# 20 gallon betta - cory community - pushing it



## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

Some of you may have figured out I been messing in Female betta communities again,
But trying it a tad different this time,

I started off with adding way to much Java moss and water sprite, I just crammed it full,

added about 12 cories, 
Then dropped in two lots of Betta females 15 and 11 thats 26 in all
then added one docile red male, ( I believe he's getting a tad old) anyways, 

I sat back and watched, 
A few tried to fight but quickly got entangled in the java moss and turned from wanting to fight into trying to get untangled. 

wasn't long and seemed every one loss any interest in fighting, 
I been slowly removing the excess java moss and water sprite.

So far the community is doing great with not any signs of fighting......

Seems to be going much smoother this time then the last times I tried communities with Betta's

I know I'm pushing the amount in the tank, But I really wanted to see just how far I could push this and how good it is suppose to work....

Tank size 20 gallon
Total fish 
12 cories
26 female betta's
1 male Betta
Been about a week so far with this tank,
and so far its been very extremely peaceful, I really am surprised with the results...


I have been trying to find (second hand) a wall unit that holds multiple fish tanks,
think it will be easier then having them scattered all over the place.
kinda like the pet stores have, takes up a whole wall. So far I ain't been having to much luck with finding one tho.


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## Nataku (Feb 22, 2009)

Oh, this sounds really interesting. Do you have some pictures to show what you mean of just how 'crammed' it is with the java moss and water sprite? I'm not quite sure how much it really is and would like to see how that is going. Actually I'd love to see any pictures of this you have, I'm still trying to gather all the info about female sororities I can.
I don't have water sprite or java mass in any of the local pet stores I've spotted so far, so I wonder if I'd be able to attempt such a thing myself.
How are the cory cats doing in all of this? Did the bettas try to go after them more than the other bettas, or have they been left alone? Do any of them get tangled in the plants?

A couple months back I saw one of those standing wall units that they have at Wal-mart's up for sale on Aquabid, those things come with like thirty tanks, the sink and pump system. Don't know if it still up or not though. I know a lot of people ultimately end up having to build their own when it comes to building those larger wall units and multi-tank stands.


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

The cories seem to love the extra company in the tank, There all over the place,
As of yet I ain't seen nobody give a cory a second look,

They did get entangles a fair amount at first. But they have learned how to maneuver thru it, plus I have been weening it down a little every day, 
I get up mornings and see a lot of betta's resting in the java moss, My male Betta likes to jump on top of a bunch of water sprite thats floating on top and rest there, It's so cute. 

My cories are usually scattered thru out the moss resting on and off all day,,, They really seem to enjoy the moss and water sprite...
The cories are constantly searching nibbling on the moss, they must like the taste or something..

I'll see about getting some pics together here in a bit, 
But everytime I take a pic it comes out so dark, think it's the java moss causeing it to do that,,
Still gotta figure out how to get the settings just right for pictures..


Kinda been figuring I might have to build my own unit, Might be interesting


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## parakeeto225 (Apr 2, 2009)

thats alot of fish! 26 betta's! whooooo...
heresn mine.he's a male..he likes company with his 2 cory friends.


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## parakeeto225 (Apr 2, 2009)

he's flaring to his reflection! roar!


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## parakeeto225 (Apr 2, 2009)

when he flares..his gills and beasutiful tail pop out and his forehead-ish color turns white to grayish black...its because when they flare alot of skin gets stretched...when they're done flaring theyre skin gets back to normal.


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

I have removed alot of the Java since I first started this tank..
It was so full to the point you couldn't see any decorations..

Heres a pic today


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Wow! What a tank! Looks good and I'm glad to hear everyone is doing well.


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## IonBaller07 (Mar 29, 2009)

So theres 39 fish in there, do you have to change the water like every 5 minutes.


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

> So theres 39 fish in there, do you have to change the water like every 5 minutes.


No, Been watching it closely for any signs of trouble and testing daily,
But everything's normal so far, 
Has two filters running on it plus several bio slabs buried in the gravel...

I have givin a 25% water change twice in the past week, figured instead of once, with so many twice was definitely needed, May do more If I find it needs it,,, will see how it goes


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## veganchick (Jan 10, 2009)

wow! I want that tank! my dream! lol! Thats so cool! Idk how you pulled it off, buts def. cool!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

It IS pretty cool!


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

Just thought I'd give a bit of an update on the Betta tank.

I was beginning to see some aggressiveness developing, Nothing serious, So I won't be remove any more plants (jave moss or water sprite),

Things have settled down since then and I haven't seen anymore signs of trouble.
The red male is still getting along great with all the females,
And Still no one bothers any of the cories,
At feeding time they all eat beside each other with no signs of bickering or aggressiveness,

My cories have learned the good stuff sometimes floats, so they try to join in on the feast, it's so funny watching them trying to eat off the top..

Some pictures today


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

They're all so pretty! Nice tank.


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## Elisew (Mar 25, 2009)

Great tank!!!

Parakeeto225, Your male Betta is really gorgeous too.

x


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

Well I saw a strange event today,
One of my bigger blue female betta's latched onto the tip end of the Red male Betta's tail and hung on like a piece of dead weight while the male went nuts zipping all over the tank trying to shake her off, 
Took a good 30 seconds for him to shake her, Gonna have to monitor this closer,
May have to remove the male or perhaps put back some Java moss I had removed,,


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Maybe she just got tired of swimming and decided to hitch a ride. lol


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## Nataku (Feb 22, 2009)

How strange indeed. I didn't think bettas were ones for giving piggy-back (piggy-tail?) rides.


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

I removed the Red Male tonight,
The tail grabbing is an act of aggression that's slowing building and i know where it's leading, 
To the males demise & I can't have that, So he's in his own tank, safe and sound...


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## Nataku (Feb 22, 2009)

I love hearing more updates on this experiment, although it's a touch sad to see they couldn't co-habit with the male. But best he's in his own tank now, would be a pity to have him shredded by the girls. He's not getting any signs of depression now that he's all alone in his own tank again is he? I've read about this being an issue with some bettas when they are first jarred and separated for the first time after being hatched, I've wondered if it is also a problem some bettas may suffer from later on in their lives. Then again, one male isn't enough of a test group to accurately determine anything like that.
Have the females been trying any of this tail grabbing business towards each other, or was it just the male?


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

He didn't mind the move, I think he actually became more relaxed & is happier now.

Watching him after the tail grabbing events seemed to be very unsettling to him, Like he had just shaken something that was trying to eat/kill him, He'd go to a corner and just look very upset almost like he was shaking ,

I've yet to see any real aggression with the females towards each other, or the cories.
The smaller females do tend to bow under (become very passive) to any passing larger female,

I did remove one very small female today, She seemed overly stressed from all the larger females,
I'll keep her by herself until she gets much larger, Then try her back..

I am probably going to try adding a different male in the next day or two, A blue one this time, See how that works out.

Looking at the tank and watching every one swim around it just never looked like as many fish as there should be, (at least to me it didn't) Yesterday it got to me so much I slowly dipped everyone out in small cups to count, (make sure everyone was alive) and check each for signs of trouble, everyone was there and seem to be doing fine, So I put them all back in the tank,
Did a bit of re-arranging while I was at it too. 
anyways I feel better knowing every one is at attendance and doing fine, thus far


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm glad everyone was accounted for.


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

Well I woke up this morning to a rather nice surprise,

The red male that I originally had in this tank, I put in a gallon tank after removing him,
He's an older male and never was overly active, Don't ever recall him having made a bubble nest either,
But when I went to do a water change this morning, He had a hugh bubble nest made,
I think he's really happy to be away from the female betta's,

He's been in bigger tanks before by himself and smaller tanks, Had close company of both females and males that he could see, Yet never made any attempts of a nest, So I think this guy is definitely happy to be away from the wrecking crew.

On another note:
I dropped a blue male betta in with the females yesterday, Boy was he flamboyant when I put him in there,
You'd a thought he was in hog heaven, But only minutes after dropping him in he was grabbed by the tail and he freaked out, I was up until 3 o'clock last night watching them, Decided the next time a "Blue" female grabs his tail I'm going to remove her, (thinking maybe it's the same femal over and over) gonna see anyways, But she never did it again, So I went to bed, This morning I get up and I can't find the male, I go looking and find him hiding out, Every time he peeked his nose out a couple females came to the entrance and he'd disappear back inside,, Think this spelled trouble, So I got my net and removed the castle, Scooped him out and put him in his own tank, They have shredded a fair amount of his tail, 

He's happy to be alone again....... 

So now it's back to just the girls and the cories.....


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## Nataku (Feb 22, 2009)

Hmm, well it was an interesting thought to see if perhaps a different colored male would illicit a different response from the females, but I guess the old facts are still proving true, the males and females just aren't going to stay around each other for long before they get nasty.
Good to hear the rest of the fish are all still present and accounted for in good health. It's still amazing that you've managed to combine together so many females with such success so far.


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## Haeclark (Sep 5, 2008)

thats too bad about the male.
I too have done my own share of betta-testing. Sofar my first two Betta's have been together since Dec. 1st. They have been happily co-habbiting together since, and Blue Bandit loves building her bubble nests, and show off his stuff. They attempted breeding once [Jan 30th], with no real success other then the eggs...mostly as they decided to spawn the day of their water flush, so water conditions weren't ideal. :S
I added them to my larger tank [10 gal upgrade to 15 gal] already inhabited with over a dozen guppies [male and female] and one CAE [6" long, think male] I got for free from a previous boss. At first, they didnt know what to do, and just swam around. A little pecking, but nothing serious, then was onto investigation. No serious battles, no deaths, even the next day, so they have been there since Feb. 19th. Still no casualties. 
I was so pleased with my community tank, then I decided to take it another step, and really fulfill Blue's "herlm of females" I told him Id get him last year [deciding to only get 1 instead...Red Petite Mermaid]. 
As of April 20th, I caved in and bought 3 beautiful females from Petco I just couldnt bare to leave without. When I got Red, I saw her 4 diff times in the store over a month before buying her [partly out of pity, mostly 'cuz of her looks / personality, and perfect match for Blue] this time I didnt want to wait. 
I got 2 crown tales, like red. One a beautiful iridescent while, with a black spot on her anal fin, small reddish marking on caudal fin, and black eyes: Ghost Pearl. The other a sort of mini me to Blue being a iridescent blue with pinkish coloring on her fins and white accents [if blue was a crown tale ;D ], thus her name: Mime
The last [but not least, and Blue's new favorite] Scarlet Seahorse. She's a little feistier then the 2 crown's and defiantly takes the role of dominate female between the 3 of them [Red doubles all their size, so they all "bow to her"] Named so as she's a brilliant red / scarlet colored Veil tale, with some black accents on fins. 
Day 3 now, and all is still peaceful. The new gals haven't figured out yet the good stuff is at the top...for now they just rome the bottom for fallen flakes while the guppies [AKA pigs ;D ] take over the top. 
Scartlet only becomes fisty when she's in her cave, and the other dare to disturb her peace, of if they start to "shadow" her too much [Blue became so taken from her, he immediatly started flaring adn strutting, shadowing along side...she cashed him off a few times until realized he showd no threats. Now she just ignores him...its so cute! Like a betta sop-opera xD ]

I created a blog bases off perspective of Blue. More details of their story posted @ http://askbluebetta.blogspot.com


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## Haeclark (Sep 5, 2008)

was curious, with so many fish in your tank, how do you go about cleaning it [whats your cleaning schedule for them?]


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## Brook9 (Dec 23, 2008)

Wow! What a tank! Looks good and I'm glad to hear everyone is doing well.


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

> was curious, with so many fish in your tank, how do you go about cleaning it [whats your cleaning schedule for them?]


50% Twice a week

______________

I have a male in my tank now, (blind in one eyed, called popeye) been there for a little while, I removed the tail hugger(grabber), And the three dominate (older females) Now everyone gets along great,,


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## Haeclark (Sep 5, 2008)

Great! good to hear all is going well. 
lol, what an appropriate name for your male...thanks for the info.


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

Just an update, I removed the male and won't be trying any more with the females, I do believe its futile to think a male can live peacefully with a community of females,


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## Haeclark (Sep 5, 2008)

well...sorry to hear you decided otherwise...perhaps there were just too many females. Not enough places to "chill down" away from other Betta's it sounds to me. 

On another hand, my 4 females are still doing great with Blue...today being the 1 week "annaversary" of adding the 3 newist betta female...May 1st is Blue Bandit and Red Petite Mermaid's *5 month* "annaversary" of being placed together!!! xD [I cant believe it's been that long already!]

Second to last water change I did I had more treated tap water then I would have preferred as I couldn't get the distilled water I usually cut it with that time, so they were showing signs of fin rot, but that's about all. They have a few rare moments still every now and then when one just wants to be alone, and lets the other know, but all is peaceful still. 

I added more tank decorations as well [Zebra aquarium rock - 20 Ibs], making more "caves" and hiding places. They all seem to love it. I'm considering giving away some of the over populated guppies, as the greedy piglets keep stealing my Betta's food...not to mention the non-stop breeding! [I just found out recently that female guppies can _store sperm!_ Meaning they can instintly become pregnent after birthing! Water rabbit?]. I already took out about 10 of them, and the Bettas still reacted positivly. They seem to enjoy the extra space and not being "bombarded" by the guppy drones at feeding time!

My new gals havent figured out to come to the top for the good flakes yet...theyre still roming the bottum for fallen flakes. I posted a few pics on their blog [link below], more to come.


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

I believe its the females I have,
I also have some other tanks I tried with less females and more hiding places,
but I always end up with the same aggressive behavior towards the male, just takes a little longer for it to come out, but it does.,
Once I get it down to about 3 females things tend to change for the better towards the male, But even then only certain females work...

It's mostly aggressive tail grabbing that builds up until they riddle the male,
Mostly the bigger females,
I have actually watched them hunt the male down,
I have put plenty hiding places, plants etc, They still search until they find him and once they do they don't stop.

I am convinced males and females of any amount is a definite end in disaster, So I'm just not messing with it any more....

I have several lots where 1 or two females are with a male & it seems to work, But even then its certain females, Some just won't leave the male be no matter what...


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