betta in a community tank?

[crystalbettas]

So i have three bettas all in separate tanks and i'm looking to cut down on some. the obvious solution is get a (colored) divider so they're separate. however, one of them has a history of velvet and fin rot, so i don't want to mix him with other fish for the chance of transmitting it. another one is somehow small enough to slip past the divider, we've had that problem before which is why they're now all secluded.

i've been considering adding my third betta to my 40 gallon community tank. i've had plenty of people tell me they've done it with success. i'm not entirely sure about it yet.

the fish in my 40 gallon include three dalmatian mollies, six glass catfish, an african featherfinned catfish, an african spotted leaf fish, and a black ghost knife fish. my leaf fish is between 2 and 3 inches long so i don't think he would try to eat the betta (he doesn't bother the mollies much) and the knife fish is still pretty small and sticks to the bottom of the tank.

can i have some opinions on this?

*EDIT* apparently my leaf fish is actually a spotted climbing perch (leopard bush fish)? i'm only now finding that out and i'm not really sure if there's a difference)

 

[mimiheart]

I've done mollies and a betta before and it worked for them, but it was an ordeal for me. Feeding was a nightmare. My mollies were just too food aggressive compared to my betta. Even if they didn't like her food. I had to corral her into her own little corner and fend off everyone else to make sure she got her pellet. I don't know if a male would work better, but my girl ended up just really not working out in the tank with the mollies.

 

[crystalbettas]

i decided against it, i put him in there and he was so stressed. my balloon belly molly was picking at his fins and then the leaf fish came along and started harassing him. i put him back in his tank and tossed that idea out the window