Can you house other fish than a betta in a 20 gallon tank?

[Kiseki]

Konichiwa!
I want to set-up a 20 gallon planted tank for a betta and some coolie loaches. I want to add glass catfish but they need to be in schools of six or more, and I am afraid that will be too much for a 20 gallon aquarium.

 

[ChileRelleno]

Yep, you sure can have other tank mates with your Betta...
Depending on your Bettas disposition, some Bettas can be very intolerant of any other fish.

Tankmates should not have long flowing fins or be fin-nippers.
Bettas are topwater fish and some floating cover will be enjoyed greatly, we use floating wreaths of plastic plants in our tanks.
Current should be kept to a minimum as excessive current can stress and tire them.

I know this topic has been hashed over before, perhaps do a search for past post?

 

[ChileRelleno]

Now to answer the other part of your post.

IMO, 1 Betta, 3-4? Coolies, and 6 Glass Cats would be aprox 37" of fish,
this would alot, but none of these are particularly dirty fish so with good filtration you could do it.
But there are plenty of other possible tankmates out there, so do your research and give it a try .

 

[Kiseki]

If I do use that combination of fish what type of filtration should I use for the tank.

 

[ChileRelleno]

Well, on our 10gal Betta tanks we use AC200 & 300's. For our female Bettas we place it (AC200) off all the way off to one side of the aquarium so as to reduce current on the other side. For our males in a divided 10gal its (AC300) placed center so as too evenly draw from the entire tank thru the dividers, it has pantyhose over the outflow to cut the current.

But I digress...

A HOB power filter at 15-20x turnover would suffice, as would a small canister at 5x turnover. I would say get a Marineland/Penguin HOB with the bio-wheel, or do as I did and modify a AC with a bio-wheel.
I find I like the AC's better because I can put whatever media I want in them 8) .
But then I think about it being a planted tank, and I lean towards a small canister.
Or do both.
Is it going to be heavily planted, with high light and CO2?
I believe that would make a difference in possible filtration choices.

 

[Kiseki]

Well no only a standard plant lighting and no CO2.I have also heard that the plants will take up all the amonnia and nitrate or nitrite?I will be using flourite as the substrate because it is reccomended for planted tanks.

 

[Kiseki]

Sorry
forgot to mention that I do not know what CO2 if for.

 

[ChileRelleno]

Take a stroll thru the "Planted Tank" forum, read all the stickies.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewforum.php?f=21

 

[aquazen]

Just wanted to add. You can try neon tetras (or other tiny varieties).

 

[Kiseki]

but neon tetras need large schools that a 20 gallon can't control, for a moderate school you need at least 30-40 gallons because of their need of large school maybe 20-40 neons.

 

[kukerdan]

lol, you dont need 20 - 40 neons, try 5 - 10

 

[Kiseki]

But in the aquariumfish magazine which I get says they should be in large groups or they will split up and show high aggression

 

[cheezysquirrelz]

As you can see from my signature below, I have 4 neons and 4 glowlights in a 20gal with a betta. The neons are the farthest from aggression. They sometimes split up, but they aren't mean.

 

[czcz]

(curious) Are you planning an Indonesian/Asian tank? How about rasboras instead of glass cats?

 

[kukerdan]

i personally love glass cats, dont own any though, they would be destroyed in my crazy tank, i like em cause they stay in one spot

 

[Kiseki]

Well, yeah, I do intend to have an asian bio-tope in the tank.Sorry for not mentioning it earlier.