What cage situation would be better for my fish?

[Leopardfire]

I have a 5 gallon and a 20 gallon aquarium available for bettas. I also want to keep 4 corydoras in the 20 gallon with my bettas. Right now I have a male and female betta living in small cages but they are going to move into the bigger ones soon.
Option 1) this was my original plan:
20 gallon- 4 cories, 1 male HM betta
5 gallon- 1 female CT (she's about 1in long with fins so I figured she would do better in the 5 gallon.)

Option 2)
20 gallon- 7-8 female betta sorority, 4 cory cats
5 gallon- male HM betta

I like option 2 because I can get more bettas this way. However, I don't want my male feel squished in the 5 gallon since he is a lot bigger than my female. He is currently in a 10 gallon, but I need that for my african clawed frog so he has to move. I don't want him to feel sad and cramped if I downgrade him to a 5 gallon. Also, will my female be happier in a 5 gallon on her own or with a sorority? Finally will 7-8 females and 4 cories be overcrowded for a 20 gallon.

[nel3]

i dont think 7-8 females and 4 cories will do. sounds like overstocking the 20g. from what i understand 20g is close enough for the sorority alone. your cories and HM male sound more feasible as to stockong options. i beleive cories need atleast 6 to be comfy as far as security in numbers. not sure how well 4 cories will fare as i dont have experience with cories.

your 5g options sound fine. its personal choice as to single betta minimum tank size but you can put 2 betta in the 5g providing its a divided tank.

[Leopardfire]

Do you think that 6 cories and my male betta would be the best option for the 20 gallon? I don't want to overstock it, but I want my cories to be happy.

[LebronTheBetta]

Hm... I'm getting a sorority soon and it's going to have around 8 Bettas, 4-6 Cories, 1 Mystery Snail, and 6-10 Ghost Shrimp. xD An experienced member here told me this that it was ok, so I thought it was a good stock as well and I agreed with her. My filter is made for 30 gallons though. I might be getting plants as well. Eh, it's your choice. But your stock seems to be FAR away from my stock! Hehe

[Leopardfire]

My filter is an aqua clear 30 so i filters 30 gallons too. I also have a good amount of live plants. I didn't think a sorority with the cories would be too much, but now I'm not sure. If your's works, then I guess mine would be good too. I just have to make sure the tank is actually cycled! It's hard because I get so impatient!

[LebronTheBetta]

Strange, that's the filter I have. Lol Just be patient, remember liquid ammonia is best and don't try shrimp, it'll harbor bad bacteria. Keep the filter on high, surroundings dark, and tune the temperature up a bit. :D

[Leopardfire]

Ya, I've had ammonia problems when starting all of my tanks because I added some bacteria and thought they were ready to go. I'm going to actually cycle this time because my betta got fin rot from the ammonia in his old cage and I want him to get better. I just can't seem to get rid of the ammonia in his 10 gallon, so even though I've medicated him twice, he's not any better. Hopefully putting him in a cycled cage will fix his fins!

[Freyja]

Originally Posted by Leopardfire

Ya, I've had ammonia problems when starting all of my tanks because I added some bacteria and thought they were ready to go. I'm going to actually cycle this time because my betta got fin rot from the ammonia in his old cage and I want him to get better. I just can't seem to get rid of the ammonia in his 10 gallon, so even though I've medicated him twice, he's not any better. Hopefully putting him in a cycled cage will fix his fins!

Have you considered testing your water for ammonia right out of the tap? Maybe your ammonia is being added to your water before even going into the tank. I know there's another member here who had that issue. City added ammonia to the water.

[Leopardfire]

Have you considered testing your water for ammonia right out of the tap?

My tap water comes out at 1ppm ammonia! This is why I've had so many ammonia problems, because changing the water only makes things worse in my tanks. I've lost a lot of fish because of this and I've started using prime and ammo chips to try to help things out. I don't want to overload my new tank and create even more problems.
The 20 gallon is currently cycled because I am using the filter from my 10 gallon. I will try to cycle the 20 gallon filter fast that way I can switch them.