They live in MUCH larger bodies of water than the 10 and 20 gallon tanks people cram them into. It's highly unnatural for them.
If one wanted to naturally keep a group of bettas, then the wild types are the way to go. They are the ones that naturally live like that in the wild.
There are dwarf African cichlids - kribs and jewels, as well as the shell dwellers. Kribs will work well in most community tanks, while jewels would be better suited for a semi aggressive community tank.
Dwarf cichlids are as peaceful as cichlids come. Most people have no problems with them killing off stock. Anyone who feels that they are aggressive should most certainly never keep full size cichlids.....