betta sorority/community tank

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omegabetta

Aquarium Advice Newbie
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Oct 28, 2016
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hey, im just getting back into fishkeeping, I'm getting a 90gallon tank uncertain of the filter, but i was planning on getting 4 angels, 6 female bettas and 2 albino plecos. on top of those i also want sharks these are the optional just wondering on some opinions, i was thinking 4 balas, and acclimate them all at once so none of them have any territorys so they should all be on level grounds and all of them would be juveniles i hope atleast.
 
OK, sharks are out unless you do Redtail Blacks or straight blacks. Balas get huge and eventually will rip full grown the Angels to shreds. All of the sharks get increasingly aggressive as they grow.

The tank is big enough for the mix of Angels ad Bettas-very odd combo- but you will need to keep a eye on the Angels in case they pair up. If so nobody is safe so keep it in mind. A pair or 4 male Pearl Gouramis will work and out shine the Angels.

Just a few thoughts
 
though your tank is huge (which I'm jealous of by the way haha)....I don't think you could acclimate all those fish at once and your system handle the bioload unless you have an already cycled tank, cycled media, old decor/substrate that has good bacteria on it, and bio booster....unless you want to risk the fish or a huge bacteria bloom which can cloud your water.

I don't know much about sharks except that balas can get pretty big. Also you are having a lot of aggresion in your tank....are you sure you just don't want cichlids at this point haha.

I think if you got younger/juvenile angels then it might help them get use to the other members of your tank....just make sure you add them near the end. Angels also like planted tanks which will also allow line of sight breaks between them which will help them coexist not only with eachother but with other fish as well.

As for your bettas, make sure you tank has plenty of areas for them to hide/not see eachother. even with six females in such a large tank....some will chase them around until they can't see them anymore. Plants will help with this too. This being said....betta sororities are risky because individual bettas will have different personalities. I've been doing a lot of research on them (granted this is on a smaller scale than a 90 gallon tank haha, but it is also species exclusive) which you should probably do too. Larger numbers will help spread out aggression but only if the tank is large enough and there are enough separate territories for them. Odd numbers are also recommended. i think you might have more luck with overall aggression if you have 7 or 9 but you also raise your risk of getting one or more random females that don't like being in a sorority at all...let alone a huge community tank.


if you are talking about albino versions of the common/normal plecos....those things can get huge.....are well known to start becoming aggressive and sucking the slimecoat off of fish....and sometimes stop eating algae and the only thing they contribute to your tank is becoming poop machines.

I think you should definitely do at last one tight schooling fish like tetras. though they might become food for other fish. Having such a big tank really offers you the ability to highlight not only big showpiece fish but allows you to highlight schooling fish as well. That being said....you don't have any bottom dwellers....I suggest like at least ten of one species of corydoras. They school together, keep the substrate clean (but make sure you have sand substrate if you have them), and are just interesting to watch. Another really interesting fish is a kuhli loach (I LOVE THEM) they are like little drunken eels...but you will also need a sand substrate if you want to keep them.


if you like aggressive fish you could try maybe german blue rams....though they are known to not acclimate well to new tanks....they are aggressive and bottom dwellers.
 
ended up getting only a 55gal so theres 10 cardinals 2bn plecos (1 is being rehomed) 9 platys 3 variations, and a crowntail betta, 10 guppys and 10 ember tetras will be added
 
I probably would have added the betta last.
I have a betta in a 55 betta in a guppy community tank ( I posted an article about it on this forum if you want to read about my experience and maybe add yours).

My recommendation on guppies is not to mix genders, from personal experience it is a huge hassle to deal with population explosions.

also for aesthetic reasons I probably would leave the guppies out. your platies (which i don't think are considered good schooling fish) are probably going to just move randomly around your tank much like guppies unless the males heard the females like my mollies do in my 20 gallon. and you will have two kinds of tetra (cardinal and ember) by the time you are finished which i think are going to look pretty cool and they will add continuity to your overall look. I think, personally, i would increase the number of cardinals and ember to about 15 of each to increase their schooling size to make them more substantial. Or you could add a bottom schooling fish like corydoras....they can also keep your substrate clean (but only add those if you have sand bottom)
All that being said it is your tank, so do whatever makes you happy haha.

I also would highly recommend having a bunch of plants so you can see your schooling fish going in and out of them as well as increasing the comfortability of your betta.

Can't wait to see pictures!
Good luck and i hope i helped
 
the Cardinals do great at population control the bettas going to be leaving the tank as hes to shy to be in there, the guppies are a 7 female 3 male ratio they were all pregnant to begin with and all the platys and guppies kind of go in groups and some of the guppies even school with the tetras, atm theres 9 plants and i have more on order with 1 piece of real and 1 piece of fake driftwood and another piece of driftwood is being added aswell, the tank will be converted to a sorority community tank which is risk but hoping it will go well
 
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