Female Betta In Community Tank Questions

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septicsigh

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Feb 26, 2017
Messages
6
Hi all!

this is my first post on this forum, I have used other sites before but felt judged when all I wanted was help, I hope someone on here can help me out and give me advice!

i'm interested in a female betta I recently saw in my LFS but im not sure how she would go in my community tank. it's 4ft long and has the following species:

balloon mollies
penguin tetras
guppies
swordtails
platys
bristlenose catfish
corydoras
mystery snail and
cherry barb


I was considering just doing a female sorority in the biggest fluval edge instead but people were saying the 12 gallon wouldn't be enough, is that true?

want to make some decisions soon :)
 
It's too much bioload you will have to do daily water changes. Also betta don't do well with guppies.
 
what do you think about the edge? and what do you mean it's minimal in my case? I have a high quality filter going and the tank dosnt look crowded by any means :)
 
@septicsigh how many of each fish? Do you have plants? How many gallons? (Four feet could be a couple different volumes depending on height) What kind of filter?

I understand feeling judged elsewhere. I like to think this forum is one of the better ones.
 
I am a bit confused? You have a 4ft tank and are looking at getting a 12g Edge. And which fish would go on which tank?
 
I am a bit confused? You have a 4ft tank and are looking at getting a 12g Edge. And which fish would go on which tank?



my 4ft is just my community tank, I have other tank set ups and was looking to add a fluval edge, possibly for a female betta sorority instead of adding a female to the community tank but wasn't sure if that would work out okay or not
 
@septicsigh how many of each fish? Do you have plants? How many gallons? (Four feet could be a couple different volumes depending on height) What kind of filter?

I understand feeling judged elsewhere. I like to think this forum is one of the better ones.



my 4 ft is about 210 litres ( not sure how much in gallons sorry!) it has an internal filter at the moment that seems to be doing a good job but I'll be moving that to my axolotl tank and upgrading to a fluval canister filter very soon once I've had them both in the same tank for a bit for cycling reasons.

I have a school of 5 penguins, 4 balloon mollys, 3 male guppies, one bristlenose catfish, a mystery snail, 5 corydoras and one cherry barb (who I know is supposed to be in a school but I got her when I first started out with fish keeping and didn't realise, she's been okay ever since and I haven't been able to find any lfs that sell cherry barbs anymore that aren't closed down :( )
 
Ok now back to your question. Thanks for the addl info. I have read mixed reviews on Betta's in community tanks. I have never had a problem. But I always made sure no one else had large fins. But it really depends on the Betta. Some Betta's will not peacefully coexist and will kill tank mates.
 
I have a 20 gallon with black tip catfish mollies and an upside down catfish with some guppies and have my female betta with them. They are doing great! You can go for it if you want to!
 
do you think maybe try her out and first sign it's not working out, take her out? do you think floating plants would help?
 
how many gallons does your filter cycle per hour because that will be how to determine if your filter is good or not based on what size tank you have. siri says its about 55.48 gallons

I don't think you are overstocked assuming you have a 55 gallon. have you double checked with AqAdvisor?
how aggressive is your barb? because i heard some can be fin nippers and can be even more so if they arent kept in groups.
as for bettas in community tanks I think it varies per betta. Females are supposed to be more peaceful but that doesn't mean the one you get will be
I would also bump up your cory number if you can

Yes to floating plants. yes to plants in general. Plants=YES

As for 12 gallon fluval. I have 9 female bettas in a 10g sorority tank right now as an experiment and they all seem to be doing fine. granted I think I'm pushing it with that many and am about to upgrade them all to a 20 gallon tank. the bigger the tank the better.
as for sororities you want to make sure you do your research. Mine is heavily planted where you can't see the back. I also chose bettas that were young or sickly when i got them (less fight in them, though this has risks as well) and dosed the tank with tetra life guard with each additional fish. They are also all differently colored. you want to keep them in odd numbers (idk why), you also want to have at least 7. also make sure you have a back up plan for each fish (which can be problematic) because like i said every betta is different. One day one of mine might go psycho and try to kill the others.

good luck hope it all works out
 
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