What kind of schooling fish should i add to my 20g?

[RedJ]

I PROMISE MY BETTA IS PEACEFUL he must be a rare exception also yes that is a java fern should i glue it to the lava rock?

 

[RedJ]

my rio tetra randomly grazes or goes face to face with my betta and i see no flinching or 2nd thoughts of attacking i know byron said they can change overnight but i just dont see it happening

 

[thrujenseyes]

I PROMISE MY BETTA IS PEACEFUL he must be a rare exception

and I promise you that you simply can not know this, especially after owning him for such a short amount of time.
As others have taken the time to try and explain...
it's genetics, it's in the fishes physical make up to be a certain way.
As conscientious pet owner we take all things into consideration and do what we know to be best for them...otherwise we are being irresponsible and unfair to the pet.
If you know you shouldn't feed chocolate to your dog, you don't do it...correct?
Just as you know you shouldn't keep a male beta with anything else, therefor don't...
if you want that fish to not just survive but thrive.

that is a java fern should i glue it to the lava rock?

As for your plants with rhizomes ... make sure the rhizome is out of the substrate otherwise it will rot and the plant will die. Yes you can glue (make sure it's aquarium safe) or tie...I tie the plant to a rock or wood.
I attached a pic where you can see that I have some to the right ...one tied to a rock and the other to wood. I had to go in and do some trimming so I'd used a few newly propagated pieces.

 

[Byron]

I get quite tired of arguing over Bettas but the fact is they are not community fish. Bettas are naturally aggressive, and the commercial fish are bred to heighten this fighting instinct. You cannot change what nature has programmed into a species. Accept it, and provide accordingly.

Those flame tetras are annoying to your Betta, even if you don't see it. And the Betta might decide he no longer will tolerate the tetras. Bad fishkeeping.

Why do you have crushed coral (thee white bits of substrate you said are crushed coral)?

 

[RedJ]

my local fish store recommended it to harden water and betta fish need minerals right? also you guys and my local fish store keep telling me different things

 

[RedJ]

oh yea forgot to mention my local fish store is called aquarium co-op ive never heard 1 bad thing about that place

 

[Essjay]

I'm afraid you've been mis-informed by the shop. Betta splendens need a hardness in the range 18 to 268 ppm (1 to 15 dH) Information from here http://seriouslyfish.com/species/Betta-splendens As you can see bettas are fine in very soft water so they don't need extra minerals.


I always ignore everything a shop says until I have researched it for myself. So many of them give poor, if not downright wrong, information so it is safer to assume they all do until I can prove they were right.

 

[Byron]

I agree with essjay.

Soft water in natural habitats in South America or SE Asia have mineral content so low it is basically zero. Fish have evolved in this water and they thrive. They obtain their minerals from the food they eat. Fish in Central America and Mexico, like livebearers, live in moderately hard water, and they need this to thrive.

 

[RedJ]

seeing alot of videos about betta community tanks its definitely not as taboo as you guys make it out to be my betta is still peaceful got 9 ember tetras

 

[Essjay]

We know a lot of people keep bettas in community tanks. But whether they should be in there is a completely different thing. What people do and what is best for the fish are not the same thing.

 

[fish boi]

seeing alot of videos about betta community tanks its definitely not as taboo as you guys make it out to be my betta is still peaceful got 9 ember tetras

also most people that have a betta in a community tank have a female betta as they are less aggressive then males. also it may not look like your betta is attacking them but the fish may feel threatened by the betta being there

 

[SeanTrollope]

bettas in community tanks will never work. weather it is a peaceful fish or not. these fish have a natural instinct to attack other fish. therefore in a community tank they will exhaust themselves trying to catch up to smaller faster fish and eventually die from exhaustion. or the other fish will die from the stress of constantly being threatened but the betta. either way it is cruel and inhumane irrespective of what other factors there are.

 

[Byron]

seeing alot of videos about betta community tanks its definitely not as taboo as you guys make it out to be my betta is still peaceful got 9 ember tetras

Being a responsible tropical fish hobbyist involves understanding the behaviours, traits and requirements of any fish you intend keeping, and then following the norm for the fish and providing accordingly. The fact that some people may appear to make something work does not mean it is working, or that it may suddenly not work, or that the fish are actually "OK" regardless. You cannot see inside the fish's thinking or reaction to external conditions to know, none of us can, so we trust and accept the opinion of the majority of trained ichthyologists. To do otherwise is irresponsible. Fish are living creatures that deserve the best, and the best is what is in their own best interest, not ours.