New Betta In New 20gal Long Tank..

[ayobreezie]

Well, I just got a new betta a few days ago..

I got the 20 Gal Long on Wednesday, set it up.. got the Betta on Thursday, waited to get temp to 78 degrees, before I put him in.. then, yesterday, I got 6 Cory's, 1 African Dwarf Frog and a few plants.. I want to add Java fern and Java moss, then, I was wondering what other type of community fish I can get? My Betta's a nice red/blue butterfly veil tail.

Okay, here's the list of my tank + supplies and fish. Tell me what you think I need to add/change...

20 Gal Long
100 Watt Penn Plax Submersible heater
Penn Plax Cascade 150 "Bio-falls" filter (rated for 35G, has adjustable water flow, set at high right now)
Fluorescent lamp w/ 15Wt aquarium bulb
1 Male Betta
4 Albino Corydoras
2 brownish Corydoras
1 African Dwarf Frog
2 Amazon Sword plants
And a few other plants I don't know the name of..
1 XL "wood stump" fake decor..
15 lbs. of blue Wal-Mart tank gravel

Maitenance:
pH test kit
Start Right
Aquarium Salt
Stick on tank thermometer(water temps around 77 - 80 degrees)

How's this sound so far? And what other supplies do I need for maintenance, etc.? And what other fish can I get? And basically, any suggestions in general...

EDIT: This is my first tank. Will post pictures soon as I can.

 

[joycould]

Did you cycle your tank with bio spira? You can expect ammonia spikes and the ph may not remain stable. When I start a tank I add one or 2 fish a week until it is fully stocked. The fish you chose should do fine with the betta, it depends on the betta I have one I can't trust with a snail any size. Keep an eye on your water stats everyday for the next few weeks and be prepared for water changes until your tank is stable.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I dont know any thing about frogs but have read they can be aggressive. Also IMO frogs are amphibions (spelling?) and should only be kept in a tank if there is land for them as well. As far as I know (and I could be wrong) there are no frogs that live completely in the water all the time.

I would recommend you get an ammonia and nitrite test kit and do some research on tank cycling. You are going to get a massive ammonia and then nitrite spike over the next couple of weeks. The fish you have are fairly hardy so should get through it ok but you will need to do frequent water changes to keep the levels down.

Betta's are dodgy fish to get tank mates for. Most fish wont be able to resist take chunks out of their fins.

 

[ayobreezie]

Actually, I believe the dwarf frogs are entirely aquatic.. but then, they just have to go up for air.

But as far as the ammonia and nitrite spike.. what can I do to keep it from spiking too high?

 

[joycould]

Water changes help with ammonia spikes and also live plants. Live plants actually use the ammonia, they turn nitrites in nitrates. Remember if you use an ammonia binder that it will probably give you a false positive when you test.

The ADF are completely aquatic, so the the ACF however they are the aggressive frogs and get pretty big. Some states don't allow African clawed frogs. I have done a lot of research on the frogs because I keep thinking I want a couple to put in with my girl betta but worry because of her attitude.

 

[ayobreezie]

What kind of water changes should I do? 10%? 15%? 20%?

 

[joycould]

It will vary with the readings you are getting but it could be up to 50% I do between 20% and 50% usually. Some water conditioners actually have ammonia binders in them. I don't use them because I have plants and the plants actually absorbs ammonia.

 

[ayobreezie]

Yeah.. I'm going to try to source some Java Moss on MOnday.. heard it really helps with nitirites, etc...

 

[poopsydrew]

Well, I just got a new betta a few days ago..

I got the 20 Gal Long on Wednesday, set it up.. got the Betta on Thursday, waited to get temp to 78 degrees, before I put him in.. then, yesterday, I got 6 Cory's, 1 African Dwarf Frog and a few plants.. I want to add Java fern and Java moss, then, I was wondering what other type of community fish I can get? My Betta's a nice red/blue butterfly veil tail.

Okay, here's the list of my tank + supplies and fish. Tell me what you think I need to add/change...

20 Gal Long
100 Watt Penn Plax Submersible heater
Penn Plax Cascade 150 "Bio-falls" filter (rated for 35G, has adjustable water flow, set at high right now)
Fluorescent lamp w/ 15Wt aquarium bulb
1 Male Betta
4 Albino Corydoras
2 brownish Corydoras
1 African Dwarf Frog
2 Amazon Sword plants
And a few other plants I don't know the name of..
1 XL "wood stump" fake decor..
15 lbs. of blue Wal-Mart tank gravel

Maitenance:
pH test kit
Start Right
Aquarium Salt
Stick on tank thermometer(water temps around 77 - 80 degrees)

How's this sound so far? And what other supplies do I need for maintenance, etc.? And what other fish can I get? And basically, any suggestions in general...

EDIT: This is my first tank. Will post pictures soon as I can.

Ok, I need to clear a few things up here...
-African Dwarf Frogs are non agressive completely aquatic frogs. They come up for air every 5 minutes or so and thats it. They do not need land. Feeding them in a big tank with other fish is a problem and you are probably going to have to use tongs or a turkey baster. Feed them frozen bloodworms.
- It would be best to pick up another "Brownish" cory as groups of 3 are considered the minimum even though you have 4 albinos, they prefer their own type.
-The amazon sword plants are a medium-high light plant so they probably wont last too long.
-Bettas dont like a lot of current so I would reccomend turinign it down, it may also damage their long tails.
-Dont add salt to your tank. Firstly, aquarium salt is useless, you would want marine. Next, all of your fish are freshwater fish. You may hear people say they put salt in their betta tanks to prevent disease which is unnecessary and stressful to the fish. Plus, cories and other freshwater fish are very sensitive to salt and dont tolerate it. Bottom line just dont use it, you dont need to.
-Your tank is cycling so like suggested I would do 25% water changes daily or every other day until your tank is cycled. I know you may have added something called start right but unless it was refrigerated bacteria it didnt cycle your tank.
-Lastly, be very careful adding fish with male bettas, even corys. For tank mate suggestions go to the betta page and check out the pinned topics.

Good luck with your new fish, I hope that clears some stuff up for you.

Drew