New Community Tank Planning

[Nyxsie]

I'm planning a tank and had a couple questions. I know the risks involved with the Betta.

Ruby Red Pencil fish - 5 (1.25 inch) 6.25in
Gardneri Panchax Killifish - 1 (2.5 inch) 2.5in
Lyretail Guppy - 2 (2 inch) 4in
Koi Betta male (short fin) - 1 (2.25 inch) 2.25in
Betta female - 3 (2.25 inch) 6.75in
Blue Velvet Shrimp - 3 (1.5 inch) 4.5in
Black & Blue Rili Shrimp - 2 (1.5 inch) 3in

29 inches of creature
39 gallons of water
Live plants

1. Are the amounts of Gardneri Panchax Killifish (1), Lyretail Guppies (2), Blue Velvet Shrimp (3) and Black & Blue Rili Shrimp (2) good?

2. I'm planning a tank with live plants that will have a lot of open space, as well as many hiding spots. Something similar to this:

So with 29 inches of fish and shrimp, would a 39 gallon tank be a good size?

3. Should I invest in an Assassin Snail as well?

 

[Barliman]

I'm not too familiar with killis, but I do see one potential red flag: I wouldn't put a male and a female betta together on a day to day basis: unless both are ready to breed, the male will likely get very aggressive with her, perhaps injuring or killing her. I'd increase the school of pencil fish, instead.

Hope that helps!

 

[Nyxsie]

Yes, I know there is a fair amount of risk involved in placing the male in with females. I'm choosing a passive male to place with 3 females, and will be sure that they have both plenty open swimming space as well as decor to block line of sight and provide hiding spots. It is possible to house a male with females successfully if the personalities of the individual Betta are peaceful enough, and the tank is set up right. Of course, it could still end up not working, and in that case I would remove the male and place him a separate community or solitary tank. Thank you for the reply though

 

[King Fisher]

Hopefully those shrimp know how to hide well. My koi Betta straight up hunts them down, kills them and eats them.

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Yes, I know there is a fair amount of risk involved in placing the male in with females. I'm choosing a passive male to place with 3 females, and will be sure that they have both plenty open swimming space as well as decor to block line of sight and provide hiding spots. It is possible to house a male with females successfully if the personalities of the individual Betta are peaceful enough, and the tank is set up right. Of course, it could still end up not working, and in that case I would remove the male and place him a separate community or solitary tank. Thank you for the reply though

Just so you know, the Gardneri killifish could be a problem too. They can have a little Bit of an attitude to them. I had a pair in my community tank once and promptly removed them the next day after they never stopped harassing the other residents.

 

[Nyxsie]

Just so you know, the Gardneri killifish could be a problem too. They can have a little Bit of an attitude to them. I had a pair in my community tank once and promptly removed them the next day after they never stopped harassing the other residents.

I didn't know that I'll definitely keep that in mind and watch it's behavior closely when adding it to the tank. Do you think having a single male would pose a larger problem than if I add 1 male and 2-3 females?

 

[MattS99]

Killifish like room temperature water (68-70) and bettas like it quite warm (80ish) so I would never keep them together. Guppies like it considerably cooler then bettas as well (mid 70's). I would strongly consider to make a new stocking plan.

I also see that you're using the inch per gallon rule. It's quite out dated and only really works for small schooling fish (think neon tetras). It doesn't account for things like activity and aggression. If you listened to the rule, then you could put a 10 inch oscar into a 10 gal. tank.

 

[Dallascowboys16]

I didn't know that I'll definitely keep that in mind and watch it's behavior closely when adding it to the tank. Do you think having a single male would pose a larger problem than if I add 1 male and 2-3 females?

I don’t think a single male would be any worse than a group. I just think they sometimes aren’t model citizens in a community tank. I would expect some scuffles between him and the bettas since they have similar mannerisms in my experience.

 

[Nyxsie]

Killifish like room temperature water (68-70) and bettas like it quite warm (80ish) so I would never keep them together. Guppies like it considerably cooler then bettas as well (mid 70's). I would strongly consider to make a new stocking plan.

I also see that you're using the inch per gallon rule. It's quite out dated and only really works for small schooling fish (think neon tetras). It doesn't account for things like activity and aggression. If you listened to the rule, then you could put a 10 inch oscar into a 10 gal. tank.

I was taking into consideration the minimum tank size for the fish as well. These fish all remain relatively small, and the shrimps will mostly stay on the bottom or on the decor.

However, given the information provided about Killifish I'm going to take that one out of the stocking plan. Doesn't seem to be a good fit.

I don’t think a single male would be any worse than a group. I just think they sometimes aren’t model citizens in a community tank. I would expect some scuffles between him and the bettas since they have similar mannerisms in my experience.

Thank you for the information. I've decided against the Killi and will replace it with a Peacock Gudgeon, which ironically looks almost exactly the same (tho a tad cuter) but with a supposedly much more peaceful temperature from what I read.


So I was thinking I would try and maintain a pH of around 6.8 - 7.0 with a tank temperature of 78.

Ruby Red Pencil fish - 5 (1.25 inch) (6.25) 72 to 83 . 5.5 - 7.0
Peacock Gudgeon - 1 (2 inch) 72 to 78 . 6.0 - 7.5
Lyretail Guppy - 2 (2 inch) 4 50 to 85. 6.8 - 7.8
Koi Betta male (short fin) - 1 (2.25 in) 2.25
Betta female - 3 (2.25 in) 6.75 78 - 82. 6.0 - 7.5
Blue Velvet Shrimp - 3 (1.5 in) 4.5 64 to 82. 6.0 - 8.0
Black & Blue Rili Shrimp - 2 (1.5 in) 3 60 to 80. 6.6 - 7.0
Black Knight Shrimp - 1 (1 inch) 64 to 80. 6.5 - 8.0