New To Betta Fishes

[kimberlina]

Hi there,
My fiance is more the fish keeper in our house, but when he set up his first tropical tank and put a betta in it i have loved these beautiful fishes ever since and now i want to do a community tank with females and a male.

The last thing i want to do i cause the little fishes any harm or trauma so i want to get everything as right as possible first time round.

I have a 20 gallon tank, with a massive external filter. how many fishes would this comfortably hold?

and what are you all using as substrate? i read that the fins are delicate so i'm a bit worried about the substrate being too sharp but my boyfriend thinks i'm maybe being too worried.

also what are you all using for hidey holes other than plants?

any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks
Kim

 

[dmarie04]

A 20 gallon tank would be great for a group of females, but I wouldn't ever recommend putting a male with females. Oh, sure, you'll have the rare person come along and state that they had a male and a female live together peacefully for several years. However, this is more the exception than the rule and it's just too risky. A sorority is colorful and full of activity. Personally, my 25 gallon sorority tank is probably one of my favorite tanks. A 20 gallon would comfortably house 10 female bettas...possibly more. I wouldn't go more than 15 in there and I wouldn't go fewer than 6. When it comes to hidey holes, it's up to your own creativity, really. Caves, wood, plants, flower pots, whatever catches your fancy. Just make sure, if going with a sorirty, that you have LOTS of hiding spots. The substrate, is also, up to you. I've never heard of a betta slicing their fins on substrate, but I wouldn't go with anything too sharp. Personally, I like sand in all my tanks, anyway.
Good luck with your set up and remember to post pictures!!

 

[dutchmodernist]

Hi there,
My fiance is more the fish keeper in our house, but when he set up his first tropical tank and put a betta in it i have loved these beautiful fishes ever since and now i want to do a community tank with females and a male.


Thanks
Kim

I don't know if I understood right, but please don't put a male in with your females, he will hurt them! You can get all sorts of decorations with little hiding spots built in. I also put a couple of large shells in with my girls for them to hide in/under.

 

[kimberlina]

Thanks for the info, i've read a lot on the internet and a lot of sites are saying that it is ok for a male to be housed with a gang of females. however if it is a big risk then i wont do it. i may just have a smaller tank with a single male in it cos i love them so much.

what will the male do to the females in worst case scenario?

 

[dmarie04]

You will wind up with dead fish. Usually either the male will kill off any female that won't breed with him OR the females start killing each other to try and breed with the male, OR the male will breed with a female (BAD!) and then kill her and anyone else in the tank to defend his nest OR the male will just see the female(s) as a threat to his territory and kill her/them off right away. Males are aggressive and territorial. They can work in SOME community set ups with other fish but they should never go with other bettas (male or female).

 

[kimberlina]

okey dokey, i dont want dead fishes. thanks for the advice.

 

[hollyp0p]

You will wind up with dead fish. Usually either the male will kill off any female that won't breed with him OR the females start killing each other to try and breed with the male, OR the male will breed with a female (BAD!) and then kill her and anyone else in the tank to defend his nest OR the male will just see the female(s) as a threat to his territory and kill her/them off right away. Males are aggressive and territorial. They can work in SOME community set ups with other fish but they should never go with other bettas (male or female).

Yeah I vote if you want a community do your research thoroughly on here and ask people and try that....I've just added a male betta to my community tank of zebra danios and neon tetra which since joining here i found both were risky fish, but so far i only had to remove 2 danios for being too pushy....the remaining 4 seem fine now and only pick on anybody else when moody...and mostly only to other danios.....and the tetra mostly just keep out of his way, but i am told tetra can be nasty fin nippers and danios can stress them out.....but my betta came from a bustling tank of mollies and is unphased by the motion in my tank....he hardly keeps still himself except for small rests and breathing of course, and i am lucky that my betta is extremely placid and hasn't attacked or even flared at any other fish in my tank

 

[MermaidMel]

what will the male do to the females in worst case scenario?

Kill hun

 

[kimberlina]

what will the male do to the females in worst case scenario?

Kill hun

well put! short and to the point!

 

[monica]

Yeah, they will kill. Sometimes the females will gang up and kill the male aswell. Maybe just get one super happy male or 10-15 females Or you can get a community

 

[devon_charm]

I would go with a nice all girl tank after all you get some damn nice girls out there and if you did want other fish in there too you have alot less trouble with females. As for hiding places pretty much any thing goes as long as there is no rish of them gettin stuck or trapped and there is no sharp edges. Any substrait can be used with male or female betta. In with my girsl i have normal gravel but my boys have any thing from bare bottoms to fine black glass or even differend sized marbles. The great thing is you can let your imagination run wild.

Good luck with it all, you'll be hooked in no time lol

 

[kimberlina]

Hey all, further update.

can those of you who use sand please tell me what kind of sand you use and which is best? i am in the UK if that makes any difference.

Also i saw that some people use glass as a substrate which is what i wanted to do as my original idea but i was worried about the glass being too sharp for delicate fins. will glass be ok then?

Thanks for all the advice! keep it coming!

Kim

 

[Kaz1814]

Hi, I buy my sand from the LFS but it can be expensive.. I know of others who have used play sand, like the type you get at toys r us, i think that works out cheaper.. I really like the look of sand and its easy to clean too.. Not used glass though so can't advise.
Good luck

 

[dmarie04]

I use playsand. It's really cheap. It's kind of a pain to wash, at first, but it's worth it for the natural look and low maintenance. I have read that pool filter sand is only a tiny bit more than play sand, but easier to wash.

 

[liz2]

I adore the glass pebbles. Morrisons have loads in their shops and you can get all different colours. One of my tanks has aquatic sand on the floor and glass pebbles dotted around....