Vacant 22 Gallon Tank

[Lamp]

Hello Everyone, nice to meet you all

Well i wouldnt be in the newb section unless i wanted something, so here goes (please bare with me lol)...

I currently have a 22 gallon tank that i've not used in over a year, previously i just had a few guppies and some panda cories in it.
I've recently started cycling it again as i'm interested in restocking it (sick of looking at an empty tank) Anyway, at the moment i just have a few bits of bogwood (large) and some densely populated live plants.

I was keen to get a male betta but aside from the fact i've been unable to find a healthy crowntail in any of my local pet shops, i've also been given lots of conflicting information. It seems everywhere i go someone has a difference in opinon. I was hoping you guys could clear this up for me.. I was told i could keep a male betta in my 22 gallon tank and possibly even add a few other fish into the mix because of the fact it is densely populated with plant life? However, i've also been told a 22 gallon is too big for a lone male and had various other stories such as male bettas living happily in community tanks which doesnt seem right to me.

Can you help clear up the fact from fiction for me? Also, does anyone have any experience ordering fish from the internet? I'm based in the UK and was just wondering the success rate of these websites.

Thank you in advance for your paitence, im sorry this is so long winded lol
Lamp!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Hiya Lamp,

the problem with all this conflicting info is that it all has some truth about it. Betta's are funny little fish, they all have very distinctive personalities, so while some may be absolutely fine in a community some absolutely will not. and there's no way of telling until you try it with the betta in question. what may seem like a peaceful placid betta can turn into a little devil when confronted with some other fish. likewise with the size of tanks, some bettas will go crazy if put in a big tank, they feel it is all their territory and will wear themselves out patrolling the tank, some are really active though and will go stir crazy if you keep them in anythign small.

so i'm sorry that's not a lot of help to you but i guess it at least explains the conflicting info.

personally i would not risk it, get something like a little 5gal tank and keep the betta alone in there if you really want one, then turn the 22gal over to a community.

 

[Lamp]

Thank you for your quick response and advice Miss Wiggle, I will take on board what you have said and rather than get a betta i'll try and find a more suitable fish for my tank.

I've heard most newbies overstock their tanks but ideally i only wanted a small number of fish just to brighten the place up a bit lol i never anticipated it being so hard to choose!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

hard work isn't it!!

have a look at teh link in my sig 'how to work out stocking lists' which should help you work out what goes with what

 

[-germ-]

I'd go for honey gourami, 2 females 1 male.

 

[archamfr]

22 gallons...
if it was me id have either..
some danios ( i like zebras)
or a pair of kribensis, however u will need to think about the offspring

 

[*Fishkies*]

You could also but a group of female bettas in the tank. Say about 9 would be pretty neat to have. Or how about a huge group of cradinal tetras by themselves.

 

[Lynda B]

Female bettas are the way to go! I'm seriously considering turning my 30 gallon into a sorority when my existing 30 gallon residents are no longer with me...

 

[Lamp]

Thank you for all your advice and ideas. I just thought i would update you on my progress over the past 24 hours!

With a little help from some friends and experts from my local aquatics store i've began to stock my community tank. At the moment i have a small khuli loach who is the only inhabitant and I will be recieving a pair of dwarf cichlids (microgeophagus altispinosa) as well as 4 panda corys and 2 female fighters from Trimar on Tuesday.

Overall, i'm told this should all work well together and be a peaceful assortment BUT if i do have any problems with the female fighters i already two 5 gal tanks on standby as donated by a friend of mine as i'm told they can be scrappy.

I've also added a few more plants to my tank today and checked all my water stats, i hope to post pics when its all up and running and stocked lol.

Thanks again

 

[Lynda B]

Just keep an eye on your readings if you're adding all of those fish on Tuesday. That'll boost your bioload in one fell swoop.

 

[Lamp]

Thank you for the tip
Unfortunetly I couldnt avoid having them all delivered at once (due to trimar courier costs) but I do have a good 'master' testing kit on hand and some friends who can point me in the right direction if it goes squiffy lol.

I want to ensure my fish are healthy, i've only just realised i should of perhaps bought another 2 khuli loaches as one may be lonley on its own.. I feel bad for the poor guy now

 

[MHunt]

Get some bronze cory's, they go great in any tank. A 22 gal is ideal, mine spawn regularly in mine. I'll have some littleun's ready to go in a few weeks time, they're week old fry at the moment!

 

[!Gina]

Just realised i already had an account that i used when i set up my first tank, Its now my second time around and i'm still learning eh?

Anyway, i'll ask for my new account 'Lamp' to be deleted, to avoid any confusion i thought i'd post here hehe.

Oh and Mhunt i will read up about bronze corys, they sound interesting and i already have some panda corys arriving on tuesday, i look forward to that.