20 gallon female betta sorority

**cardiocentric** · 08-11-2012, 01:34 AM

My partner and I are looking to get another tank, though this one is going to be "his"... and frankly I'm a little concerned. He wants a female betta sorority, and since they're very good cycling fish I am totally for it. The only problem is, he wants to put this tank in the corner of the living room on top of this plastic "pedestal" we currently have an unnamed female statue on [design tastes are NOT mine... hahaha]. The pedestal is situated adjacent to a window that is kept with the blinds open all day. We do live in a darker part of the complex, but I don't think light hitting the aquarium is going to be a good thing for the tank's upkeep OR the fish. I'm concerned about algae growth and plus it's going to be a PAIN to vac this thing and clean it. I've been trying to talk him out of it, but it's "HIS" tank after all, so I want you guys to persuade him!!! Also, what types of things should we pay attention to when adding female bettas? Should they be added all at once, or is it okay to get a few here and there? I definitely won't be relocating Magenta from my 5 gal to that tank though, she is evil and will destroy.

**homemadepopcorn** · 08-11-2012, 03:08 AM

I already have a few concerns:

What do you mean by plastic pedestal? Water weighs nearly 8.5lbs per gallon so for a 20g tank with substrate and plants you're nearing 200lbs.

As for the light, if it is indirect sunlight you will probably be okay as long as you have some plants in there and dont fertilize.

If the tank is in direct sunlight, algae is going to become a huge problem very quickly.

For a 20g tank, you should probably only house 3 or 4 female bettas. Provide cover for them since the early stages are going to be rough until they figure out a pecking order. After that you should be okay, but, you never know. You have the best chance at success if you get younger fish and raise them together; putting 4 adults together will be harder.

**pjaldave** · 08-11-2012, 06:13 AM

If this would be a 20 tall, then i'm not advising on getting a sorority on that, but if it is a long one, then you might be able to do it. Though it has been said to have minimum of 4 for a sorority, not sure about that though..

I'm also concerned about that pedestal. I wouldn't put a tank on anything "plastic" that is not made to hold a tank.

**cardiocentric** · 08-12-2012, 06:02 PM

the "plastic" is that hard melamine, it weighs a lot... i should've called it "resin"... not quite sure what it's made for, meaning it's probably not suitable. it is somewhat indirect sunlight but it's probably six inches to the left of the window... i have a feeling i'm going to have to move things around a bit in the living room to make this happen.

**cardiocentric** · 08-12-2012, 06:03 PM

thanks dave, he was actually looking at the tall... i like the longer ones too, it gives the fish more room to escape/hide than in a tall tank. i even had a friend of mine who works at my local petsmart advise against the tank he wanted. i went to look at it the other day and he gave me his opinion on it as being one of the worst tanks in the store... it was the prettiest but the worst as far as filtration/lighting was concerned.