How to stock my 20 gal tank?

[SkylerBetta]

About a month ago I bought Skyler, my first ever fish, and plunked him down in a 3 gal with heater and filter. He's really happy not being in a jar in a pet store anymore ^-^
Now I'm addicted I bought a 20 gal set up and want to go and rescue more bettas. Girls this time so I can make a community tank or so they don't fight amongst themselves. I know I need a minimum of three but how many can fit in a 20 gal anyways? and what other fish can I stock with them? I kind of want a pleco as well but I don't want anyone to EVER outgrow my tank so are they out completely? Because they're one of my favorite fish too...
Here's my tank setup, and cheers to anyone that knows what movie the background is from:

P.S. all plants pass nylon test the bamboo is live with the leaves cut off, and the big white shell in the back on the right is another hiding spot.
I went for a natural/jungle feel. and the tank has been living without fish for 2 weeks now. I want to have a difinitive game plan before even thinking of purchasing the fishies.

[Oldfishlady]

Your tank is really pretty and colorful, the live bamboo will rot and die polluting the tank in time, the tops need to be out of the water for it to live.

Are you planing to cycle with or without fish and do you understand the nitrogen cycle

Stocking a 20g can be really fun.....
If you want all female Bettas go with about 8-9 and for a pleco, look for the bushynose/bristlenose or "Ancistrus sp" type as they only get about 5-6in and as long as you make the needed 50% weekly water changes it should be fine, but only get one for a 20g and you also need to add some type of real wood for the pleco as they need it as part of their diet and digestion

[McAttack]

Exactly the pleco I was going to recommend. I have a bristlenose and a year later it's barely grown. It's about 3-4" long. Females don't have the bristles.

[SkylerBetta]

Got it:
- Bamboo gone
- Planning to fishless cycle but where do a get the ammonia stuff?
- Not planning to add betta's all at once is this okay? Starting with three
- Bushy/bristle nose pleco
- Driftwood for pleco's right?

oh and I hear you can feed pleco's cucumber and such True? false? My bettas won't eat it will they? I read it's bad for them to eat non-meaty things. :(

[Venom]

I feed my clown loaches tons of vegetables (things like spinach and peas, as well as slices of zucchini and cucumber) and they love the stuff. The betta I had with them for a while didn't touch the stuff, he was much more interested in the bloodworms. :P The betta actually got on surprisingly well with the clowns, I guess they're too different, the betta didn't go near them and the clowns were too busy darting around with each other.

And yes, you can feed Plecos cucumber, but I find most of my fish prefer zucchini, so you might want to try them. Slice thinly and blanch the vegetables to soften them a little, and make sure you don't leave it in for too long, it'll foul the water pretty quickly once they start really tearing it up.

[Oldfishlady]

You can get ammonia at most hardware stores and stores like walmart if you have them their look in the household cleaning section and make sure it doesn't have any additives like surfactaint, perfumes etc....pure ammonia

And as Venon stated plecos love their veggies, I use a fork with a string tied on it to stab the veggie so it will sink to the bottom and I can pull it out easier, I usually only leave it in the tank for 24 hours at the most.
Sometimes it can take a while for them to learn that it is food but once they learn....... the pleco will come out anytime day or night to feed.

[Zeetrain]

Not sure if anyone mentioned but theres also the Clown Pleco. It only grows to around 4 inches. They have nice coloring.