Fish Stock Advice, I Want Something That Looks Like A Betta.

[Linway]

Hey all,
Basically me and my girlfriend got our first tank about 6 weeks ago and after some hassle cycling it we finally got it sorted and we now need to decide on fish. We want a few smaller corys for the bottom, also we were looking at some neon tetras but mainly we were wanting 2 "larger more vibrant" fish.
Now when I say larger fish I don't mean 5+ inches big, we just wanted 2 fish that are the main focus of the tank I guess, and I've absolutely fallen in love with how your average betta looks (something like the siamese fighting fish), however I've been informed that bettas can be very aggressive and you can't have more than one of them or any other fish of a similar size that may take up the same space of the tank.
 
So my question is, are there any "larger more vibrant fish" that look like bettas but will be happy living with others without any problems?
 
Tank stats:
W80 x D30 x H40cm
95L (20 imp gallon, 25 US gallon)
pH: 7.5
kH: I'm not sure but I have this image from my water company if that helps lol (http/i.imgur.com/7lAdqGs.jpg)
 
Thanks for the advice all

 

[Chad]

Betta are compatible with corydora so you could have an actual betta and a small group of cory.

 

[Linway]

No I know they are fine with the cory, that's not the issue. I'm wanting 2 of those type of fish, so like 2 betta looking fish but apparently they are too aggressive with each other. I spoke to the guy in my LFS because I was thinking a betta and a guppy and he said that the betta will be too aggressive for the guppy so I could get 2 guppys but I just love the appearance of bettas lol

 

[KittyKat]

What about a pair (male+female) of Trichogaster lalius? Otherwise, there are many other Anabantoidei that live in pairs. Unfortunately, there's nothing quite like the fancy Betta splendens.

 

[Linway]

I think I'm going to have to go with a pair of guppys as it seems like there is just nothing like the bettas that I love and guppys are my second choice.
 
Cheers anyway guys

 

[ADW1988]

As suggested by Kitty Kat, Dwarf Gourami's are good 'centrepiece' fish for small tanks. M & F but make sure you look on the Fact sheet on this website think it's http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/153493-a-dwarf-gourami-mini-f-a-q/
 
Look for a tank of active ones and pick your favourite M&F if you do go for them
 
Powder Blue's are nice IMO, but look up the different kinds.
 
Hope you get what you want..
 
What corys u going for?

 

[JezTaylor]

You may find you also have issues if you go for a pair of male Guppies. Chances are the bigger/stronger one will pick on the smaller one, and eventually it will die. You'd be better getting 4 or 5 of them, which will spread out the aggression.

My tank is a similar size and for my 'bigger fish' I went for 2 Platies and a Dwarf Gourami - love them.

 

[ADW1988]

I may be wrong too but I think Guppies should be in larger groups 6+

 

[Linway]

Yeah, sorry about not replying about the dwarf gouramis, I typed that last reply in a bit of a rush. In all honesty from seeing pictures of them I'm just really not a big fan, they just aren't as visually appealing to me as the bettas/guppys.
 
I've just googled the powder blues and yeah I really like them, however according to fishkeeper.co.uk they grow to 9+ inches which is way too big for what I want >.<
 
My LFS currently has some peppered corys so I was thinking of those.
 
So with regards to stock numbers then (assuming guppies require more than 1-2) would something like the following be ok or would this be overstocked:
 
3-4 Corys
6-8 Neon Tetra
3-4 Guppies
 
I don't even want the chance over stocking and if what I read is correct (1inch per 1 US gallon, so 25 inches max) I feel that might be about 5 inches over stocked (i.e. 2 guppies)?
 
Cheers again guys

 

[ADW1988]

yh totally all comes down to personal preference at the end of the day

.
 
Powder blue are dwarfs I thought (again someone may want to correct me I'm new to this too) to shouldnt grow that big
 
Sounds good to me.. Good luck Linway, would be great to see a pic when ur done!

 

[Chad]

You may find you also have issues if you go for a pair of male Guppies.

This is what I was going to point out as well.
 
Powder blue gourami are quite nice but I've found them less hardy than many other fish.

 

[ADW1988]

 

You may find you also have issues if you go for a pair of male Guppies.

This is what I was going to point out as well.
 
Powder blue gourami are quite nice but I've found them less hardy than many other fish.
 

 
Ahh I'll keep that in mind as I've been looking at these. Thanks tcamos

 

[Linway]

Powder blue are dwarfs I thought (again someone may want to correct me I'm new to this too) to shouldnt grow that big

 

Ahh I was looking at completely the wrong fish, I was looking at powder blue tangs lol so yeah sorry, the ones you mean are the right size but again they just aren't as visually appealing as the bettas/guppies imo.
 
I'll speak to the LFS guy tonight and see what he says about the guppies (they seem like a knowledgeable place, it's not a large chain store so I trust them a little more as places like PetsAtHome just seem to be way too profit driven to give actual advice).
 
I'll definitely post some pictures once we have the tank fully stocked but that wont be for a couple of weeks time as I only want to get a couple of fish at first just to ensure the water isn't going to kill off a full stock. This is my first tank and even though I've tested it many times and it appears cycled and the guy in my LFS has tested it and said everything should be fine I'm still very nervous about it so better safe than sorry imo

 

[the_lock_man]

I don't even want the chance over stocking and if what I read is correct (1inch per 1 US gallon, so 25 inches max) I feel that might be about 5 inches over stocked (i.e. 2 guppies)?
 
Cheers again guys

 
That stocking rule is pretty poor, to be honest. There are two rules that people go by, that one and the 1cm per litre, which equates to about twice as many fish as the 1"/Gal rule - they can't both be right, and tbh I think neither are right - I aim somewhere in between the two.
 
All of which convoulted waffling means that I don't think you'd be too far off right with about 5 guppies.
 
Which, strangely enough, is the number I always recommend for a minimum of male guppies. Funny that.....

 

[Linway]

 

I don't even want the chance over stocking and if what I read is correct (1inch per 1 US gallon, so 25 inches max) I feel that might be about 5 inches over stocked (i.e. 2 guppies)?
 
Cheers again guys

 
That stocking rule is pretty poor, to be honest. There are two rules that people go by, that one and the 1cm per litre, which equates to about twice as many fish as the 1"/Gal rule - they can't both be right, and tbh I think neither are right - I aim somewhere in between the two.
 
All of which convoulted waffling means that I don't think you'd be too far off right with about 5 guppies.
 

Do you mean 5 guppies + the other fish I mentioned (3-4 corys, 6-8 tetras)? or do you just mean 5 guppies?