A 55 Gallon Betta Sonority?

[legendarydogs]

Hi, I have this giant (Well, at least it seems it to me.) 55 gallon tank. It's not a tall but I don't think it's a long either.

I was thinking about doing a betta sonority with it. Maybe 9 or 11 female and keeping them with some other fish? It will be live planted.

As far as other fish I'm thinking about a large group of neon tetras, around 15. Maybe 8 or so zebra danios? I hear the fast-movement can stress out bettas, but seeing that it's a larger tank, and that female bettas and faster then males, would it be a problem?

I'd probably add 4 cory's, peppered or albino with 8 or so harlequin rasboras...

Am I over-stocking? Under-stocking? Am I missing something?

Sorry for all the questions!

[Oldfishlady]

Welcome to the forum.....and ask all the questions you need.....

The 55gal live planted with Betta sorority will look awesome, I would stay with only 2 different species of schooling fish and add to those numbers-like Neon tetra 18-20 and a second school species-Danios- that you like in the 8-10 range-it will look better this way and increase your corydora number to 6-8....maybe add some snails and shrimp...especially with live plants.....what kind of substrate do you plan and type of live plants-any plans for driftwood....if so-add one- BN pleco to the mix or once the tank has matured and plants growing really good-add a small school of Oto's....you could even limit the school to 1 species and add a livebearer-like Endlers or guppies and this would provide some live food to the mix......you can go so many direction with a 55gal......

What kind of lights do you plan-is this your first planted tank....if so, lighting is really important for successful plant growth-and they don't have to break the bank either......you can get proper plant lights for a 55g for under $12.00 if you already have the light strips and if not-you can still do it for under $30.00.......anyway......

How do you plan to establish the nitrogen cycle-do you have a test kit, if so, what kind...liquid reagent or strips.....

Look forward to pics and following your project....so much fun setting up a tank......

[Tikibirds]

That sounds awsome. I would love to have a 55 gallon tank, but I dont have room for it. Plus I live on the 2nd floor and the weight of the water would be like 500 or so pounds. Not sure these old floors could handle it.