala, cabomba, hygrophila are some stem plants that you may wish to look into. Soil based tanks are very simple in the long run but in the short run you really need to ensure enough plants are present to stop algae blooms, ammonia spikes and to prevent the tank crashing and killing everything inside. Also, with soil and sand you'll need to poke the substrate around every now and then to stop gas pockets building up or introduce Malaysian trumpet snails to do that for you.

It might be worth contacting Oldfishlady about your tank if you have any doubts as she's wonderful with NPTs/dirt based tanks.


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## pyro fiend (Oct 20, 2011)

oh dont worry guys i planned on puting ALOT of plants  not sure what id do about hides tho o.0 and i was giong to take my time planting it so it could cycle and whatnot then get my girls once its perfect and QT them for 3-4 weeks so even if i got it all planted tomarrow.. itd be filtered by the time the girls are done.

and yes im using soil under it and this is just the start. im waiting on petcos sipments to come in so i can look again. i planned on some anarcharis and maybe some other types of swords if i can find them. like amazon.[my fave] ...thought about duckweed but people say it spreadys quickly. and not wanting to put in a air pump thrws it up int he air for me sense bettas breath air alot of the time.. 

also is there anyplace to buy mts? my lps dont label there snails.. iv seen apple in there but also looks like iv seen the ones that are pests. and the ones that are all by themself arnt labeled the type of snail its just "snails"

contacted ofs once befor shes the one who made me want a npt almost a yr ago


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## pyro fiend (Oct 20, 2011)

i asked this in the 'post your betta homes here' but not sure il get the replies im wanting.. you all seem like a smart bunch  so i added my driftwood.. and seems much bigger then i thought o.0 [even against glass it looked smaller lol]

would this be too big for a all girl tank, seeing as how you should have alot of things to loose sight.. or would this be fine?

attatched with few angles. and yes there is a betta in there a male. just to help it cycle a tad faster  [thats what i think anywho]


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## candyman995 (Aug 24, 2012)

I like the drift wood look in your tank should look nice with a few more plants growing in there .

What would you say was the best way to anchor your drift wood down as i want to put some in my tank but cant think how


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## pyro fiend (Oct 20, 2011)

mine naturaly sunk. iv read a few places where people said they boiled theres for a few hours in stockpots and itd sink afterwords. only other way i personally can think is put it in a tub or spare tank with a brick anchored to bottom. or to either side of it.. as gravel and sand wouldnt be nearly heavy enough to hold it down for good. may wana boil it a wiel. itl get any possible tannis out and it may waterlog it for you 

but thanks i thought so too. hoping to go get some more plants soon. not sure what all ima get yet but ik ima get something  even if its just a mossball and some bulbs lol


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## pyro fiend (Oct 20, 2011)

here is a lil update ladys n gents. i bough an amizon sword. it came in 3 parts n added 2 [3rds floating.] ones in back right ones smack dead in center.. dk wer eput 3rd. thought of behind the wood but thought the suction from this strong fiter would try to eat it XC

males loving the new tank tho he wont be staying. hes loving the amazons tho keeps swimming in and around the planted and floating one/s :O


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## pyro fiend (Oct 20, 2011)

and one more update. looks like even tho i aint been able to get a cfl my plants are growing quite well even spreading out there leaves... sence last pic i planted the 3rd sword behind the wood. i added a betta bulb [front nothing from it yet] tied an anubia to my wood floating a 'asian water fern' and put a lil stem plant thing in the back [cant see] to see how well it did in my looowly lighted tank looks like they are healthy ,excluding the stem, no dead leaves. seems they are growing. i also have quite a few new leaves starting 

hows everyone liking the progress? 
also i decided sence my tanks a high one i woudln't go with cories. instead iv added 3 lil otos and i couldn't be happier all 4 fish get alone


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

looks great. you need more stem plants... 
anacharis, naja grass, water wisteria to name a few...

something has to use the nutrition in the soil, fast.


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## pyro fiend (Oct 20, 2011)

iv got one stem in there. i need to go get my cfl soon. and once i do i may be adding the other 3 small stems tht was in same tube... why fast? o.0


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

you have soil under the sand cap right...? if the nutrition isnt used... it could leech into the water... or it will just "go bad XD" fast growing stem plants uses their roots to kick start the npt process...

what do you have? many are lowlight plants.. I'd say to just add them...

and if u want a cfl I can send u a 6400k for $3ea + $3-$5 shipping...
15w or 23w


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## pyro fiend (Oct 20, 2011)

yea 1/2in dirt layer. i do however wana redo it some time. i didnt do a verry good job of washing my dirt =\.. and only stem i can find around here [cnt aford to buy from a site atm] is the one i have a hygrophila corymbosa. which is doing terrable in my 20. and seems to be doing ok [tho a potassium defficiency] in my 10 with only gravel.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

how are the ottos doing?


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## pyro fiend (Oct 20, 2011)

fat little buggers  always on the move too. i think i witnessed some trying to mate a few days ago. kept seeing one run into the other making a T like some sites say they do for breeding. but see no eggs and no idea if it was just them playing around and accidentally swimming into one and other or an attempt at baby makin o.0 

leaning more twards accident tho. iv had them 10 days now. and arnt scared of me or the betta [tho scared one while wiping off watermark on glass earlier lol] seem perfectly fine imo  maybe strangelly un-scared but fine =D


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

lol yay! 
get ur cfl soon.... some unwanted algae often comes with light of a wrong color temperature.

I grew plants fine with a 3200k before... only problem? black beard algae on all my slow growing plants


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## pyro fiend (Oct 20, 2011)

yuck. i hav a normal coil bulb. rly tiny like 15wt. no K ratings. its giving my plants light along with some sun i let in thru window. but m hoping to get cfl in morning [or well later actually] only algae iv had sofar was lil bits of brown befor i switched to the coil. when i still had the incandecent bulb. sense thn i knew brown algae was lower light so i let curtain be open a bit and it stopped appearing. few days after no sign of algae got these lil cuties. no sign of anything. except bubbles in my tank [obv from filter breaking bettas nests or him being a goof and randomly bowing him a bubble tornado again]

so curiosity here. worst case scenario of me not puting in some stems quickly besides having pointless soil? o.0


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