Bettas, Cory Cats and Dwarf Gourami

Question
Hi there,
I have never had tropical fish, but I've had goldfish before. I thought I'd like a bit of a change, and I went out and bought an AquaArt 60L tropical fish tank.
I am very attracted to the male Betta fish and Corydora Catfish. I was told they're compatible. After looking around, I found the Dwarf Gourami, and people said they could all live together (I'm trying to find something that won't bother the Betta, but that also looks OK).
I was wondering, can they (if you know)? Also, looking around Pets at Home, I found that they sell Oto Catfish but not really Cory Cats. I was wondering, if I cannot find Cory Cats, would Oto Catfish do well with the Betta (and possibly Dwarf Gourami aswell?

Many thanks in advance,
Lara and my future fishies :)

P.S. Do you of other fish capable of living with Bettas?

Answer
Hi,
60 litres is a good beginner size tank. Small, but not too small. God choice.
Before you buy fish, you need to cycle the tank. When your filter and heater s in place, and there is water in the tank, you can begin. Fishlessly cycling is best. If you do not do this, the fish will be subject to very high ammonia and nitrite levels, which can easily kill them. You need pure bottled ammonia.
I recommend you join tropicalfishcentre.co.uk forum, as you can ask anything you want, and they are very friendly and helpful. (My username is Kathryn002). They will give you a step by step guide as to how to fishlessly cycle your tank.
When the tank is cycled, you can buy fish! Bettas are a very aggressive species, so anything that looks remotely like another male will be fought until one dies. I would not risk having a Dwarf Gourami with a Betta.
Corydoras are a good choice, they should not be harassed. To be honest, I don't trust Pets at Home for things like fish. I'd try to find an actual fish shop, they're much more likely to have decent quality stock. Don't rush into anything, and look around. Otos are also a good choice. Both Otos and Cories need to be in groups of 4 or more. In your tank, you could have a maximum of 10-12 inches of FULY GROWN fish in your tank. Otos and Cories only grow to around an inch each, so if you had 4 each of those, you'd have used up 8 inches. You can only keep a single Betta, and they grow to 2". If I were you, I would look for a good Betta breeder, you can get some stunning ones if you look around, even online!
Tetras are usually ok with Bettas, as long as they don't have long fins. They however need to be in a group of 6 or more. You could have Neon Tetras, Cardinal Tetras, Lemon Tetras, Black Neon Tetras, Glowlight Tetras or Emperor Tetras. So you could have one group of 6 Tetras, 4 Otos or Cories and 1 Betta. Harlequin Rasboras are also nice little fish which like to be in a shoal of 6 or more.
Just be careful not to overstock.
Best of luck,
Kathryn

P.S. If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask.