[jennandjuicetm]

Eventully I will get my 20 long up and cycling and I plan to have a community. I'm researching th crap out of tankmates for my male betta Scarface. My plan is once the tank is cycled to add his tank mates then move him over last.
I would love ideas on my possibilities.

I like colorful fish. The more colors the better (hense bettas lol)
I like long, thin fish such as gobies!
I don't like fush with potuding bellies, they freak me out!
I don't mind opaqueness.
I plan to have plants including duckweed, frogbit (?), and java fern. The rest can be determined on the tank mates.
I don't want anyone who will outgrow my tank beause I feel like rehoming might be difficultl!
I will have two ADFs also.
I'm kind of looking for active, friendly fish since this is my first community tank.
I'd like tomake sure the mates are spreadout amung their levels.

So far I've looked in to
Gobies - getting conflicting info in min tank size
Tetras - was thinking of ome of each of the 5 colors (would double one or two) my Petsmart sells.
Corycats
Platies and Mollies- can't figure out if they are schooling and if they can be schooled with dofferent colors.

 

[Pippin]

You could get a few male guppies. I'm not sure how they would be with the ADFs, but my guppies are quite friendly. I think that they are a bit nicer than platies, but the two species can also get along. You could also get a few zebra danios with some black neons or normal neon tetras. If you were careful enough you could also put a male in, or do a sorority instead of a community.

 

[jennandjuicetm]

I've been considrring guppies for a while. I was worried about them with Scarface but he seems so docile. (There's another betta, Gimp, in a vase in his tank and he doesn' flare at Gimp for more than 5 minutes a day. I guess I could try them and if it doesn't work, return them. I lovethem because they aren't schooling fish so I could have them all look different! Why should I choose specifically male guppies?

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

You wouldn't want female Guppies as they have protuding bellies from being constantly pregnant; as do any female livebearers. And Guppies *are* schooling fish. BTW, schooling is not based on color. You could have 10 differently colored male Guppies and they would still school. You might look into male Endlers as they are quite colorful but don't have the long tails of Fancy Guppies.

As far as Tetras, some will school together and some won't; depends on the species. You need a minimum of six of the same type for them to be happy as they are more comfortable and active in larger groups. Just remember many of the Tetras are notorious nippers so Scarface may eventually have a ragged tail.

 

[jennandjuicetm]

Arg, i just read that they weren't. Are there any websites that have current and accurate information. Normally I just google and read from several websites.
With them being schooling I should have at least 6? Can they be different fin types and colors or are they like tetras and want to stick to their own kind? I read they should be in a m:f ratio of 1:2. So wouldnt I have to have females?

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

You don't need females. I have male Endlers and male Dwarf Panda Guppies.

Some Bettas are incredibly stressed by the constant, almost frenetic activity of Guppies and Endlers and some aren't. It's trial and error.

Have you looked at Rasboras? I have a friend who has Neons, Green Neons, Cardinals and several species of Rasboras in a community tank and it is quite colorful.

 

[jennandjuicetm]

I have thought about Rasboras also! Are they schooling as well? I've been using AqAdvisor.com to help me figure out how much I can stock. Is that pretty accurate?

 

[jennandjuicetm]

This is what I made up on AqAdvisor.com. The tetras can be replaced with guppies, but I don't think I'd want 10, maybe 5 of one species and 5 of another? Would this be overstocking in terms of aquarium space? I'd also like to get a small goby. It seems that I really like bottom dwelling fish. LoL

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

You need a well-established aquarium with lots of micro organisms for filter feeders (Bamboo shrimp). I have Vampire shrimp (also filter feeders) and supplement with powdered spirulina and BorneoWild "Shield." I use a pill bottle and mix a small amount in tank water and pour back into tank. They are very shy and need good hiding places and a lot (and I mean a lot) of plants in a community tank. My Bettas do not bother my Vampire shrimp.

True Pitbull plecos are very, very hard to find and expensive as export is no longer allowed. If you find them, let me know where; I love them.

I also think gobies are the cutest things, ever. But it's my understanding they need very specific parameters to live long and can be nippy. Have you though of six or more Pygmy Cories? They are the neatest little fish. Hasbrosus get a tad bigger. I have both. You should see them go after algae wafers.

*Neons do best in groups larger than six.

Here is a site which gives great information on Micro fish. Even if you don't buy online, the information on each species is invaluable and very specific ... including ideal parameters.

* Freshwater Fish | Invertebrates by Msjinkzd

 

[jennandjuicetm]

Adding to my list of possibilities: Dario hysginon. Was thinking maybe a trio of girls or two females and one male as I read the males can become territorial with eachother. Still thinking about Pygmy cories(6+), Endlers(6+?), male guppies (6+?), or rasboras(6+?). Also still definitely getting two ADFs. Knocked the gobies off my list since they don't seem to be workable in my parameters. Boo. Maybe I'll add a bamboo shrimp or two when my tank has been running and has live plants for a few months.

 

[jennandjuicetm]

Also now considering a sorority in another tank haha.

 

[haveyouhadyourteayet]

I would read a lot of the horror stories people have posted about sororities before you make that plunge... I was really gung ho about one, but I've heard too much bad s*** to feel comfortable at this point...

 

[Kithy]

Sororities are hit and miss. They either do great or crash and burn. There's a lot of work and stress involved.

Mine is doing pretty good. 7 girls, 4 platies, 5 neon tetras (plan to get more but $2 a fish!?), one ghost shrimp and one ADF.

If you are considering a sorority then you should think about it very, very carefully.

 

[jennandjuicetm]

The sorority is definitely last on my list of things to do, especially since I already have a male betta, but it's on there. I'll be sure to do mass amount of research before hand for sure. Higher on my list is to narrow down my possibilities for the 10 gallon long with Scarface haha. And then maybe I'll dabble in to getting a dwarf puffer (in a separate tank of course) and THEN I'll get to a sorority. Can you tell I like lists?

 

[haveyouhadyourteayet]

Lists are the bomb.

 

[jennandjuicetm]

By the way, micro crabs are so dang cute!

 

[haveyouhadyourteayet]

I want to get one of those awful little half gallon cubes, make a tiny crab home!!

 

[jennandjuicetm]

That would be so awesome!! I might have to add that to the list below the 10 gallon long and above the puffers. LoL

 

[haveyouhadyourteayet]

It's a cheap little project. 1 tiny tank, one little mossball sorta thing, 1 crab, boom.

 

[RussellTheShihTzu]

I have Dario hysginon and Dario Dario. Be warned they need live food so you'd have to culture something (I culture Micro worms for mine). If you're squeamish, rethink these fish. They spend a lot of time in my floating moss and the Subwassertang tied to Cholla wood so at least one of those is a must. They also feed on the micro-organisms growing on these plants.

I love my Thai Micro Crabs; they are such interesting little critters but they come with their own special needs.

A 2.5 heated invert tank with Thai Micro Crabs and Dwarf shrimp would be perfect. Try Neos like Red Cherry or Blue Velvet first as they are the least demanding. Micro Crabs are very shy and you won't see them very often in anything but a species-only or invert-only tank. I believe you need several for them to be happy. They do best with lots of Java moss, Subwassertang, moss balls and bunch plants like Cabomba, soft Hornwort or Anacharis. Stem plants aren't necessary. A bare tank with one or two plants would not do at all as, beyond needing plant hides, they feed off the mico-organisms. They also like Cholla sticks to hide in.

Make sure you cycle the tank first and the plants are well-established. It's also recommended to fertilize invert tanks at half-strength.

All this is from my trial-and-error experience....leaning heavily on the "error" part. ;-)