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Female Betta in community tank

J

James7

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Hi all,

I am thinking of what I can add to my 20g community tank that currently houses the following:

2 Honey Gourami M+F
10 Green Neon Tetra
5 Salt and Pepper Pygmy Corydoras

I had ideas of adding a couple of female Betta and one or more of the following:
6 Ember Tetra
6 male Endlers
6 Dwarf Hatchetfish

Will I have any aggression issues between the Betta and Gourami or the other fish (endlers and hatchet mainly). I saw some lovely female Betta at my LFS on the weekend, all very small at less than 1 inch at the moment.

Thanks
 
I would not add bettas of any gender to a tank that already has gouramis. Female bettas can be just as bad as males.

Two is not a good number for female bettas. They should be kept as a single fish or a group of at least four, preferably in a tank with only them. With two, one will bully the other; with three two will gang up on one; with four or more there are enough so that no one fish is picked on all the time. And even then they must have an eye kept on them. Some females are very aggressive and cannot be kept with other females. And some shops can't tell the difference between females and short finned males.


Assuming you have soft water, I would go with the ember tetras, but more than 6. Endlers are hard water fish and I would be worried that hatchetfish would not go well with gouramis.
 
Personally I would add a few more salt and peppe cories. Six is really the minimum recommended, but 8-9 would be even better. The more the merrier as far as they're concerned. Make sure your existing schools have good numbers before looking for something different to add, you know? Then you get the best out of the fish you already have. They feel safer and more confident when they have a good sized group, so you see behaviours that you wouldn't if they're feeling a bit vulnerable.

Then maybe the ember tetras too.
 
Agree with both of the above posts. To give you an idea in a similar sized tank (22G) I have 20 ember tetras and 15 pygmy cories. With your green neons and gouramis that is probably as much as I would do in this tank, but that should give you a really good display.
 
essjay said:
I would not add bettas of any gender to a tank that already has gouramis. Female bettas can be just as bad as males.

Assuming you have soft water, I would go with the ember tetras, but more than 6. Endlers are hard water fish and I would be worried that hatchetfish would not go well with gouramis.
Click to expand...

Thanks essay, exactly the kind of advice and experience I was looking for. I was concerned about the Betta and Gourami, never even thought that the hatchets might not be compatible.

As for hardness it’s about 14GH I thought this would be ok for either of them?

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:
Personally I would add a few more salt and peppe cories. Six is really the minimum recommended, but 8-9 would be even better. The more the merrier as far as they're concerned. Make sure your existing schools have good numbers before looking for something different to add, you know? Then you get the best out of the fish you already have. They feel safer and more confident when they have a good sized group, so you see behaviours that you wouldn't if they're feeling a bit vulnerable.

Then maybe the ember tetras too.
Click to expand...

I did have 6 Cory but unfortunately one died, they only ever really travel around in pairs or a group of 3 though. I have never seen them properly school. Do you think that this is because there isn’t a large enough number?

seangee said:
Agree with both of the above posts. To give you an idea in a similar sized tank (22G) I have 20 ember tetras and 15 pygmy cories. With your green neons and gouramis that is probably as much as I would do in this tank, but that should give you a really good display.
Click to expand...

Are you saying to add more cories and then a school of embers? I think this might end up being overstocked?
 
James7 said:
Are you saying to add more cories and then a school of embers? I think this might end up being overstocked?
Click to expand...
if you're not comfortable then don't.
FWIW this is what 20 ember tetras look like in the 22G. This is a 3' tank where yours is likely 2'
20200626_165230-jpg.108198

My plants have grown a lot since then and I have added more fish - including the 15 pygmy cories.
 
14 dH is a bit on the high side for the fish you have now and the fish you would like to add (except endlers). Is there any chance you could add some RO water to the new water when doing a water change? If you can do this we can help you work out how much RO to use.
 
essjay said:
14 dH is a bit on the high side for the fish you have now and the fish you would like to add (except endlers). Is there any chance you could add some RO water to the new water when doing a water change? If you can do this we can help you work out how much RO to use.
Click to expand...

I’m sure it would be possible, but I would rather not be messing around with water all the time. 14 was probably an over estimation, the test strips I use give examples of 7 and 14 and it is closer to 14 than 7 when I test. I would say It is probably more like 12. The tank has been going for 7-8 months so far.

seangee said:
if you're not comfortable then don't.
FWIW this is what 20 ember tetras look like in the 22G. This is a 3' tank where yours is likely 2'
Click to expand...

You’ve got a lovely tank, I’m sure it’s even nicer with the plant growth, what’s floating, frogbit or water lettuce?
 
To get a more accurate GH, look on your water provider's website. Unless it's Northumbrian Water or Essex & Suffolk Water there should be a number somewhere on there. You also need the unit of measurement as UK water companies tend to use units not used in fish keeping so we need to convert it. Unless you are doing something to actively alter the GH such as using limestone rocks as decor, your tank GH will be virtually the same as the water company's quoted level.
If you can't find a number tell us the name of the company as some companies make life difficult ;)
 
Well, I never thought that they would publish all of that information so I’ve never even thought to look for it!
42B5F487-D167-4BA2-B68F-D39216A8A21C.png

I guess it is 14dH then?!
 
James7 said:
You’ve got a lovely tank, I’m sure it’s even nicer with the plant growth, what’s floating, frogbit or water lettuce?
Click to expand...
Thanks.
In that pic, and my signature, its mostly frogbit. I put the frogbit in their while the water sprite was growing. Now that it is I have taken the frogbit out. Nothing against frogbit - I just did not want this one to look the same as all my others :)
 
The number you want is 14 German degrees which is the same as dH. You do have hard water.

Look up the fish you have and those you want on https://www.seriouslyfish.com/knowledge-base/ specifically at their hardness range. Some of the profiles give hardness ranges in ppm and your 14 dH converts to 250 ppm.


When soft water fish are kept in hard water calcium deposits form in their kidneys which shortens their lives. The choice is yours, but maybe go for endlers, keep the soft water fish you have but don't add more and when the soft water fish reach the end of their lives, replace them with hard water fish.
 
Damn, I hadn’t realised that my water was so hard and it was hurting my fish. I will speak to a few stores near me to see if I can get some RO water. Is it going to affect any other parameters?
 
I have seen the API softener pillow, but it has very mixed reviews. Does anyone have any experience with this, maybe RO would be easier to use. I am concerned that it may lower the pH and how would I go about acclimating the fish? Would I need to do the first W/C with just RO water or would I need to first calculate the right mixture of RO and Tap and then just need to use that for every W/C to gradually lower the hardness?
 
Calculate the correct overall final % mix. Then gradually build up to it with similar % water changes I believe. Testing regularly on the journey.

Its something I’m considering doing as mines 19dh and I want Corys, Honey Gouramis/Hongslois and a “crowd scene” fish such as WCMM/ Microdevario Kubotai. I’ve bought a new RO “ machine” on eBay for about £40 and it’s still sitting in the shed while we rewire, refloor, and redecorate three bedrooms....so the three remaining guppies have the run of a 30g for a while.
 
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