So; I've got a 15 gallon long tank that I've set up as a female betta sorority-community tank. The tank has been running since September of 2010, and while I've posted pictures of it the odd time on here, or to introduce new girls, I've never actually shown everyone at once. In order to get everyone to come out, I have to feed them. A couple of the girls ate too much and are a little bloated, but I overfed this time because I wanted to ensure that Sunny, who was released into the tank this morning, got a chance to get some food. Scrappy and Cara have always been on the fatter side anyway!.
It's rare for me to see the otocinlus in this tank. They only ever appear in plain sight for a few hours a day, and usually late at night. The girls don't bother the cories or otos in the tank anymore, and quite often, I'll see the girls sharing an algae tab with the cories (no one shares the shrimp pellets though!).
First off; Some details on the tank:
Filtration: Elite Hush 20, with modified media
Heating: To approx 76 degrees
Lighting: Two "Daylight" CFL bulbs totalling approx 11 watts.
Decor: Two pieces of malaysian driftwood, interlocked, a few small terracotta pots (number depends on what scape I've got).
Plants:
-Hygrophila Polysperma
-Amazon Sword
-Crypt. Lutea
-Crypt. Undulata
-Crypt. Wendtii
-Java Fern
-Marimo Moss Ball
Plant Ferts/Dosing: None.
Fish:
-7 Female Betta (Scarlet, Sasha, Scarlet, Sunny, Cara, Callie, Cache)
-3 Panda Corydora
-3 Peppered Corydora
-2 Otocinclus Affinis
Cleaning/Maintenance Regime:
-20% water change if weekly, 35% if every-other-week (weekly depends on how busy I am).
-Plant trimming, once a week (mainly hygro. Polysperma)
.... & Now for the pictures!
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Full Tank Shot:
Corys & Oto (The pandas refused to come out for the camera, even when I bribed them with food):
Sunny; the newest addition to the tank, and much smaller than her sorority sisters...Blue in her fins only shows up in pictures. Otherwise, she looks entirely pastel yellow:
Scarlet; named for her colouring, she's gorgeous. Scarlet seemed like a striking name for a betta with striking eyes and colouration:
Scrappy; named due to her tendency to fight with EVERYTHING. Despite being positive that she's a lady, she flares at everything, and more often than my boys! She -always- has ripped fins:
Sasha; named for her carefree nature in which she frequently "sashays" through the water, oblivious as to what her sisters are doing around her. She has the cutest betta face every, mottled red and white, which was much more pronounced when she was younger:
Cara; named after the character from Terry Goodkind's book series, she started out as a shim, flaring at everything, and I was unsure of her gender. Now I'm positive that she's female. She had a stark white body when I got her, she's now showing more of a pink body with brightly coloured, but always has ripped fins. This girl likes to fight!:
Callie; named after the character from Grey's Anatomy, she's a spunky little lady who likes to attack my fingers when it's feeding time. I've seen her jump 1" out of the water:
Cache; named after her amazing ability for hiding and evading being attacked in the tank, she's a gorgeous steel blue colour, and the second newest addition to the tank (added two weeks ago or so):
The last image shows Cache's colouing really well. In order from left to right:
Callie, Sunny, Cache
It's rare for me to see the otocinlus in this tank. They only ever appear in plain sight for a few hours a day, and usually late at night. The girls don't bother the cories or otos in the tank anymore, and quite often, I'll see the girls sharing an algae tab with the cories (no one shares the shrimp pellets though!).
First off; Some details on the tank:
Filtration: Elite Hush 20, with modified media
Heating: To approx 76 degrees
Lighting: Two "Daylight" CFL bulbs totalling approx 11 watts.
Decor: Two pieces of malaysian driftwood, interlocked, a few small terracotta pots (number depends on what scape I've got).
Plants:
-Hygrophila Polysperma
-Amazon Sword
-Crypt. Lutea
-Crypt. Undulata
-Crypt. Wendtii
-Java Fern
-Marimo Moss Ball
Plant Ferts/Dosing: None.
Fish:
-7 Female Betta (Scarlet, Sasha, Scarlet, Sunny, Cara, Callie, Cache)
-3 Panda Corydora
-3 Peppered Corydora
-2 Otocinclus Affinis
Cleaning/Maintenance Regime:
-20% water change if weekly, 35% if every-other-week (weekly depends on how busy I am).
-Plant trimming, once a week (mainly hygro. Polysperma)
.... & Now for the pictures!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full Tank Shot:
Corys & Oto (The pandas refused to come out for the camera, even when I bribed them with food):
Sunny; the newest addition to the tank, and much smaller than her sorority sisters...Blue in her fins only shows up in pictures. Otherwise, she looks entirely pastel yellow:
Scarlet; named for her colouring, she's gorgeous. Scarlet seemed like a striking name for a betta with striking eyes and colouration:
Scrappy; named due to her tendency to fight with EVERYTHING. Despite being positive that she's a lady, she flares at everything, and more often than my boys! She -always- has ripped fins:
Sasha; named for her carefree nature in which she frequently "sashays" through the water, oblivious as to what her sisters are doing around her. She has the cutest betta face every, mottled red and white, which was much more pronounced when she was younger:
Cara; named after the character from Terry Goodkind's book series, she started out as a shim, flaring at everything, and I was unsure of her gender. Now I'm positive that she's female. She had a stark white body when I got her, she's now showing more of a pink body with brightly coloured, but always has ripped fins. This girl likes to fight!:
Callie; named after the character from Grey's Anatomy, she's a spunky little lady who likes to attack my fingers when it's feeding time. I've seen her jump 1" out of the water:
Cache; named after her amazing ability for hiding and evading being attacked in the tank, she's a gorgeous steel blue colour, and the second newest addition to the tank (added two weeks ago or so):
The last image shows Cache's colouing really well. In order from left to right:
Callie, Sunny, Cache
worthy 
