Need advice on what fish to put in my 20G tank

[bloodylankan]

Right now I only have one Swordtail.
I used to have two mollies and two blue power dwarf gourami's but they all died. I'm just looking into buying some hardy fish.

I heard that betta's are strong fish and dont die as fast but male betta's would probably kill my swordtail from my understanding, correct me if im wrong.

I was thinking of adding:
1 x Oto to keep my tank a lil cleaner
2 x Female Betta's
1 x Male Betta

and I don't know of any other hardy fish

Could you guys let me know if this combination would even work?

 

[the_elvish_misfit]

I had a betta in with my swordtails, he left them alone. It's fish that look like bettas (long fins) that they go after. Male and female bettas don't really get along though. They kind of breed then get aggressive with each other.

Swordtails, mollies, guppies, platys, tetras and bettas are all very hearty fish (and they get along) get a small pleco to clean your tank.

 

[darkmule27]

First, it is HIGHLY reccommended to have more than one oto as they are far happier in groups. In a 20 gallon, you have plenty of room for 3 or more. It is also important to consider that (a) they are not generally considered "hardy" fish and (b) are more likely to cause a mess than clean. If you have an algae problem, they're wonderful. If you don't, then you need to feed them algae wafers and veggies. As with other herbivores, they will have a tendency to cause a mess, but obviously a lot less than, say, a common pleco.
Any of the small plecos, such as a bristlenose pleco, is a wonderful addition if you would like. My BN devors algae wafers and any algae in the tank (well water + 2 windows nearby = lots of pleco food!).
Bridgesii mystery/apple snails are also an option, but like other herbivores--they're poop machines!

As far as the bettas go, either choose 1 male or 3+ females. 2 females will most likely bully each other to death trying to establish dominance. A male betta may or may not attack the swordtail. It depends on the personality of the betta and the color and personality of the swordtail. The hardiness of bettas is also hit or miss.

Also, how old is the tank? It may be cycling, putting any fish you put in it in danger of damage due to ammonia and nitrites.

Just for reference, my 20 gallon at home has 10 neon tetras, 1 BN pleco, 2 swordtails, 3 platies, 1 male betta, and 5 ghost shrimp. The betta leaves everyone alone. He's only gotten into trouble with the pleco before, but that's more because the pleco doesn't like running into ANYONE, especially someone it sees as going after HIS algae.

 

[bloodylankan]

Ive had my tank for about 4months now. My Male swordtail is orange and has a fairly long tail and is actually the first fish I had from the beginning. I have a Aqua Clear 150 waterfall filter.

The only reason I want a Oto or Pleco was to help me clean the glass and gravel a little, but if they make a mess themselves I guess theres not really a point in that.

I like the idea of getting 10 neon tetra's and I guess I'll go with one male betta.

Now should I buy them all at once or add the 10 tetra's at one time and a week or two after get the betta or the other way around?

 

[darkmule27]

The way we did it was 5 tetras then 6 a week later, testing in between to make sure there are no ammonia or nitrite. We added the betta after the neons. But your mileage may vary.

One thing I did (and looked like a total dork doing it) was carry the betta to the tanks where the fish we had at home were and see how he reacted. We chose the one who didn't run away and didn't flare.

Good luck with it all! It's SO addicting!

 

[bloodylankan]

So could I go with this mix?

10 x Neon Tetra's
1 x Swordtail
1 x Pleco
1 x Rainbow Shark
1 x Male Betta or 3 x Female Betta ( which one would be the safer thing to do)?

What order should I buy this fish at?
How many of each should I buy each time and how much interval time should I leave before I add in more fish?

 

[darkmule27]

The rainbow shark isn't a good idea. They get to be 6" long and should have a 50 gallon tank as a minimum.
The pleco you need to choose carefully. A common pleco will get huge. Some great options for a 20G are the small plecos such as a candy stripe, bristlenose, or a starry night. I <3 my BN, he's a character.

For sizes and minimum tank requirements, Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums is a good resource. There are other sites too, so google some and take it all with a grain of salt.

 

[FastFly67]

don't rainbow sharks get fairly large?

 

[bloodylankan]

ok forget about the rainbow shark than...but what do you guys think I should go with...3 female betta's or 1 male?

 

[bloodylankan]

I bought three female betta's and added them into my tank that already had one swordtail in it...

two of the betta's dont seem to be getting along very well....would they get used to each other after a few days?

 

[SammiYoung]

well I have a 20 gallon tank and have 3 sunset platys, 2 bala sharks, 2 tiger barbs, 1 green tiger barb, 2 plecos (one small and one large), 2 painted tetras (pink and blue), 2 frys that my platy had and 3 african frogs ...My tank seems perfect with those fish and it isnt over-populated...Just some suggestions