I am in the process of redoing my 30 gal tank (previously held Ps. saulosi) and would like some input on my planned setup:
1 Opaline Gourami
8 Tiger Barbs
1 Red Finned or Red Tailed Shark
I'm a little worried about the gourami's feelers, and the tiger barbs, not getting along. But, I've read TBs and Gouramis are good tankmates.
thoughts on this setup? tank will be heavily planted.
Well, the fish you have chosen our all semi-aggresive, except for the Gourami. This leads me to beleive that your gourami may be fairly stressed in a tank of nasty little blighters
!
You are right about the Tiger Barbs/ Gourami feeler nipping problem. The tiger babrs will most defintly nip them. Some people say they can get along. You see, there's a glitch.
When I was about fourteen, I decided that I wanted to try my luck with Tiger Barbs. I put them in with Neon Tetra's and Dwarf Cory's, and they totally bullied their tank mates intill all the cory's died of stress, and the neon's were in pretty bad shape. From then on, I figured that I would never get Tiger Barbs again. Two years later, my boy friend gave me a 100 gallon, planted tank- really beutiful. I decided to go to the LFS to look at fish, and I see a beutiful batch of Tiger Barbs swimming peacfully with a school of Guppies. I could not beleive it. So, about a month later, I took home 20 Tiger Barbs. They were extremly docile.. my tetra's were fiestier then them! So, I went to my LFS and purchesed a beutiful male Pearl Gourami, as a little test. Sure enough, there they are, swimming peacfully with the Gourami.
The difference between the two story's is that the first time I only had six Tiger's. The next time I had 20. The truth is, Tiger Barbs can be wonderful, peacful fish if kept in large groups. Small groups are going to create a scary house for your other fish.
My advice to you is this:
Do you love Tiger Barbs? Then focus on upping the tiger barbs, have mabey eleven and the shark.
Do you love Gourami's? Then get eleven Tiger's, and one Gourami.
Do you love Sharks? Then you will have to choose between Gourami's or Tigers. Either get a large school of tigers, and a shark, or a shark, and mabey five Gourami's.
Okay?
Well, have fun with your tank!
ZOphie
