Had a look round online but still could do with a few answers. How's a Moonlight Gourami in the following proposed set up going to do:

Boeseman's Rainbowfish
Angelfish
Black Ghost Knifefish
Clown Loaches
Peacock Eel
Pleco
Rainbow Shark

5 foot tank.

And how many can I have? Was thinking maybe 2 females? Or only one? How do you sex them?

Many thanks.

In terms of compatiility, that sounds like a nice tank. The only thing is, as you are aware, many of those fish need large tanks. I appreciate you said it's a 5-footer - but that's only a length. How many gallons is it? Also, how many of each fish are you proposing? Obviously, things like rainbows need to be in schools but I was more concerned over how many angels you are planning as they compete directly with gouramies for space.

Idealy, as many moonlights as you can fit would be great. They do best kept at a ratio of about 2-3 females per male but they can be tricky to sex. Males grow larger over-all and look more stream-lines. Mature females are noticeably wider when viewed from above and are generaly deeper-bodied. When gravid, the difference is even more obvious. Unlike other Trichogaster gouramies, fin shape is a less reliable method for sexing though males do have longer, and sometimes more pointed, dorsals. The problem is that this isn't obvious in juveniles. Another, sometimes easier, way of telling the sexes apart is the ventral fin an eye color. Males have orange-red ventrals and eyes whereas females tend to be more yellow. However, only males in breeding condition show very obvious differences.

Your best bet would be to get a group of about 5 (if the tank has room for that many), aiming for 1 male and 4 females. If you don't quite meet this ratio, it shouldn't matter as the group would be large enough to dissipate any aggression. Also, you have room for error in terms of the number of males since 2 males with 3 females isn't a bad ratio. If necessary, you can keep just a trio (1 male, 2 females) but then the sex ratios become more important. Getting a group of ll females is also fine.

Avoid pairs of any sex/mixed sex. Single moonlights work ok (best if they are male) but may get stressed in a tank containing other territorial top-to-mid-dwelling fish like angels.

Keep in mind that moonlights reach 7" BTW. Many people over-look their potential size.

Wow, thanks. Very good reply.

I'm thinking of having a Juwel Rio 400 so it should be plenty deep and wide as well. With the internal filter replaced with an external one.

Was going to have 6 Rainbow Fish so they should be ok. Was going to go with around 4 Angelfish.

I'm thinking maybe going with just the one Gourami. Don't want to overcrowd the tank.

That sounds good to me but then you need to try to get a male. Because of their territoriality, they don't need other gouramies around and can handle aggression from other fish (such as breeding angels) if necessary. A female would be less likely to thrive kept on her own.