# Is this ok?



## Kageshi17 (Sep 6, 2006)

I already know alot of stuff about betta and how they don't like really big tanks, but my betta is doing great with his 20g. The only question I have is if a 20g with:
1 red betta
2 algae eaters (the really small like 1 inch ones)
2 spotted cory catfish
3 neon tetra
4 mystery snails 

...is alright to have. I mean...is it too crowded? Looks to me like they have PLENTY of room, but just asking. The tank is lightly planted and has some fine gravel some small rocks and a HUGE rock in it. Not quite sure if that much detail is needed, but oh well! Hahaha. Thanks in advance!

:fish: :fish: :fish:


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## Zoe (Feb 26, 2006)

I would skip the algae eaters. They are small now but grow very big and aggrsssive.

I would go with:
1 betta
5 cory catfish
7 neon tetras
2 mystery snail.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

Depending on what algea eaters you have. If you have common plecs, they can get in excess of 2-3 feet long. If you have ottos, your fine.


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## Guest (Nov 5, 2006)

There is a fish called an algea eater. Its not a pelco. Its called the chinese algea eater, they are very aggressive when older and will attac the other fish. JME with them.
Sean


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

The poster could also be talking about otos (otocinclus affinis). They saty around 1 inch and would do fine in a 20 gallon. I'd suggest you get at least 3-4. I would also get 4 cories (pigmy if you can find them but not necessary). Neons get at least 6. You wont be overstocked or crowded this way either.


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

I'd cut back to two mystery snails. They can get quite large (I have two that are larger than a baseball with about a 3 inch foot on each) and have a pretty big bioload.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

Also you may be interested to know that it's a myth that betta's don't like big tanks, when in fact they do like lots of water to swim around in. Lots of people think becuase they live in rice patties that they are small. Rice patties are by no means small they can be miles long, they're just mainly more shallow which makes it easier for the bettas to reach the surface and breath but they will be fine in any tank with the whole surface breathing thing (that is as long as you don't have it covered in cling wrap or something! haha) For further proof that rice patties aren't small see the link below to a picture someone else on the forum posted! I belive you're betta will thrive in that tank. Good luck. http://homepage.mac.com/justin4/Miagi-Rice-paddies-on-the-n.jpg


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Its not a myth, but it is very individual. When my bettas were in larger tanks, they were not happy. They hunkered down and basically did nothing but lay on the gravel and cowered. When I moved them back into smaller tanks, they became much more active, interactive and happily started building bubblenests. It depends on the individual and their personality.


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## aaa (Jan 19, 2005)

betta live in a range of environment. they are not only live in rice paddle. they also live in slow flowing river, shallow lakes or gutter. the 20 g is fine, but just beware of the water current. the big tank thing is all because the betta has to go all the way to the other end of the tank and he just get tired to chase down the food while in wild they stay in their spot and not going anywhere. the other reason is the big tank usually don't have much hiding place for the fish so therefore the fish doesn't feel secure. give the betta some floating plants and he would be happy. also the floating plants can block some currents so the betta can rest.


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## Guest (Nov 6, 2006)

aaa said:


> betta live in a range of environment. they are not only live in rice paddle. they also live in slow flowing river, shallow lakes or gutter. the 20 g is fine, but just beware of the water current. the big tank thing is all because the betta has to go all the way to the other end of the tank and he just get tired to chase down the food while in wild they stay in their spot and not going anywhere. *the other reason is the big tank usually don't have much hiding place for the fish so therefore the fish doesn't feel secure. give the betta some floating plants and he would be happy. also the floating plants can block some currents so the betta can rest*.


Exactly! As long as the water current is not too strong, *Bettas love big tanks with floating plants to hide in*. Big tanks with no floating plants and strong water current they do not like. Wide shallow tanks are better for Bettas than tall narrow ones.

I recently setup a 30 gallong tank with floating plants and the Betta loves hiding in it. Sometimes he would even swim along the front of the tank all the way to the other end through very strong water current. Not only that but sometimes he would dive almost all the way to the bottom of the tank from one end to the other fighting his reflection.


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## Kageshi17 (Sep 6, 2006)

Thank you all for your input. Just to make sure, the suggestions would be:
1. add 2 more corycatfish
2. add 3 more neon tetra
3. add a few floating plants to make my betta feel more secure
4. try to cut down on the snails to at the most 2


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## Guest (Nov 7, 2006)

You have room for 6 cories in that size tank...they do much better in groups and IMO 6 is minimum. If you can find dwarf cories (Pygmy, Habrosus, or Hastatus) then get 8 as they do much better in larger groups and only stay an inch (so there is room for alot of them).


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## Kageshi17 (Sep 6, 2006)

That just seems like sooooooo many. Hahaha but ok then. So I'm going to the store right now and I'm getting:

4 corycatfish (I might make it just 2 or 3 it seems like too much!)
3 neon tetra
2 ottos
2 floating silk plants
returning (14 day guarantee and receipt!) 2 of my most sluggish unhappy snails. And the cool thing is that if I bring the snails back, I dont feel guilty. The Petsmart in Salem, OR is sooo awesome and their snails get a HUGE tank to play around in and a whole bunch of live plants in the same tank. So they can eat dead leaves and climb and have like 50 other snails to explore with. I almost feel guilty brining them to my tank. Like its a dissapointment to them  Hahaha but oh well!

So yeah, thanks for all your help! I'll snap right to it!


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## manda (Feb 9, 2006)

is your tank cycled? you are not just going to put all the fish in the tank at the same time are you?


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## PlatyLady (Oct 27, 2006)

it's probably far to late, but I would say adding that many fish at the same time might not be smart. I usually have some die off if I add more than two at a time, but good luck!


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## Kageshi17 (Sep 6, 2006)

Hahaha ok. I just purchased 2 more corys, 3 more neon tetras, 2 more ottos and decided to keep my snails (they arent very big right now and a mystery snail sight suggested 2.5g per snail which would add up to 10g for 4. And I have a 20g tank so I think I'm safe for the time being. But I do take all of your opinions more seriously then the facts seeing that you actually have witnessed and are still witnessing it. I placed all the fish in the tank in their seperate bags to allow them to better adapt to the water temp and observe the other fish in the aquarium. I then cut the tops off the bags and held them up to gently pursaude exploration. They all left the bags rather promptly and stress free (compared to how I used to do it, whoops  ) So far its been 2 days and they are all doing fine. One of the snails I was going to bring back to PetSmart had been innactive for a while now. He/she just peeked her/his head out of the shell and did nothing but observe. I don't even know if it ate anything. But just as I decided to take it back, it started moving around like the other snails! I am soooo happy about that. It reminds me of someone saying: "Well now, you arent coming up to standards so I'm going to have to take you back!" And the poor snail pleads: "Oh no! Please don't take me back! I can perform! Here watch! (runs around tank)" Hahahaha. But yeah. All the fish are doing great and loving their new environment. The neons are doing well in their school and the cory are getting to know eachother. Also my betta LOVES the floating plants I put in there. He hides in them and almost is unseen. Hahaha. So yes, thanks to everyone I have a happy healthy tank.


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

> I placed all the fish in the tank in their seperate bags to allow them to better adapt to the water temp and observe the other fish in the aquarium. I then cut the tops off the bags and held them up to gently pursaude exploration. They all left the bags rather promptly and stress free


Ok, this is definitely not the right way to acclimate them. This is actually a good description of what not to do. 

When you bring them home, you should float the bag for about 15-20 minutes so the water temp matches. Then you open the bag and add about one cup of tank water to it, then close it and float it again. Repeat that step every 10-15 minutes until the amount of water in the bag is approximately double what it started with. Then you scoop the fish out with a net and introduce them to your tank. It often helps to feed the other fish at the same time to distract them, and turn the lights off. Big no-no, you should NEVER add the water from the store into your tank. You can introduce all sorts of nasty stuff to your tank that way.


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## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

I don't mean to be contradictory, but actually there is quite a lot of contraversy about that. Some people just do like he/she did because their theory is "the shorter amount of time the fish is in the bag, the better". Also, often the water will be the same pH etc. if it is the same town. If I buy my fish locally, usually I just float them long enough to get the temperatures the same, then I net them out of the bag and put them in the tank. I haven't had any problem with that. When I got kuhli loaches shipped to me, I used the drip method to acclimate them to my water because it wasn't local. They are still doing great and I've had them for around a year. It's mostly a matter of opinion.

I do agree about not adding the water from the bag to your tank, though. There could be diseases, etc. in it.

Edit: I just thought this thread might be of interest to you. I'm certainly not telling you you should be acclimating your fish differently, I just thought you might want to read it. http://www.fishforums.com/forum/gen...omething-think-about.html?highlight=acclimate


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

I have actually stopped floating the bags now, seems like the 1/2 cup of water every 5-10 minutes gets the bags to the proper temp. I also always keep the fish in a dark pale.


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## Kageshi17 (Sep 6, 2006)

Hahaha well there ya go. I see what you all are saying and I agree with the diseases in the water, never thought about that, but its ok. My fish are all doing well and I'm really happy. See, now I'm not too obsessed with my tank yet. I don't check the ph and the blah blah blah with the test strips and the chemicals and the cycling and all that good stuff. So far I am just trying my best at keeping them happy as long as they live with me. I do boil rocks and gravel before I put them in the tank, rinse plants and ornaments and the tank WITHOUT soap, use heaters to keep the temp at a steady 78 degrees, use a filter and rinse the pad before I put it in, use nets to capture my fish when cleaning the tank (except for my betta, Akashi, I capture him with my hand everytime, sort of a tradition) and place them in a dark soothing area, leave about 1/4 of the water in the tank so that the tank cycle isnt totally ruined, and always post on forums to better my understanding and better my fish` lives. So thank you all for your harsh critisicms, I'm gonna need em.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

You don't need to make 75% water changes, infact, frequent small water changes of around 20% every two weeks or so is much better than 75%. Also cartridges only need to be changed ever 2 months or so... rinse them out with dechlorinated tap water can increase their life... thats where at least half of the biological activity is.


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Also, the fish don't need to be removed, it only adds to their stress. I do 50% water changes on my tank weekly.


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