[Edifiler]

Hey guys so recently I just picked up a used but still good 62 gallons tank. I've already given it a good scrub with warm water and vinegar and its looking good. I plan to use it as a grow-out tank for when I start breeding bettas. But I'm just curious, how many betta females can I house in there, assuming its heavily planted?

 

[Mo]

25-30 you could easily fit more bio load wise, but when taking into consideration, females can be just as aggresive as males meaning that they still all should have personal space

 

[Edifiler]

Alright, noted thanks for the response.

 

[Bombalurina]

I reckon you could squeeze as many as 35, but 30 or less would be a much more sensible number. I'm very jealous - I want a tank that big! My girls would love it!

 

[djembekah]

a 30 member sorority sounds amaaaaazing * o*

 

[Edifiler]

@djembekah haha I know but if it was either that or a grow out tank for when i breed and i've been dreaming of breeding for ages now ;x

@Bombalurina haha, i'm sure you'll get a tank just like that or even bigger! How many girls do you have?

 

[Bombalurina]

Just 6. I'd probably cap it at ten and fill the rest of the tank with beautiful community fishes.

 

[Edifiler]

Oh haha, what community fishes are you looking at? Maybe some tetras?

 

[Bettas Rule]

I have a 55 gallon and I have about 50 of them in there. It's about a gallon a fish which is the standard for fresh water fish.

 

[Edifiler]

oh haha, you must have a good filter then to get rid of the bio load.

 

[bettalover2033]

If you plan to breed and use it as a grow-out tank, all of your fry should fit in there comfortably. Assuming you have an average number of 50-70 fry survive...usually a first spawn resulting in around 35-40 surviving they would fit perfectly fine in a 65 gallon tankl.

Now if you're talking about a sorority of females that are not siblings, I would say the safest number to put in a tank that size is 20-25 maximum and even that might be pushing it.

As much fun and cool this might sound to have 30 females in a tank, it would be way to risky and experimented by someone with a ton of experience. For one, I have successfully housed up to 24 females in a 55 gallon with dwarf gourami's, neon teras, mollies, platties and fancy guppies with no real aggression forming. Though I did have an advantage of having about 1/4 of them being siblings.

This isn't advised because not many are able to do this. I did push the limit a lot since I would only suggest 10-15 females in a 55 gallon and even more plants than you can imagine.

So what I'm saying is the safest number to put in your new 65 gallon would be 20-25 females with some other community fish.

Some community fish that I would suggest would be platties, mollies, neon tetras, sword tails and other live bearers.

All of those fish need to be in groups of 4 or more, preferably 6, but you can get by on 4.

Good Luck!

 

[Edifiler]

If I do breed, it would be my first time. And I'm trying to get everything ready before I start, all thats left right now is a heater for the 62gal. But my lfs only sells heaters of 50w and 100w. I dont think I would be able to find a 75w. So assuming if I cant get a 75w heater, which would work better? The 50w or 100w? And also would a 75w work fine?

 

[bettalover2033]

Do you plan on breeding in the 65 gallon?

To answer your question....You need 3-5 watts for every gallon in the tank. So for a 65 gallon you'd need at least 400-500 watts. Heaters are expensive as it is so if you cant find any heaters that many watts, i'd suggest searching online. Check Aquabid.com and in the heaters sections another site would be to check petco or petsmart.

If you really had no other choice I'd say go with the 100 watt, but the 75w and 50w would not do any good.

Make sure you can provide enough heat to go through the whole tank before setting it up. If you can't just wait until you can get a good enough heater.

 

[Bettas Rule]

oh haha, you must have a good filter then to get rid of the bio load.

Nope I use plants :-D

 

[Pitluvs]

I personally know breeders who say more females the better when dealing with non spawn females. She doesn't recommend using 10g tanks, but a 15g tank she recommends 10+. Averaging at around 1 Betta per gallon in a tank. I think as individuals, we should just try ourselves and see what we can handle. I personally would overstock females rather than understock.

Gotta agree on the heater situation though, it's best to have a heater that's too powerful than a heater thats under powered. You'll blow heaters left and right and they will never heat the tank. 400W+ heater for a tank so large. This is why I like to stick to smaller tanks, more affordable stuff lol

 

[bettalover2033]

I'd have to disagree with you about the females situation.

What you should do is not follow up on what a breeder does because they would be much more experienced and for example, would know exactly what to look for in the behavior. Somethings are interpreted differently to different people. And this goes for all animals. Some are just a lot more complicated than others.

What I'm trying to point out is that to attempt anything that has to do with keeping more than one betta in a tank should be done with first doing lots of research and some kind of experience to fall back on so the "attempt-er" doesn't get disappointed.

Of course many people learn by doing, but in some circumstances, doing may not always be the wisest choice and can result in a huge amount of loss.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but the way I interpreted your message is "Go for it." Which isn't always the best answer. (I also mean no disrespect)It's obvious the OP is trying to get more knowledge about this to actually attempt it.

@OP: My opinion and suggestions doesn't change...Just start small and in time, determine if you're ready to take it a step farther.

 

[MrVampire181]

Agreed with bl2033.

 

[Bombalurina]

Oh haha, what community fishes are you looking at? Maybe some tetras?

There are so many community fish I love . I have wanted cardinal tetras for a long time, I can't go past ember tetras or Endlers Livebearers either, and I HAVE TO HAVE kuhli loaches one day! And maybe some kind of crazy beautiful pleco, like a candy stripe...and cories, of course!

I have a 55 gallon and I have about 50 of them in there. It's about a gallon a fish which is the standard for fresh water fish.

Rules like this one are rarely a good idea, BettasRule. They frequently lead to overstocking and don't take in the varying bioloads and territorial needs of most fish. For tetras it's an ok rule in larger tanks (you wouldn't want to apply it in under 20 gallons, I reckon) but for most other fish it isn't appropriate.
Remember that freshwater fish covers a massive range of species.

 

[Pitluvs]

I'd have to disagree with you about the females situation.

What you should do is not follow up on what a breeder does because they would be much more experienced and for example, would know exactly what to look for in the behavior. Somethings are interpreted differently to different people. And this goes for all animals. Some are just a lot more complicated than others.

What I'm trying to point out is that to attempt anything that has to do with keeping more than one betta in a tank should be done with first doing lots of research and some kind of experience to fall back on so the "attempt-er" doesn't get disappointed.

Of course many people learn by doing, but in some circumstances, doing may not always be the wisest choice and can result in a huge amount of loss.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but the way I interpreted your message is "Go for it." Which isn't always the best answer. (I also mean no disrespect)It's obvious the OP is trying to get more knowledge about this to actually attempt it.

@OP: My opinion and suggestions doesn't change...Just start small and in time, determine if you're ready to take it a step farther.

And my opinion is the OP should take all suggestions and make their own choices. I also said "I" and "personally". The OP can do as they wish. Myself, I have observed females long enough to know I could personally handle it, the OP may not. Only the OP knows their level of experience. You're post makes it sound like I said "Ignore everyone else, listen to me and do exactly as I say" which I was not

 

[Bettas Rule]

Rules like this one are rarely a good idea, BettasRule. They frequently lead to overstocking and don't take in the varying bioloads and territorial needs of most fish. For tetras it's an ok rule in larger tanks (you wouldn't want to apply it in under 20 gallons, I reckon) but for most other fish it isn't appropriate.
Remember that freshwater fish covers a massive range of species.

I have never had a problem with it. It's common knowledge with aggressive fish that the more fish the less the aggression. It actually makes sense if you think about it. The more fish you have, the more the aggression is spread out among the fish and no one ever gets picked on to much. I have African cichlids and the same rules apply, more fish less aggression. It doesn't take a genius to keep a sorority in a 65 gallon heavily planted. In fact my 55 gallon sorority takes the LEAST amount of work and care. I wish people wouldn't treat members like mindless children that can't do what the "experts" do. Where do you think the "experts" got their information? Everyone has to start somewhere. Try being supportive and don't demean people who you don't even know. No one on here knows for sure if this person can handle a sorority or not and speaking otherwise is rude and judgmental. This person asked what number of bettas they could house in a 65 gallon, they did not ask for a forum assessment of their fish keeping skills and directions on what this forum thinks the OP can personally handle. Just my opinion.