How should I stock my 20 Gallon with these fishes?

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I have a 20 Gallon aquarium. I've narrowed my choices down to these:

- rummy nose tetra
- bleeding heart tetra
- zebra danio
- bristle nose catfish
- male betta

I've thought about getting 4 zebra danios, 3 rummynoses, 2 bleeding heart tetras, 1 bristlenose catfish and 1 male betta.

Hows that sound?
And i Know it is a bit overstocked, but its ok.
Actually you can depending on the male betta's personality.

I had 1 male betta in a 10 gallon with comet golfish and neon tetras. It chased 1 of the goldfishes around for a few days. But it was too slow so after a few days it gave up and It never chased other fishes again.
 
the male betta might get stressed out from fin picking and the large numbers of other fish
the danios also multiply like crazy so watch out
i would also like to say a bushy -nose pleco is a much better choice than the bristlenose, it eats many types of algae and does a somewhat good job cleaning up
 
the tetras prefer groups of 5+.

also 10 1-2" fish and a bristlenose aren't overstocking (I had 10 danios in my 10g with a betta and no issues). Remember the bristlenose will only get 4" (ok, possibly 6", but there are over 64 species of bristlenose out there)

suggestion:
6 zebras
6-8 rummy nose or bleeding heart
1 bristlenose catfish (or pleco?)
1 betta

rummynose tetras need fairly low ph, and bristlenose prefer it higher. I would choose fish that are closer to the ph from the tap water.

bleeding hearts have a reputation of being a bit nippy - perhaps neon tetras, cardinal tetras, or glowlight tetras are another option.

the other fish are much faster than the betta, it would be unable to catch them. you just don't want anything that will bother the betta.

Best of Luck!
 
First off you can't have a male betta with any other fish, you can have a female with the fish mentioned though. Whenever setting up a tank you want to have fish for the top of the tank, the middle and the bottom so that the tank has an even balance and is nicer to look at.

For the top of the tank:
the only fish that you have listed that swim at the top of the tank are the zebra danios(bettas are kind of middle-top). I would say you could keep a school of 4-6 in the tank.

The middle:
Both tetras that you mention are middle swimmers. Tetras are schooling fish and should really be kept in schools of at least 6. Bleeding heart tetras get larger than rummy noses and 6 bleeding heart tetras would overstock your tank so I would get rid of the bleeding hearts and get 6 rummy noses and 1 female betta for the middle of the tank

The bottom:
-1 bristlenose
 
wow....im pretty sure they''ll be eating eachother in no time


but i like the zebra danio
 
wow....im pretty sure they''ll be eating eachother in no time


but i like the zebra danio
 
Is it a 20 long,or 20 high?
Except for the Betta and Pleco,these are all schooling fish,and need to be kept in schools of at least 6.They will all probably nip at the Betta's fins if not kept in larger groups than what you have suggested.When kept in too few of numbers,they will become stressed,and nip at the Betta's long fins.This will stress the Betta,and with all of the open wounds from his fins being nipped at,will leave him very vulnerable for infection and disease.Your suggested stocking will probably lead to a number of problems,and premature death.
I personally would get 6 each of the danios,rummies,and the bleeding hearts,and leave out the Betta and Pleco.
Overstocking is ok if there is enough filtration and the right kind of fish are used to decrease aggression,like with African cichlids.With the fish you mentioned in a 20g,overstocking would not be ok.
 
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