Kuli loaches & betta?

It could work if your betta accepts them

BUT always have a backup

If you are keeping kuhlis in a 10G with a betta you want 3-8 of them and you are best with a sand substrate and hiding places.

EDIT: gravel is ok but I suggest buying a grassy plant or java moss for them to bury in

EDIT:

Gabby B RIP Bubba Perez & Sloane: dont use coral sand as it messes with the PH and 20 litres is only big enough for the betta (its about 5 gallons)

I am wanting to do this same combo when I get my tank set up again XD I love Kulil loaches and bettas and wanted to keep them together, what I am planning to do is put a light substrate in the bottom (I was thinking coral sand) as well as providing pleanty of hiding places for the Kulils :D My tank is about 20L....I know people suggest 10 gal, but how many litres is that? I have a filter, heater, and air pump for it already :D just need the substrate and the fish :D

Bettas do not need tank mates. They are solitary animals by nature and are fine on their own.

The real answer to whether or not a betta will get along with this or that (in my experience) is that there's no way of knowing without trying.

Bettas are aggressive and territorial by nature. You should expect them to establish a territory and defend it. The smallest tank I have ever heard of two male bettas being kept in without fighting is a 55 gallon. From that information, it can be extrapolated that a male betta could be expected to defend a territory at least as large as 25 gallons.

Your worst scenario expectation should be that your betta will be too aggressive to tolerate ANY tank mates. I have had more than one like that, and one was even a female. I've seen shrimp eaten, neons eaten, mollies de-tailed, even a danio isn't fast enough for a betta who means to kick it's butt.

That said, bettas can be very much individuals, and some of them can be surprisingly tolerant. I have even seen a few who are positively timid and get picked on by other fish. I had one betta who was buddy-buddy with an african dwarf frog. They liked to hang in the water next to each other.

So, in the end, the only way to know is to try and see.

Be prepared to have to pull out either the betta or the tank mate due to aggression.

My advice regarding other fish is to first try something more innocuous than a platy or any other open-water swimmer. Bettas are more likely to not feel territorial to types of fish that don't really have any territory, like algae eaters (I recommend otocinclus) that hang out on the glass and plants, or cories and other bottom dwellers. Kuhlis are a great example of the type of fish that would be more likely than not to be okay with a betta.

Lastly, the best way to try to stave off aggression on the part of the betta is add the other fish first.

If the betta is already established in the tank, remove him from the tank before adding the new fish. Rearrange the tank so it will look new to him when he goes back in. Keep him out for a few days (a few days in a bowl won't hurt him), and let the newbie settle in.

Then, when the betta is returned to the tank, he is introduced to a "new" environment with an established resident. He is less likely to view the whole tank as his territory this way.

In your case, simply keep the betta in his bowl while you are establishing your new tank, and until the other residents are established and comfortable. He'll be fine in the bowl so long as you keep up proper maintenance. Unless you have a "seeded" filter media from an established tank to use to jump start your cycle, I recommend fishless cycling, especially if you are adding ottos and kuhlis. They would not do well being used to cycle a tank.

There's a few links on fishless cycling.

http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/startover/fi...

http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Fishlesscycle....

Best of luck!