Stocking A 20 Long

[Fishkrazy1]

See torrean I said "bettas are fish with other fish" The betta would be fine with an arrowana, the arrowana would have a problem with the betta... plus I expect that Zafirah has some common sence and wouldn't put a betta with an arrowana or oscars...

 

[Zafirah]

Yeh.. im prosuming that would be a problem

betta + oscar = .....ahh i dont even wannaknow

 

[Fishkrazy1]

Betta + any cichlid (except rams, discus and angles) = MASS DESVISTATION!!!! lol ok so mabye that's a little overkill but that's what they'll do to him... OVERKILLED BETTAS anyone?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

there's always a lot of debate about betta's in community tanks, IMO it all boils down to 1 thing, the personality of the betta.

some will be lean mean killing machines and if yours is like this the guppies don't stand a chance.

some will be peaceful as anything and will be quite happy.

you just have to keep an eye on your betta and see what it's temprement is like, bear in mind if it;s young as it reaches maturity it may change. you should be prepared to seperate him if nescessary so make sure you have a tank divider or a spare small tank or even a decent size vase/bowl to put the betta into temporarily if need be.

the general rule to work out stocking is 1" of fish per 1 gallon of water.

so you have a 20g tank you can have 20" of fish. so find out the adult size of all the fish you have, add em together if it reaches 20 then you need to stop adding fish!

there are a number of exceptions to the rule and other factors to consider, but it's a good start!

 

[Zafirah]

Ok, lets just say, mine is a lean mean killing machine. I woke up this smorning to find all my tetras( 3left i think he ate one) white finned instead of black, they were stressed. And, all my guppies had no fins. So, i but betta in a 2.5 gallon, he seems happier and the fish in my 20 gallon are happier

 

[SuperColey1]

Ok, lets just say, mine is a lean mean killing machine. I woke up this smorning to find all my tetras( 3left i think he ate one) white finned instead of black, they were stressed. And, all my guppies had no fins. So, i but betta in a 2.5 gallon, he seems happier and the fish in my 20 gallon are happier

If I had read this thread earlier I would've had to agree that putting a Betta in a community tank is a risk, but a risk that I took.

They can be feisty fish to say the least and it is correct to say that it depends on the Bettas temperament. For example, I already had my Betta in with my mollies when people told me that he shouldn't be in a community tank. By then he had been in there about a month with no probs so I left him in there. If anything my Betta is good friends with the black Mollies although he does flare at them everynow and again. Normally when they are mating and he gets jealous. lol

Neons can be the nippiest little fish and are very small. I wouldn't be suprised if the Betta got them but I would suggest otherwise as Bettas aren't that fast a swimmer with all that finnage to carry, whereas the tetras are very zippy. My problem with Neons is that they would not be able to resist nipping at the Bettas Fins. (He may well have crept up on them, they do like live food, mine has bloodworm once a week)

With Guppys it is said that the ones with fancy bright finnage, may cause the Betta to think they are a rival and battle commences. I never had guppys anyway so can't vouch for this.

So in short if you want to put a Betta in a community tank, be prepared for a bloodbath, but also don't assume it will definately happen. If you manage to get a nicely tempered passive Betta like I was lucky enough to get, then they can mix in and make a beautiful contrast.

(p.s. Also been told not to put Danios in with Bettas cos they're nippy but they won't go near him. I must just be lucky)

 

[Zafirah]

Ok soo i took out the betta
and i had a major power outage and now am down to
1 cory cat
4 guppies
3 phantom tetras

what other fish could i add
i want to do a mainly livebearer tank because i lovehaving baby fish
but im really interested in Line-Breeding guppies or mollies
and if i did that would i have to divide my tank and put males on
one side and females on the other side. Which i would prefer to do so that
i can choose which fish breed
i was thinking of adding

2 more female guppies
3 more male guppies
2 more corys

and when i get these fish i will get my divider
if needed and i am going to heavily plant it so the babies can survive
what plants are recomended

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Ok soo i took out the betta
and i had a major power outage and now am down to
1 cory cat
4 guppies
3 phantom tetras

what other fish could i add
i want to do a mainly livebearer tank because i lovehaving baby fish
but im really interested in Line-Breeding guppies or mollies
and if i did that would i have to divide my tank and put males on
one side and females on the other side. Which i would prefer to do so that
i can choose which fish breed
i was thinking of adding

2 more female guppies
3 more male guppies
2 more corys

and when i get these fish i will get my divider
if needed and i am going to heavily plant it so the babies can survive
what plants are recomended

that mix would work fine, you'd be slightly understocked but if your goin to be dividing up the tank bear in mind you'll loose some space, and also if your gonna have baby fish you'll need all the room you can get for them so it's best to leave the tank a little understocked.

only thing i'd add is get another cory, they really do prefer to be in bigger groups

 

[Zafirah]

Ok will do.
Hey, are corys happy in caves because their is slate in my tank
and i made caves outta it and the one cory seems to like it
also, would you reccomend any live plants for the tank

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Ok will do.
Hey, are corys happy in caves because their is slate in my tank
and i made caves outta it and the one cory seems to like it
also, would you reccomend any live plants for the tank

yeah they like caves and hidey holes

up to you if you want real plants or not, personally i prefer them but it's personal preference really

 

[Zafirah]

Yeh i really like live plants, they seem to fill out a tank and are good baby hiders.
What kinds of live plants would you recomend for a 20 long i need some that dont grow extremly tall

 

[dwarfgourami]

I am trying to visualise the logistics of linebreeding guppies with only access to one 20 gallon tank. Are you sure this is really going to be enough space to grow out subsequent batches of guppy fry (from 3 females you may confidently expect 20-60 fry a month) to a healthy breeding size and keep their parents and other fish from eating them up? I would invest in a couple of small breeding tank/fry tanks if I was going into breeding in anything more than the most casual survival-of -the-fittest way.

 

[Rhiannon]

I have a 20gl, and have 1 baby angel fish in it, 3 full size guppies, 1 guppy fry (who is getting alot bigger now) and 1 bristlenose.

I know my angel will need to be moved out when she is older and bigger.

But I plan on getting 2 rams and a dwarf gourami too.

Everyone seems very very happy, and with weekly water changes, they will be even more happy and live better in that size tank.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Yeh i really like live plants, they seem to fill out a tank and are good baby hiders.
What kinds of live plants would you recomend for a 20 long i need some that dont grow extremly tall

have a look on the tropica website, they have plant profiles with sizes requirements etc and pictures