Questions about Stocking

[Kindynos]

So, I decided to get another tank, I'm not sure on the size yet because I want to make sure there is some room for it. So, I have a few questions. First off, will this stocking work:
Four swordtails, one male, three females.
Four Balloon mollies, again, one male, three females.
Four Live tail mollies, one male and three females again.
Some ghost shrimp.

This is the stocking I most defiantly want to go with and I pretty sure they can along with each other. There are some others fish I wanted to get, but I am unsure if these fish would get along together, as I haven't done much research on them. The fish I'm and unsure about are:
One betta (I have actually researched these guys)
One loach.

My questions are these now are:
1. Can betta and loach go with the other fish?
2. Will there be any complications with my first list?
3. Are ghost shrimp social critters or not social?
4. Are loaches social or not?
5. What tank size will I need for the first list only? What tank size will I need if the second list works and I can put both lists together?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Honeybee_raby]

Imo mollies can be very messy (my sand has a layer of waste within a few days after siphoning) when I had 4 juvis in my 20 g. And since most of your list consists of live bearers they will reproduce rapidly & once you see how cute fry are you're not going to want to get rid of them lol. I would say 30 gallons and up

Also I have kept a male beta in every single one of my set ups. When I'm at the store I pick the one I like up & another beta & if the one I like is very aggressive and flares then I move on to another that I like until I get a desired behavior. (This is not 100% but it has worked for me)

 

[Kindynos]

Yeah, I am aware of how quickly they reproduce and have a tank set up for the babies to go in after the mothers give birth. Also, thanks for the suggestion on how to get my desired personality for my betta, I was afraid that if I did get one it would be too aggressive. I have an old 29 gallon handy luckily, I was planning on making it into a tank for sick fishes to recover in. I can clean up the tank and start the ammonia cycle. So, if mollies are very messy what power should I get for a filter?

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[Honeybee_raby]

Yeah, I am aware of how quickly they reproduce and have a tank set up for the babies to go in after the mothers give birth. Also, thanks for the suggestion on how to get my desired personality for my betta, I was afraid that if I did get one it would be too aggressive. I have an old 29 gallon handy luckily, I was planning on making it into a tank for sick fishes to recover in. I can clean up the tank and start the ammonia cycle. So, if mollies are very messy what power should I get for a filter?

I think one rated for 50 gallons or larger should work as long as you keep up with maintenance. Bettas look beautiful in community tanks

 

[Kindynos]

Alright! Thanks for the information and I seen pictures of bettas and community tanks and I have to agree, they do look beautiful in community tanks.

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[sinibotia]

You can't just have one loach. They're highly social animals. You need a group of them, unless you're talking about one of a very select group of species.... but those are loaches you do NOT want with a betta or any other fish

 

[Kindynos]

I'm planning on a kuhli loach specifically. Can they go with a betta? If they one of the social kinds of loach how many will I need?

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[sinibotia]

I'm planning on a kuhli loach specifically. Can they go with a betta? If they one of the social kinds of loach how many will I need?

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Kuhli loaches are social so you should try to have at least 5. They are incredibly peaceful and tend to stay out of the way so they should go with a betta quite nicely!

 

[Kindynos]

Alright! Thanks for the information!

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[azmodan]

Personally I'm not really a fan of keeping bettas with rambunctious livebearers like swordtails and mollies. Bettas do well in less manic environments with more docile tankmates.

 

[fishenthusiast]

Kuhli loaches are social so you should try to have at least 5. They are incredibly peaceful and tend to stay out of the way so they should go with a betta quite nicely!

+1 They are also very hardy.