Plans For My Sorority

[Joelouisvachon]

I'm going to get a sorority soon, but I'm still in the planning stage. I've set up a 20 g tank with lots of different silk plants for cover, many caves and little hideouts I created. It's heated, filtered and filled with aged and conditioned water. In other words I just have to let my aquarium run for a while to gain stable temperature and I have to figure out how to stock my tank. This was my idea:

- betta fish (duh. how many??)
- tetra (what type/how many?)
- 1 snail (what type?)

As you can see, I only really have two questions. any other suggestions of what I could put in would be very helpful.
sorry for the long post, I wanted to be clear.

[shellieca]

Originally Posted by Joelouisvachon

I'm going to get a sorority soon, but I'm still in the planning stage. I've set up a 20 g tank with lots of different silk plants for cover, many caves and little hideouts I created. It's heated, filtered and filled with aged and conditioned water. In other words I just have to let my aquarium run for a while to gain stable temperature and I have to figure out how to stock my tank. This was my idea:

- betta fish (duh. how many??)
- tetra (what type/how many?)
- 1 snail (what type?)

As you can see, I only really have two questions. any other suggestions of what I could put in would be very helpful.
sorry for the long post, I wanted to be clear.

Congrats on the tank. I hope you understand that using "aged and conditioned" water does not mean your tank is cycled. The BB (beneficial bacteria) lives on the plants, substrate, decorations and mostly in your filter. If you haven't read up on cycling you may want to so you don't put fish into an unsafe tank and if I am misunderstanding your post then please accept my appology.

[Joelouisvachon]

My tank is not cycled yet, by aged and conditioned I mean I left the water overnight and put betta conditioner in it. I'm starting to cycle it right now, so it gives me a lot of time to prepare in the meantime. I have cycled tanks before, but it's never offending for someone to double check.

[babystarz]

You need to start with at LEAST 6 girls. In a 20g you could theoretically start with up to 10 (2g per fish is the rule of thumb) without the tetras. With the tetras, you're going to have a pretty high bioload and no live plants so I would go with 6 bettas. The reason you need to start with at least 6 is because you may need to remove some fish if they turn out to be too aggressive or unhappy in a sorority setting. So have at least 2 smaller tanks ready just in case this happens. Never have a group smaller than 4; this isn't enough fish to keep them from getting territorial or picking on individuals.

The girls should be quarantined for a minimum of two weeks from each other to ensure they aren't carrying any diseases/parasites they could spread.

The snail is probably going to end up eaten by someone, but as long as you're prepared for that you can add it.

I believe tetras should not be added in groups of less than 6(?) to protect them from betta aggression. I guess it's a safety in numbers thing. I haven't dealt with tetras before so I'm not 100% sure on how they do in sororities. I do know they should be added before the bettas.

If you want to add more types of fish, don't pick anything that is smaller than your largest betta.

Some surface cover is a good idea, either with fake or floating live plants. It helps break up the line of sight above the plants on the bottom. Place the bottom plants with this concept in mind too; don't leave any large open areas or passages between plants/decorations.

What kind of gravel/substrate are you using? Sororities produce a lot of waste, so something that is easy to vacuum is essential.

[Joelouisvachon]

I do have large fake leaves floating on the surface of the water, it gives a more 'natural' feel in my opinion.
I use real ground coral, it is surprisingly easy to vacuum. Of course it helps that I have a ground filter.
I've decided from your advice only to get six betta fish, and get six tetras if I have enough money afterwards. Only then will I buy a snail, as that is my last priority considering someone could eat it. The only worry I have for the snail is that my fish would get hurt from ingesting the snail.