# Stocking 53 gallon tank.



## Yschen (May 26, 2012)

Hello everyone! I'm Yschen and I am new to the forum and to keeping fish!
I wanted my first tank centered around a male Betta, always wanted one since I was small but my parents would not allow any other fish but Cichlids into their tank.

I have yet set up (and cycle) my own aquarium but I am looking for ideas concerning tankmates for a lone male betta in an already ordered 53 gallon tank.
The tank is 31.5 inches wide (80cm), 19.7 inches deep (50cm) and 19.7 inches high (50cm).

I have looked at Kuhli Loach for being pretty cool fish in general, and Otocinclus is another fish I am currently considering.
I had planned to have a school of 6 Loaches and around 5-6 Otocinclus.

My concern is if the tank will look underpopulated and if my Betta will be comfortable in such a large tank.
I read somewhere that a Betta won't like a tank deeper than 35 centimeters (13.7 inches). Any help is highly appreciated!


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## lilyth88 (Mar 15, 2012)

http://aqadvisor.com/


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

I put the dimensions of your tank into a calculator on the internet - and it said your tank would hold about 8 US gallons. :/
8 gallons is too small to have fishy tankmates. You'd need at least 10 gallons for other fish. 8 gallons could hold a snail or some shrimp, though.


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## lilyth88 (Mar 15, 2012)

MaisyDawgThirteen said:


> I put the dimensions of your tank into a calculator on the internet - and it said your tank would hold about 8 US gallons. :/
> 8 gallons is too small to have fishy tankmates. You'd need at least 10 gallons for other fish. 8 gallons could hold a snail or some shrimp, though.


I'm not sure what kind of calculator you used, but I can tell just from looking at his dimensions that it is far far more than 8 gallons........

Did you do the calculations in cm instead of in?

By my calculations, it'll hold 52.92 gallons...


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Lilyth is right.. 52 gallons. No way a 31 inch tank would be 8 gallons!
You're right about space.. Putting a betta from a cup to 50 gallons is too much.. His muscles will still be weak and he will stress out not being able to patrol his whole tank. You can start a long finned male in a smaller tank to allow his muscles to build up.. A better option would be to get a short finned male (plakat) or a female.. A group of females is also possible, called a sorority, but you should research those heavily before starting one.. We have some threads on here about sororities.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

Sorry guys. I used cm instead of inches. lol


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## Yschen (May 26, 2012)

Okay, I thought it was better to ask than to risk killing of a fish.
Olympia mentioned that a Plakat might be suitable. If I can get hold of one I will probably get one, since I really want a betta. I have a smaller tank avaiable that my parents used for their Cichlid fry. The tank itself is about 14 gallons (23 inches x 11 inches x 11 inches) does this tank need to be planted and properly decorated for a possible longfin betta to use as a training gym?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Hmm well I'd plant it and such so he feels comfortable with hiding places. Get a filter with adjustable current and you can play around with it. My veil tail still has trouble at the highest current in his 10 gallon.
With a longfin in the 50 gallon you may be better off getting two smaller filters- a 30 and a 20 or something similar. One for each side so there isn't one place with a crazy current. Also two smaller heaters for either side so the filter can help push around the heated water. Extremely dense planting will also help him feel more at home in a large place, give the illusion of a dense underwater jungle. Either way with a longfin you will probably notice that he'll choose one side of the tank and stay there most of the time, whereas a plakat will enjoy zooming around more. If you have a petco they almost always sell plakat betta (and king plakats which are larger).
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Yschen (May 26, 2012)

If the local store have any plakats I will probably buy one instead of a longfin since it sounds like it will be more comfortable in such a large tank.
I planned on having the tank pretty densely planted since I like the look of it. Using two smaller filters and having a densely planted tank all considered, is it possible for a longfin to get accustomed to such a large tank without becoming sick of stress? 
Also thanks guys for the help and tips! Really makes you feel welcome!


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I think it's very possible. People have done it before.


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## bettalover2000 (May 10, 2011)

You could make a community tank. I used to have a 55 with angel fish.


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## Yschen (May 26, 2012)

Well now that I have alternatives on the tanks dealbreaker I will have to look for dual filter setups and suitable tankmates. I was mostly concerned about the wellbeing of the Betta. What I want is a community tank centered around a Betta. So making sure that all the others can live with a Betta is important.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

It would also help us if you gave us your water's pH, and hardness. Some fish like Kuhli Loaches only thrive in tanks that are soft and acidic, and will not thrive in tanks that have hard water. Plakats are fast swimmers and probably do better in such a big tank rather than a halfmoon.


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

Got 3 ryukin goldies!


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Neil.. so excited that you're posting in unrelated threads?


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## Yschen (May 26, 2012)

I have yet to set up the tank but if you mean the citys tapwater the water is "soft" 2.7-3.3 dH, and has a pH value that hovers around 8.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Soft water is good for tetras and peaceful cichlids such as rams.  Kuhlis will also do well in it, though they may object to your pH. I'd consider lowering it with driftwood or peat moss.


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## Yschen (May 26, 2012)

At the moment I am looking at platies or some docile tetras. I am considering getting a bristlenose pleco aswell. I thought keeping any kind of chiclid with a Betta was a big no no. A pair of rams look kind of neat if they can get along with the betta. Since driftwood makes the loaches feel better with more hiding space I think that might be a good idea.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Sorry, I forgot about the betta.

I have heard of people keeping docile single rams in with bettas, but I'd wait for more opinions on that.


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## Yschen (May 26, 2012)

Well I'm not a cichlid guy so it's not a big loss, and I'd rather be safe than sorry. According to AqAdvisor I shouldn't be keeping a BN pleco with a betta, yet when I google it people say that it should be fine in a tank of 30+ gallons?
In general I'm looking for something noncory since the loaches hang around the bottom already. But I would like something bigger than tetras that is friendly enough to share the tank with a betta. So far platies seems to be the only ideal fit.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

AqAdvisor just hates bettas. It doesn't want you to keep ANYTHING with them. Ignore its silly face. If your betta can tolerate any community fish, it can tolerate a pleco.

Platies prefer hard water - have a look at larger tetras. I don't know if congo tetras would be too big, but they could be an option.


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## Yschen (May 26, 2012)

The congo tetras should be healthy in a tank of that size. However I think emperor tetras would be better, since they don't get as big. I am considering getting two types of tetra schools, both schools numbering 6-8 fish in each. As long as they aren't aggressive fin nippers there shouldn't be much of a problem?


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## Neil D (Apr 10, 2011)

A lot of tetras are fin nippers. I know for a fact that neons and cardinals are. My betta's fins were horrible after that...lol he's ok now.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Congo tetra are much too big to live with a betta. They are also extremely active, which stresses out betta.

I'm going to stop you now. You have "interesting" water to say the least. In nature water is almost always soft and acidic or hard and basic. Clearly not here. The big drawing line with pH is 7. Some fish can go under and above 7, usually not by much though.
In soft water your platies could have silme coat issues that lead to more health problems.
A few things. First, leave some water out for 24 hours. Test the pH again. This will determine whether your carbonate hardness (kH) is low as well. There are cities that have acidic water which is bad for the pipes, so they pump up the pH without changing the kH. If the kH is low your pH will drop slowly until a certain point. If this happens I'd test the water until the pH is stable.

If you truely have this odd water though, you have some interesting options for the tank, and I'm not sure if they're 100% tried and true betta safe with a long finned male.

Raising hardness is always an option. Or lowering pH which is a bit trickier.
But first do the pH testing.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Yschen (May 26, 2012)

Found a mix I am happy with. 1 betta plakat if avaiable, 1 BN pleco, 6 kuhli loach, 8 galaxy rasboras and 8 emperor tetras. According to AqAdvisor this puts 57% bioload on the tank and it will need 15% water changes weekly. Am I overpopulating the tank or is it a good amount of fish for a 53 gallon tank?

EDIT: Will have to do some tests on the water then.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Galaxy rasbora are micro fish and would literally stress to death with larger fish like betta. Best kept on their own. They are one of those rare soft water high pH fish, but not betta safe.

In such a light stocking- if you plant it well with live plants you can get away with 30-40% weekly. Without live plants I'd probably do 50%.

Sorry if you feel like I'm just coming down on you derailing all your plans. :-(
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Yschen (May 26, 2012)

No that's okay, I'd rather have a stable enviroment .
However my parents and many of my friends have kept fish here without to much trouble after cycling their tanks.

I thought I had overpopulated the tank and it's on a light load. I am really surprised.

50%?! Wow is this because the tank is assumed to not be heavily planted or is there another reason?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

It's good that you are willing to take the time to have a stable environment, it's a good quality for an aquarist to have. :-D

Well some people will argue that on a cycled tank you want to keep low on water changes to not disturb the system. In truth it seems that the system is helped by larger water changes, as they remove things we can not measure, fish pheromones and toxins we may never know are in the tank. Water changes should have little effect on actual water chemistry, and you are not removing the bacteria, there is no reason that it is a bad thing.
I do "40%" changes on my tank weekly. Reason for the brackets is that I'm usually so carried away in trying to get all the muck out that it ends up being a 50-60% change.
Your water changes are your own decision. You could do 30-40% on an unplanted tank with no noticeable consequences, it's a personal choice really. It's also a light stocking so a smaller amount is doable.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

Instead of the micro fish you could do cherry barbs! They are peaceful and very hardy, they can live in almost any water as well, so I would say get them.

Just a heads up. Your loaches need sand as they burrow into it, so if you are getting gravel or have gravel find something else. If you have a hone depot, they sell play sand that is completely aquarium safe, I use it and many other people on here as well, it is like $5 for 50 pounds.

Petco and Petsmart both sell plakats, they should be labled plakat, or at Petsmart dragon. Dragons have metallicy scales. Hard to describe easy to tell. All of petsmarts plakata should be dragons though.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Just noticed you are in Sweden!
It's my natural assumption that everyone here is in the States, lol. We don't have Petco in Canada but everyone here says they have plakat varieties.
The fish hobby is pretty strong in Europe though so you should be able to find some nice fish if you live in a larger town. :-D


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Just want to mention that ember tetras can be extremely nippy, even amongst their own kind in a large tank. I have a friend who had to get rid of four of hers because they were bullying all the others. The remaining ones live in relative peace, but make sure you have a good female to male ratio to avoid that kind of aggression.


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## Yschen (May 26, 2012)

The store where I will buy fish and all the filters and all that only sell tank fish and aquarium utilities. The store owners are quite experienced aswell.

Stocking a larger tank for a male Betta is harder than I thought. Especially finding larger fish that are docile and confident enough to stand up to a potential bully. According to people on forums located through google, a pair of ram cichlids seem like decent tankmates at the moment, this however requires that the betta is pretty docile. I keep returning to the question if there are fish in the ram cichlid size that will go well with a male betta, I'm not overly fond of tetras.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I would not get a pair, at breeding them the fish become too aggressive. One ram could however work out.
I'm more concered over the betta safety actually. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Yschen (May 26, 2012)

Won't a single cichlid be very lonely, unhappy? I have never seen a single cichlid in a tank so that's why I'm asking.
I'm quite saddened by the fact that the tank just simply might be to big to stock properly taking a male betta into account. I might just start up a male betta with some loach friends in the old cichlid fry tank it's about 14 gallons. While I really would like to have this project work out I don't want to use a really large (expensive) tank and have it underpopulated and looking empty. >_<


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Sadly I feel as though you're right. It's natural to think that it would reall appreciate the larger space but there's so many other things to take into thought.
A 53 gallon without betta could work out more, and give you lots of options. With betta you are limited to small fish, because even a larger peaceful fish will take a shot at a smaller fish.
About the rams, I've seen people keep multiple fish in cichlid only/semi aggressive tanks. Lot's of people will keep a lone ram in their community. They are only aggressive during spawning (cichlids love to spawn!) so if you can find 2 females the problem could be avoided.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Yschen (May 26, 2012)

Yeah I think it's for the better. Keeping a smaller separate tank for the betta won't be to hard, and it opens alot more options for what I can keep in the bigger tank! Really appreciate the help and input you guys provided! Thanks alot!


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Did you figure out if your pH is stable?
If not you could try looking into large rainbowfish, they do great in high pH.
Otherwise there are lots of fish that have been bred by us so long that they can handle the pH.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Yschen (May 26, 2012)

Think I'm going for Malawi only for the big tank and a betta and some loaches for the small one. My parents have kept malawis and all other sorts of fish using the citys tapwater so I don't think it's going to be a problem.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

The water is soft so I would use a substrate of crushed coral/aragonite to boost up the hardness, but the pH is great.

_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

If you still want a betta but prefer more options, a sorority might work out. If girls can tolerate each other, they can tolerate community fish.


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## Yschen (May 26, 2012)

Sadly mbuna need a larger (wider) tank than the one I have on the floor at the moment. Since I really like the look of betas, a sorority might be ideal since there are more of them they should be more of the main fish in the tank. I take it most of the established options are still open to me here as with the male? If those ram cichlids would work with a male beta, surely they would be fine with a sorority?


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