20 Gal Tank With Female Bettas?

[KrystaK]

I'm having trouble deciding what to do with my 20 Gal tank, but for a while I've wanted to get female Bettas. I'm not sure I want a sorority as I hear they can be harder to maintain.......
I was wondering if I could just have a single female betta in a tank with other community fish such as Platys or Guppys and Corys.
 
I already have the Cory's (Only 2 at the moment but I'l be upping the number, I introduce stock very slowly to my tanks, they've been in it for a week and I'm going to introduce another pair tomorrow and then the final 2 next week) I'm paranoid about over burdening my filter, even though it's cycled. 
 
So with the intent of having it as peaceful as possible but including a female Betta into the mix, woulc this be okay?
 
1 Female Betta
a few Platys, or guppies
6 Juli Corys.
 
If anyone has any suggestions or setups that have works including a female betta. Or possibly a few female bettas, but not 6 which I hear is the best number for a sorority, that seems like a few too many to be able to include other fish in any number.
 
I'm going to have this tank heavily planted and there will be plenty of hiding spots, 
 

 

[lalo99]

They should be fine together. I used to keep my female bettas in my 55 Gallon community tank. They were fine .

 

[Wildbetta]

I think you would be ok with the stocking you have listed.  Just be sure to watch your female betta for agression toward the other fish--mainly the platys or guppies.  Mine never bothered cories.  I do not recommend any other female bettas unless you decide to accomodate 6+.  Depending on what you are looking for -- there are plenty of options for what your female could look like and there are some nice ones with long fins that are just as pretty as the males.

 

[RCA]

I have a group of girls in my 215 Litre (56.797 US gallons = 47.293 imperial gallons), aquarium and I love them as a group.  The aquarium is well planted with lots of bogwood and hiding places.  Generally they get on fine together, just now and again I may see one behaving a little off, and then I put her in a breeder basket with the occasional salt baths for a few days to give her a rest.  I have different varieties and colours and find them very entertaining - especially at cleaning out time when they all want to see what I am up-to and "help" out   Is there a reason why you do not want more than one, is it that you want other variety of fish?  From my experience the variety and colours of female Bettas I have found to be quite amazing and now "love" them as much as I do the boys.

 

[KrystaK]

Well it's a 20 Gal tank...
I'm in the process of acclimating my next pair of Juli Corys now, so my bottom feeder collection will be complete by next week .
 
This tank is in my living room (It's the only furniture in there other than an antique rocking chair and some camp chairs - I just moved in to my first place and don't quite have the money ATM to go on a shopping spree....
 
 
But for when I do have money I was hoping this tank would be quite colorful, I've seen pictures of absolutely lovely females, but in my area they all seem to be dark blue/red, which don't get me wrong, they're lovely. But I wanted more variety, without the pricing of some site like aquabids. So I've been looking into guppies and platys, which my LFS always have a lot of as replacements.
 
There is a fish auction in my area on the 23, which I will be attending, I'll have to keep my eye out for cheaper females there I suppose
 
Also, for a 20 G I've been told 6 is the best number, would there be enough room between the females and the cory's?...and what if one or more of the girls hated my corys? That would be terrible... my LFS doesn't take life fish as returns and I have a Gourami (and more corys) in my other tank, so i assume there would be problems there  
 
My 30 gal serves as my happy tropical community so it's more color I was looking for  

 

[Wildbetta]

Personally I would go with a few more females than 6 in a 20 gallon.  They do better a little more crowded than other fish.  They should be fine with the cories; in the two sororities that I kept-I had cories and they never bothered the cories.  I recommend looking for local breeders.  Do you live in the US?  If so I know quite a few US breeders that will sell females cheap.

 

[KrystaK]

What would be a good count, corys included for my 20 gal? I also have a never ending supply of Cherry shrimp which I was thinking of introducing to the tank, which I assume would be lovely snacks more than additional clean up. 
 
Also, I've heard that it is best to add all the females in one day, the most shy first and all the way up to what you think will be the dominant one... 
I live in Canada, I'm sure there are breeders in my area, I just don't like shipping live fish, as it's march and there s still a couple inches of snow on the ground. 
 
At a pet store or some place, how can you get a preview of how aggressive a female is? Do I have to bring my mirror out and feel like a crazy fish lady in the middle of the fish-wall?  

 

[Wildbetta]

LOL  It is hard to determine how agressive a fish will be in any given situation.  A fish might be extremely aggressive in that little death trap of a holding cup but when given more room to move, turn into one that is shy and less likely to be aggressive.  Or the other way as well.  A very passive female in the cup could turn out to be a tyrant in a tank.  You just have to have a backup plan in case of a female not working out.  It is better to add them all at the same time if you can.  If not, it is advised to remove all the established females and move the decor around(breaking up territories) and then adding everyone back in at the same time.  Everytime this is done, there will be a dominance standoff or squabbles to establish the pecking order so that is why it is best to only do it once(if possible).  Sometimes buying "sisters" from the same spawn -- from a breeder is easier since they are used to being in the same tank together but it doesn't mean there won't be problems because just like females bought from the store, they will have to work out pecking order since it will be a new tank for them. 
 
I always kept my girls a little "crowded" in my 20 gallon long sorority which actually seems to work the best as well as keeping it very heavily planted and with lots of caves/pvc pipes, ect to break up line of sight which helps lower aggression issues.  With the number of cories you will have in the tank, I would go with around 8 females to start with.  I had up to 16 in my sorority but think that it would be easier for you to start off with a smaller amount that way if there are any issues--it will be easier to deal with.

 

[RCA]

......and what if one or more of the girls hated my corys? That would be terrible...

 
I agree with Wildbetta, I have Corys in with all my fighters, the males and the females and there is no problem with any of them.  One of my boys hates Ottos though, whereas the others are chilled about them!

 

[khial]

I think.. and alot of people may disagree...that it completely depends on the fish...they have there own personalities....and i will probably get slaughtered for this but my community tank consists of...
 
2 tiger barbs
1 ruby shark
2 corys
4 neon tetras
3 green neons
5 harlequins
1 male dwarf gourami
1 male betta
6 female bettas
 
I have never had 1 problem with any aggression from any of the fish, the male fighter tends to protect the top right corner of the tank but has never attacked anyone, usually a quick flare and then back to normal, he is often seen swimming with the females...4 of the females show breeding stripes now and again,
 
 
anyway....like i said i personally think that it depends on the fish...i guess i may be lucky to have such calm bettas

 

[Wildbetta]

I think.. and alot of people may disagree...that it completely depends on the fish...they have there own personalities....and i will probably get slaughtered for this but my community tank consists of...
 
2 tiger barbs
1 ruby shark
2 corys
4 neon tetras
3 green neons
5 harlequins
1 male dwarf gourami
1 male betta
6 female bettas
 
I have never had 1 problem with any aggression from any of the fish, the male fighter tends to protect the top right corner of the tank but has never attacked anyone, usually a quick flare and then back to normal, he is often seen swimming with the females...4 of the females show breeding stripes now and again,
 
 
anyway....like i said i personally think that it depends on the fish...i guess i may be lucky to have such calm bettas

 
You have a lot of stuff going on in your tank that I disagree with BUT the main point you are making is correct.  Whether a sorority tank works or fails depends all on the individual fish.  I have had some females that just can not be put in a tank with other females.  Some were just too aggressive and others way too stressed with the prescence of the other females.

 

[RCA]

I think.. and alot of people may disagree...that it completely depends on the fish...they have there own personalities....

I have never had 1 problem with any aggression from any of the fish, the male fighter tends to protect the top right corner of the tank but has never attacked anyone, usually a quick flare and then back to normal, he is often seen swimming with the females...4 of the females show breeding stripes now and again,
 
anyway....like i said i personally think that it depends on the fish...i guess i may be lucky to have such calm bettas

 
You are indeed lucky as when I bought my first fighter, the Veiltail, he was in with two females at the store, and had been for some time.  I had my eye on him for his lovely Royal Blue colour, then on the day I decided to go and buy him he had no fins!  Apparently that night the females had decided to "beat" him up and he was showing his wounds.  Alas I still bought him and over time his fins grew back.  Hopefully your girls will not decide to do a similar act to your boy, and they continue to live in peace with each other.

 

[khial]

ah mine is also royal blue, nearly black infact, but hes a DT
 
theyve all been together for months now and never had a problem, always had a spare tank ready incase mind
 
but in my defence when i bought him i thought he was a female, brought from pets at home bought 4 at the same time him being one of them 

 

[KrystaK]

I have a male in a 5 g tank in my office area. He's suffering from finrot but I can't figure out why (It's not my water quality, I checked) I'm going out to buy some medication for him today,
He's a really lovely boy, (Or was when he had his fins) 
I don't know what sort of Betta he is, I asked when I first got him and he was labeled as 'Fancy'.... which didn't help it just made him more expensive, can anyone tell me what he is? i.e: VT, HM ect..ect..

He's looking rather ragged now

There's no other fish in the tank so I'm guessing he either had something from the store or I haven't been caring for him as well as I could be and he's gotten sick

 
 
Anyways, if I were to add 6-8 females to the 20 G, all at the same time, wouldn't that stress the filter with the sudden extra load?
 
Also, as there is this auction where I plan to be buying some/all of them, is there anything else I should buy? I've been to this previously and there are a lot of plants being sold, any particular types I should look for? I have Java Fern and Amazon Swords and Annubias(sp?) on my list, but I already have those anyways, Are there other types of plants out there that they like? Their fins aren't as large as males so I assume I may have the option of buying fewer broad leaf plants and go for more of a variety?

 

[FishHelper101]

They should be fine! Just remember to keep an eye on the female for a few weeks to make sure there's no aggression toward the other fish. Hope all goes well!