Tank mates and plants, advice please

[aabhudson]

For the last two years I have had a sorority of female bettas in a ten gallon tank. I have finally taken the plunge and bought a larger tank (20 gallons) and am currently cycling it. My question is what tankmates, if any, would be appropriate for my sorority if I move them to the larger tank. (I would like to do this, as I would like to use the 10 gallon as a hospital tank. I gave my 5 gallon hospital tank to my sister and would prefer to not have to buy yet another tank and cycle it).

My twenty gallon tank has been cycling for 1 1/2 weeks and I have been testing the water which seems to be done with it's cycle. I have added three zebra danios to it to make sure it was cycled and safe.

facts about my tanks

*I have 4 betta females (it was three but my sister gave me one of hers)
*My PH tends to be high as I have well water.( I have read it is more important to have a stable PH rather than an 'ideal' PH that fluctuates, is this true? My Bettas haven't shown any ill effects to the PH in the two years they have been in it, but I wonder about other fish.)
*I have no live plants
* I only add aquarium salt after I have changed out all my water, so maybe once a month. The new tank was cycled with aquarium salt in it.

So, what fish, if any, can tolerate an elevated PH, would be good tankmates for female bettas, and how many of each should I have with 4 bettas and three danios, and what fish do well with aquarium salt in the tank?

Also, I would like to add live plants, what would you recommend plant wise?

Thanks in advance

 

[bud29]

First off, to the forum!

How did you cycle your tank? Did you use seeded media? If not, 1.5 weeks seems awfully quick for a cycle.

How high is your pH? Many fish can adapt to a pH as high as 8.4, it's when it gets higher than that do you have to start bringing it down.

Aquarium salt is unnecessary to add regularly, and bettas are one of the more intolerant fish of it. I can go into more detail if you like, but it may take a while You want to change out 25%-50% of your water each week, not 100% each month - doing water changes more often will boost the health of your fish.

Bettas and zebra danios probably aren't good tankmates, as the danios will probably nip at the bettas.

What lighting do you have on the tank? What plants you can get is determined by the lighting level.

Hope this helped

 

[aabhudson]

I cycled using pure ammonia and then by adding a bacteria culture (with gravel from my other tank in pantyhose). I have yet to add the second dose of bacteria.

I should have clarified about the water changes, I do one a week so it equals out to about 1 full tank change a month and at the end of the month I add the salt. I just recently started adding the salt (two months ago) as one of my girls was acting stressed by the new addition of my sister's fish. I won't keep doing it if it could hurt them though

the 20 gallon has a quiet flow power filter, florescent bulbs,15 watts, day and night light setting, and an adjustable 100 watt heater. It is not in direct sunlight, but is in a corner between two windows. I also have a bubble wand buried beneath the gravel. sorry, original reply said the light was 100 watts (oops)

My PH is about 8.0-8.2

 

[Oohitsae]

My pH is 7.8 so I feel your pain! Lol

In my 26 gallon sorority I have 6 girls, and 5 corydoras. I also have some tiger endlers and oto's that the girls get a long with just fine though they are only temporary.
High pH really isn't a huge factor in what fish you can keep, most will adjust. As long as your pH is steady and you acclimate slowly to their new conditions then you can keep a good amount of different fish

As for plants, I would go with java moss, java fern, anubias, some stems of rotala, moneywort, bacopa, cabomba, and crypts

What is the K value if your lights?

 

[bud29]

I cycled using pure ammonia and then by adding a bacteria culture (with gravel from my other tank in pantyhose). I have yet to add the second dose of bacteria.

I should have clarified about the water changes, I do one a week so it equals out to about 1 full tank change a month and at the end of the month I add the salt. I just recently started adding the salt (two months ago) as one of my girls was acting stressed by the new addition of my sister's fish. I won't keep doing it if it could hurt them though

the 20 gallon has a quiet flow power filter, florescent bulbs,15 watts, day and night light setting, and an adjustable 100 watt heater. It is not in direct sunlight, but is in a corner between two windows. I also have a bubble wand buried beneath the gravel. sorry, original reply said the light was 100 watts (oops)

My PH is about 8.0-8.2

All right - in a pH of 8-8.2, most fish will adapt. Only fish like discus who really want soft/acidic water won't do in that (and you couldn't put discus in a 20 gallon anyway )

As for salt - I would stop adding it. Bettas come from areas with low dissolved salt in the water, so adding salt most likely stresses them out. It claims on the packaging "reduces stress," but there is no real evidence to back up this claim. It also says "increases slime coat." This it does, and increased slime coat isn't a bad thing, but it increases the slime coat by stressing the fish. The slime coat can only be stimulated to grow in two ways - by a hormone or by an irritant - aquarium salt has no known hormonal properties, thus it increases the slime coat by stressing the fish. One of my favorite quotes about this from theskepticalaquarist: "Putting aquarium salt in your tank to increase slime coat is like putting a drop of lemon juice in your eye to make it water."

 

[brennae]

My bettas get along with corys and I have one tank with corys, 1 betta and some glowlight tetras. I've never had a betta sorority though. I have read that you need to create territories for them out of flower pots and plants. My bettas really like anubias because they can lay on the leaves.
I also agree to nix the salt. If you want to simulate the bettas' natural environment try ordering some thai banana leaves or Indian Almond Leaves aka Terminalia Catappa. They had natural tannins to the water and are supoosed to be antibacterial and reduce stress. My fish do well with the leaves in the tanks. You can buy them off ebay or aquabid. I would stay away from the tannins in a bottle that are sold as they contain other chemicals besides tannins.

 

[librarygirl]

I would stop adding the salt too; it's generally not needed unless you're treating for a specific disease.

Corys are probably the only thing I'd try in there; panda corys are super cute.

If the current 10 gal betta tank is cycled you can just move the media to the new filter on the 20 (or run both filters at the same time) and this should keep the 20 cycled for the bettas, so you can just move them over anytime. You'll have to watch the bettas with the danios though; one may not like the other.