Betta for a community tank?

[in the pines]

I thought bettas were left to live in their own tank, but I have read about a couple of people putting their lone male betta in a tank with smaller fish and it works out. Is it possible with my tank? I dislike the platys because of the aggressive male and want to trade them in.

I will have in the tank

ghost shrimp
5 kuhli loaches
5 corys (3 julii and 2 not yet identified. but cute!)
12 neon and cardinal tetras
1 dwarf sunset gourami (he's a little guy, yet. an inch or so)

it's a 29 long.
sand substrate
pH 6.2 currently
ammonia 0
nitrites 0
nitrates 0

no plants, but would like some. suggestions on plants would be faboo, as well!

if no betta for the tank, what might be good?

thank you guys for all of your help. i could not have gotten this far without you.

 

[paperdragon]

Won't work with the gourami. They'd view each other as direct competition.

 

[msjinkzd]

The betta will not get along with the gourami, otherwise it would have worked. As for plants, what is the lighting on the tank?

 

[DAVIDFBT]

Every fish in there would work with a betta, except for just one. The Gourami. Bettas and Gouramis are from the same family, and if you get 2 of them together, they do not play nice.

 

[in the pines]

man you guys are awesome. seriously.

thank you. i thought the gourami might be an issue. he's been very good in my tank, and honestly personable with me. he seems to be the more aware of me and friendlier than any of the other guys. so i can't give him up on a whim. he stays.

i'm going to take a look at my lighting right now.

 

[in the pines]

it's one long tube with the writing

GE plant and aquarium wide spectrum. it also has the series F20T12-PL/AQ

i inherited the tank, and lighting.

 

[in the pines]

also a number of my ghost shrimp died. half of them. i bought ten and five remain. their bodies were pink when i fished them out.t he temp is 77-78 in there.

what could have gone wrong?

 

[msjinkzd]

Is the tank cycled?

Its not at all uncommon to have a die off after purchasing ghost shrimp since htey are sold predominantly as feeders. Often they are not in the best health and have not been shipped in the kindest of manners. Because of this, they are already weakened when you get them.

Does the bulb say what wattage it is?

 

[in the pines]

tank has gone through a five week fishless cycle with pure ammonia and also i threw in some biospira (under the new name. everyone here calls it biospira. it was in a yellow bottle)

this is what i got when i googled the serial number

GE Lighting "Plant & Aquarium" Fluorescent Bulb, F20t12/Pl/Aq 6pk, 9000 Avg. Rated Hours, 750 Initial Lumens, T12 (1-1/2" Diameter), 24"-20w

 

[msjinkzd]

20w on a 29g tank is LOW low lighting. You could probably add moss, but to keep a good range of low light plants you would probably need to upgrade the lighting so that you have between 1-2watts per gallon.