# First Tank...ever!



## Nightvision (Apr 11, 2018)

Hi, 

So I am new to fish-keeping and I have a 200L (50US gallon) tank ready for water by the weekend! 😄

I’m going for a red and blue fish theme and I would love to have a female Betta with Cardinal tetra and flame-tailed guppies.

Is this actually achievable or not? Any suggestions and advice would be most welcome please 🙂


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## Adnamac (Apr 18, 2013)

Brand spanking new and jumping right into such a big tank? :shock: Whew! So far as I'm concerned...you are a mighty brave one! 

I wish I could be more help when it comes to your question, but I'm honestly not sure. I don't know to much about tetras or guppies...but with a female I _think_ they may be fine. 

With a tank that large, I would go for a nice sized sorority myself!


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## Nightvision (Apr 11, 2018)

Adnamac said:


> Brand spanking new and jumping right into such a big tank? <img style="max-width:100%;" src="http://www.bettafish.com/images/smilies/icon_eek.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Shocked" class="inlineimg" /> Whew! So far as I'm concerned...you are a mighty brave one!
> 
> I wish I could be more help when it comes to your question, but I'm honestly not sure. I don't know to much about tetras or guppies...but with a female I _think_ they may be fine.
> 
> With a tank that large, I would go for a nice sized sorority myself!


Haha! I went with a big tank so I wouldn’t have to upgrade in the future! 

I’m hoping that females are much less territorial!


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## CarissaLynn (Apr 10, 2018)

Nightvision said:


> Hi,
> 
> So I am new to fish-keeping and I have a 200L (50US gallon) tank ready for water by the weekend! 😄
> 
> ...


I found this online and think it would be super super helpful for you! AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor

You put in all the information regarding your tank size and filtration and then list all the aquatic life you want to put in (clean up crew included) and then scroll down and it gives you an idea of if they all work together, suggestions on schooling size mins, and if your tank is over stocked or not! Hope it helps ^_^


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## poisonousgiraffe (Jan 24, 2018)

It depends on the personality of the betta you choose, since some females can be aggressive, or get stressed out being in a tank with other fish. But since you're starting with a big tank, you will probably be fine as long as you add a lot of plants and hiding spots. a lot of bettas don't like large open spaces, but they do love large tanks with plants to hide and rest in. 

For community tanks, most people recommend introducing the other fish, and letting them get comfy in the tank, before adding a betta. Introducing the betta first might lead to her thinking all 50 gallons are her territory, and might end up being extra stressful for all the fish


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## Nightvision (Apr 11, 2018)

poisonousgiraffe said:


> It depends on the personality of the betta you choose, since some females can be aggressive, or get stressed out being in a tank with other fish. But since you're starting with a big tank, you will probably be fine as long as you add a lot of plants and hiding spots. a lot of bettas don't like large open spaces, but they do love large tanks with plants to hide and rest in.
> 
> For community tanks, most people recommend introducing the other fish, and letting them get comfy in the tank, before adding a betta. Introducing the betta first might lead to her thinking all 50 gallons are her territory, and might end up being extra stressful for all the fish


Thank you 🙂 Could you advise on some suitable plants? I’m not going for a planted tank (yet anyways) but with plant names etc I can find something suitable 🙂

Yeah that would funny and rather tragic all at once! 50g and 1fish!


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## Nightvision (Apr 11, 2018)

CarissaLynn said:


> Nightvision said:
> 
> 
> > Hi,
> ...


That is amazing thank you!! I will be spending the majority of my Friday playing with that! 😄


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## poisonousgiraffe (Jan 24, 2018)

Anubias and java fern are good starter plants. They only need low light, so it doesn't matter what kind of lighting you have for your tank. they also come in a variety of leaf shapes and sizes so even if you only use these two, you can still make your tank look interesting. Water wisteria and water sprite/water fern are also really easy and grow really fast if you have decent lighting. Cryptocoryne is also good because it's hardy once established, but some varieties (usually red colored ones) need high light to grow.


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## chocky (Mar 6, 2018)

Java moss is easy to attach to rocks and driftwood and are low maintenance and needs. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Nightvision (Apr 11, 2018)

Tank so far! 🙂 Bonsai is soaking waiting for moss to arrive then water in next week and fish in by the end of the month! 😄


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## robiray (Feb 16, 2010)

Nightvision said:


> Tank so far! 🙂 Bonsai is soaking waiting for moss to arrive then water in next week and fish in by the end of the month! 😄


Looks good & a wise decision to go for a medium sized tank. Remember, the more the water volume, lesser the chances of ammonia poisoning. However, I hope, you have cycled the water. It takes a minimum of 3 - 4 weeks for water to cycle. To kickstart, get some fish food & introduce a small qty of it in the water. Are those plants, live ? If so, that gravel is a mismatch. To grow live plants, you need a soil capable of supplying N(Nitrogen), P(Phosphorus) & K(Potassium) to the plants. There are several brands out there which do that. As far as the fish is concerned, looks like a good combination, however keep a watch on the betta & flame tailed guppies. There could be bouts of aggression. Other than that, good luck for your new setup !!


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## NerdyCheshire (Mar 30, 2018)

Nightvision said:


> Tank so far! 🙂 Bonsai is soaking waiting for moss to arrive then water in next week and fish in by the end of the month! 😄


Very nice tank! I like how you are arranging it! Having a big tank gives a lot of decor and set up options.


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

I had a male betta in a large tank with small schooling fish. I had rasboras, neons, and corycats as well as neo shrimp. Honestly, a big tank is easier to do than a small tank. The only thing with doing something like this is that you need A LOT of live plants in there to keep the aggression at a minimum. That's going to get pricey but it makes for an amazing tank.


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