I want a Betta AND sparkling gouramis :/

I'm still in the process of stocking my 20 Gal long tank. Right now I have pygmy corys and forktail rainbows in there.
I've been trying to decide on one more type to add. But ever since I got my female betta a few weeks ago, I've been considering putting her in there. She's still very small (she looks barely bigger than the "baby bettas" they sell) and she seems to be pretty calm. During my divider mishap when she ran into my male betta, she took no interest in him at all. She can still see him a bit through the divider, but she never seems to care.
But I've also really been wanting a couple of sparkling gourami for that tank. I know gourami and a betta are generally a "no", but with a female would it be more likely to work out? Maybe only get one or two gourami so they won't group together? And would the order of adding them make any difference?
I'd just like some opinions if anyone has kept this combination, or if you've kept bettas in communities in general.

 

I've kept female bettas in communities, and they often do well. But theoretically bettas and gouramis are totally incompatible. Never actually tried it, or would I. Female bettas are nearly as territorial as males, and gouramis and bettas are very close species and compete for the same territory. I wouldn't try it. There are many communities that she might be ok it. I don't know much about rainbows. The corys are probably fine.

 

I think Junebug keeps a betta with her sparkling gouramis.

 

Rainbows can just be so active I'd be worried that they might stress her out which might cause her to act out in aggression.

 

Rainbows can just be so active I'd be worried that they might stress her out which might cause her to act out in aggression.

I agree, that also worries me. Looking back, I kind of wish I hadn't got the rainbows because I originally got them to pair with celestial pearl danios, but I'm not sure if that's what I want anymore. And my budget wouldn't allow me to get CPDs anytime soon. The sparkling gourami are a much better price for me and I've always liked them a lot.

 

Female bettas aren't as bothered as males when it comes to fast moving fish because they are just as fast themselves. And they aren't such victims of fin nippers either.

I plan to throw the female I have ordered in with my GBRs, neons, and platys. I don't really expect to have any trouble, but then you never know with any particular betta.

My male betta turns out to be a total coward, he has let corys run him off from his favorite place being stuck on the filter intake sponge. I guess the cory liked the debris stuck in the sponge. He returned to the sponge immediatly after the cory left

 

That's true, I only have 4 rainbows so I guess it should be okay.
I wish I could put my male in the community, but after seeing his reaction to the female I'd say he's very very territorial.
I just worry about putting the female in there because she's so small! I think a few of my pygmy corys are bigger than her.

 

Sparklers can be pretty shy. On the flip side they can get territorial when spawning.
You probably won't see them much with a betta in the tank.
They like a lot of cover.

I'm not a big fan of any fish with a betta anyway so take my thought for what it's worth.

 

I think Junebug keeps a betta with her sparkling gouramis.

I do! He's a plakat And I think it could work fine with a female (or a male) as long as the rules of bettas in community tanks are followed; you gotta watch them. My betta happens to be pretty mellow in this case. But when I added him to the tank, (which by the way has tons of plants for everyone to hide in) I watched him closely for a week to make sure he wasn't going after the sparklers.

The thing with sparklers is, they are awesome little fish, but very curious and playful. Don't believe it when you read that because they are small, they are timid. They're not timid. One of mine likes to sneak up behind the betta and "spook" him. Fortunately the betta couldn't care less

Anyway, you can easily have a betta in with other fish, provided they aren't fish that will provoke the betta, and provided that you're willing to watch them for a good long while before deciding to permanently house the betta there.

 

I do! He's a plakat And I think it could work fine with a female (or a male) as long as the rules of bettas in community tanks are followed; you gotta watch them. My betta happens to be pretty mellow in this case. But when I added him to the tank, (which by the way has tons of plants for everyone to hide in) I watched him closely for a week to make sure he wasn't going after the sparklers.

The thing with sparklers is, they are awesome little fish, but very curious and playful. Don't believe it when you read that because they are small, they are timid. They're not timid. One of mine likes to sneak up behind the betta and "spook" him. Fortunately the betta couldn't care less

Anyway, you can easily have a betta in with other fish, provided they aren't fish that will provoke the betta, and provided that you're willing to watch them for a good long while before deciding to permanently house the betta there.

How many sparklers do you have with your betta? Do you have a recommendation on how many to get, and what order to add them?

 

Well the betta should be added last, absolutely, so he or she will be without a territory. This doesn't negate the need to keep an eye on things. If you start seeing torn fins, assume the betta is the culprit and remove him/her.

I bought 5 sparkling gouramis and they were the first additions to the tank. One of them turned out to be a three-stripe croaking gourami (bigger and badder sparkler.... and less pretty lol) but he's still pretty much tiny and cute. I had a pair of females in the tank with them for a while, and while they occasionally chased the sparklers, no damage was ever done. I removed those two only because they were killing all of my shrimp. (unfortunately they also taught the sparklers to hunt shrimp so I'm out of luck there haha)

I personally like my little shoal of 5 sparklers (ish anyway lol). They're incredibly social little fish, and like to be kept with a few of their own kind. I personally like odd numbers, I feel like any aggression is more evenly distributed that way. The sparklers will get their little territories in the tank and occasionally chase each other, just so you're aware But then two seconds later, they'll be playing hide and seek!

 

That helps a lot
As a side question, I know sparklers like top plants. All I have right now is a fake floating plant, and I'll be getting some dwarf water lettuce. Will that be enough for them? I don't really want to get anything more because floating plants are kind of a pain to deal with, especially with the current in the tank (I have the filter and 2 airstones).

 

Sometimes fish, perhaps even often, start acting like the fish that they are with. My GBRs swim around with the neons and platies all over the top of the tank. Any natural inclination to hide in caves and plants and spend time near the bottom of the tank has been almost completely erased. In my apisto tank it is somewhat reversed, the black neons I have in there there will only eat food that sinks, and totally ignores flakes. Can't convince them to eat flakes for the life of me. Bettas sometimes do the same thing, they will start hanging around with the platies for instance (a betta I had long ago). Then again some bettas retreat from all other fish and hide. Some attack anything that moves. It's basically a role of the dice for any particular betta. Plackets and females are more likely to integrate themselves into the community from my experience. I've heard of people mixing a betta sorority with a community tank successfully. But I can just imagine if it goes wrong, it would go horribly wrong with dead fish everywhere.

 

Sometimes fish, perhaps even often, start acting like the fish that they are with. My GBRs swim around with the neons and platies all over the top of the tank. Any natural inclination to hide in caves and plants and spend time near the bottom of the tank has been almost completely erased. In my apisto tank it is somewhat reversed, the black neons I have in there there will only eat food that sinks, and totally ignores flakes. Can't convince them to eat flakes for the life of me. Bettas sometimes do the same thing, they will start hanging around with the platies for instance (a betta I had long ago). Then again some bettas retreat from all other fish and hide. Some attack anything that moves. It's basically a role of the dice for any particular betta. Plackets and females are more likely to integrate themselves into the community from my experience. I've heard of people mixing a betta sorority with a community tank successfully. But I can just imagine if it goes wrong, it would go horribly wrong with dead fish everywhere.

I actually see that with my rainbows and corys now, they will school together and follow each other around, and the rainbows will hang out at the bottom like the corys even though that's not where they'd usually be. When I only had 3 rainbows I used to joke that they didn't know what kind of fish they were, since the tank was full of corys and they would just follow them around.

I'll probably try adding my female betta last after everything else is situated. Right now I have her in a 10 Gal divided tank, so I'd keep that space for her just in case it doesn't work out.

 

That helps a lot
As a side question, I know sparklers like top plants. All I have right now is a fake floating plant, and I'll be getting some dwarf water lettuce. Will that be enough for them? I don't really want to get anything more because floating plants are kind of a pain to deal with, especially with the current in the tank (I have the filter and 2 airstones).

They're labyrinth fish, just like bettas. Floating plants aren't the greatest idea if it's something that'll get big enough to cover the top of the tank. I think as long as there are plenty of hiding places, you'll be okay

Edit: missed the part about water lettuce before. You should be fine with that in a long tank, and they can hide in the roots, so it's an added bonus I have a bit in my 15 tall but due to the low surface area, really have to keep an eye on it.

 

My betta actually likes the Asian watermoss floating in his tank. It is really just a patch clinging to one corner of the tank, but he likes sitting under it, for shade I presume. He can poke his head through it to breath, but like June said you don't want to let anything get thick and dense and covering much of the surface. Makes me think of people in movies that fall through the ice and get stuck under it.

 

Personally, I would never put a male betta with other fish. Not worth the stress and time of constantly having to babysit the tank to see who's going to kill whom.

Love the forktails, can't get them where I live.