A betta isn't suitable for a community based setup, they just require tank conditions which you will find hard to meet with a variety of fish... they can be very temperamental and possibly cause you more hassle than you would probably want.
This simply isn't true. All you need for a happy betta are:
1) Areas of low flow in the tank. Your entire tank does NOT have to be low flow to accommodate a betta. I'm keeping a betta in a 180 US gallon planted tank with tetras, rasboras, and corys and he's quite happy in there. This is a sump system with appreciable return flow. All I've had to do is redirect the return flow so he's got areas of respite. Current is not a no-go zone for bettas as long as they've somewhere to retreat to when they require rest. Some opportunities to fight current on their own terms will result in a HEALTHIER betta.
If a fish needs to retreat to respite because a setup is not quite right, essentially isn't actually supplying the fish with the correct environment.... a fish should be happy in it's environment 100% of the time, wherever the fish maybe in the tank, having to retreat just means it's not.
2) Correct temperature. Anywhere between 75 and 84 degrees F is sufficient to keep your betta happy.
I partially agree with this, however.... the temp range is likely because in the wild, the conditions will vary from season to season.... yes the fish may be in a higher temperature environment at 'some' point 'but' this wouldn't be constant.... an average temperature would be of that in which in would be in for the longest duration which i would imagine be alot lower than the higher band you've mentioned.... so although yes it would probably be fine kept at the 80-82 mark at some point, long term can and probably would have detrimental effects to there health...maybe not short term but likely longterm.
3) The right tank-mates. You need fish which will not snatch food away from your betta or which will allow you to target feed your betta. You need fish which will not nip your betta's fins. You need fish which are fast enough to get away from your betta when he's in a mood; and you need a tank which is large enough for fish to have somewhere to retreat to.
Again i partially agree.... i never actually said it couldn't be with other fish, the comment you've highlighted states that it's not suitable for a community based setup.... ie... alot of long flowing finned fish, nippy barbs or some tetra's, shrimp, etc etc. Of course this fish can be kept with others but choosing wisely is the key.
All this nonsense about bettas requiring smaller tanks is quite false. Bettas are easier to mix with other fish in larger tanks, where there is more volume to diffuse temporary aggressive urges. I'd rather keep a betta in a 30+ US gallon community tank than a <20 US gallon community tank for that reason.
I do have to disgree for the most part here..... there were back in the day some very very experienced and knowlegable betta keepers that used to frequent this forum, many had varying opinions on bettas but the overall consensous was that bettas do better in a smaller envionment.
Ive seen this first hand myself on many occasions.... ive kept betta's in a semi community based setup (fish chosen wisely).... they have all be relitiviley happy yes.... however, once moved into a smaller based lower flowed tank, they showed there true potential...never hid, never seemed to suffer and certainly looked far more at home than they ever did in a larger tank with much more flow. There are plenty of reports that point towards there bettas seem to show much better characteristics when kept on there own, in a smaller tankwith low flow than they ever did in a community based larger one
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