So I'm going to be setting up a 20G tall tank (yea smaller than I'd like but I wanna keep it small for the time being). Anyway, after it's all cycled I was planning to have the following setup and was curious as to your thoughts. They are roughly in the order that I will be adding them to the tank btw.
-1 oto (like to give him buddies but space limits)
-5 tetras, most likely silver tips
-2 african dwarf frogs
-3 glass shrimp
-1 male betta (my centerpiece)

This definitely pushes the 1 inch per gallon rule, but I feel OK with it. First, the froggies don't obtain oxygen out of the water (which is the main limiting factor) but rather through breathing air so I don't count them. After you take them out of the equation, it is still slightly pushing the 1 inch per gallon rule but I feel confident it'll be OK.
My main curiousities come from the amounts I plan on keeping. I won't get rid of the oto, or go below 5 tetras, and I really want the betta, but in terms of shrimp what do you think? I'd like to actually push my shrimp count to 4 but am a little worried about putting too much in there. Well that's where I'm at now, let me know your thoughts.

You need to count the frogs. The 1" per gallon rule is to account for the bioload, and frogs produce waste, lots of it. Also, it doesn't make much sense to get one otocinclus. One isn't going to keep your algae in check and otocinclus aren't very hardy fish. They like being in groups and the stress of being alone is enough to kill an otocinclus over a relatively short period of time. I'm not sure why you're set on having an otocinclus.

Also, Silver Tip Tetras shouldn't be put with a betta. They are very active, aggressive, and nippy, especially when kept in low numbers. The betta is slow-moving, docile, and has long, flowy fins. This is a very bad combination. Check out this profile for the silver tip: http://www.tropicalfishandaquariums.com ... pTetra.asp

In general, bettas need to be kept with other slow-moving fish with NO tendencies for fin-nipping, like platies, for example. I've kept bettas for years, often as community fish, and there aren't many tetras I'd keep them with. I also have a lot of experience with African Dwarf Frogs and Otocinclus. ADFs and Bettas aren't really a good match either. I've had ADFs rip up the fins of the slow-moving betta more than once. The nearly-blind frogs sense the movement, think it's food, and snatch the betta wrestling it to the bottom. It's horrible to see. I won't put ADFs with frogs again.

So, having said all that, I think the betta makes a fine centerpiece, but I would nix the frogs, the oto, and choose other companion fish. Maybe cherry barbs, white clouds, or platies.

Z

It sounds good to me.

Z

zankren, the 1" rule is a narrow construction...you must take into account the width of the fish too


the tetras you have are slim, so you are fine with the amount of living species for the 20 g...maybe in time, you can get a larger tank, but for now, you are fine

I've had ADFs that liked each other and ADFs that fought like cats and dogs. They would literally bite each other, hard, and would have to reach in and break up fights. Sheesh.

I like black neons, too. I like regular neon tetras as well, especially with a black background on the tank. I have about 35 of them in my 55 gallon tank. It's a very striking sight.

Z