45 Gallon Stocking Help

[cherokeeyeah]

Hello,
I am in the process of setting up my 45 gallon aquarium and I had some questions about fish compatibility. At the moment I have 5 odessa barbs in my tank along with a golden gourami. I know for a fact that I want a red tail or rainbow shark as my center piece fish. I was also going to add some green gouramis but I am worried about their compatibility with the gourami and odessa barbs. So I was wondering what you guys thought about this set up? Any help is appreciated.

 

[fluttermoth]

Sorry, but links from that particular site are not allowed on this forum. We've found that it can give some really poor advice on stocking, so we prefer to work from the basic info from you

If you could post the dimensions of your tank, how long the tank has been set up (and whether it was cycled) and whether your water is hard or soft, we can help you come up with a stocking plan that works

 

[skink_boy]

Rainbow sharks are awesome I have one buy them small so you can watch them grow i wouldn't keep 2 different species I had a coal blue and a dwarf together and they had a fight the coral blue died in the fight (I was on holidays) and the dwarf Reid of an infected wound it was to late to treat it
Oops died
Oops died instead of reid

 

[cherokeeyeah]

The dimensions are 36x13x24. Its been up for 8-10 weeks and fully cycled. The ph is between 7.2-7.6(not exactly sure I haven't tested it in a while). I also used stability to help the cycle and I added it and prime every time I introduced new fish. I cycled with tetras(which have since been returned) and I have had 4 odessa barbs for 3 weeks this saturday and I just added the gourami and 1 more odessa barb last saturday. It also had two 10% water changes the two times I added fish.

 

[Gvilleguy]

Don't sharks get between 6 and 7 inches as an adult? I think the minimum recommended tank size for them is around 55 gallons.

 

[cherokeeyeah]

Don't sharks get between 6 and 7 inches as an adult? I think the minimum recommended tank size for them is around 55 gallons.

5-6 and I have no worry that the tank will be too small I've read were people have kept them in as small as 20 and others say at least a 75. So I believe the tank should be plenty big enough I could be wrong however.

 

[cherokeeyeah]

Rainbow sharks are awesome I have one buy them small so you can watch them grow i wouldn't keep 2 different species I had a coal blue and a dwarf together and they had a fight the coral blue died in the fight (I was on holidays) and the dwarf Reid of an infected wound it was to late to treat it
Oops died
Oops died instead of reid

I posted the dimensions

 

[Byron]

A 3-foot 45g tank is not sufficient space for a Red Tail or Rainbow Shark.  The Red Tail will (or should) attain five inches, the Rainbow six inches, and either require a 4-foot tank minimum.  There are also other issues as these mature but I'll leave that and move on.
 
The Gold Gourami is the species Trichopodus trichopterus, which has several varieties/names such as the Gold, Blue, Three-Spot, Opaline, Cosby, Marble--but these are all the same fish.  They attain four to five inches, but some report six inches.  This is fine in your tank, but just be aware that sometimes they can get a bit nasty as they mature.  You mention a green gourami...I've no idea what species this might be, can you provide the scientific name?  I'm almost certain it wouldn't work in with the Gold, especially if the Gold is a male.
 
The Odessa Barb should be in a group of six or more, but five will likely be OK.  It attains close to three inches, and is an active swimmer.  Not a good match with the sedate gourami, but the Gold gourami species is one that may be able to handle this, though it is not ideal.
 
There really isn't much room in the upper levels with the barbs and gourami, but you could look for some suitable substrate fish (not the sharks, as already mentioned, this would be inhumane and trouble down the road).  There are some lovely dwarf loach species, or the Zebra Loach (Botia strigata) that would be OK in a group of 5-7, provided you have several chunks of bogwood as loaches need this.
 
Now, a few comments about fish and tank sizes.  Fish grow continually, both externally in size and internally with the development of the organs.  The fish can become stunted in small spaces, either because of the physical space or the resulting water quality, or both.  Fish do not grow to the size of their present tank as some still maintain, but they must have adequate space right from the start.  Their temperament as well as their physiology depends upon this.  Forcing any fish to survive in what the fish sees as too small an environment is not humane.  Whomever told you that either shark could live healthily in a 20g was mistaken.
 
Byron.

 

[cherokeeyeah]

A 3-foot 45g tank is not sufficient space for a Red Tail or Rainbow Shark.  The Red Tail will (or should) attain five inches, the Rainbow six inches, and either require a 4-foot tank minimum.  There are also other issues as these mature but I'll leave that and move on.
 
The Gold Gourami is the species Trichopodus trichopterus, which has several varieties/names such as the Gold, Blue, Three-Spot, Opaline, Cosby, Marble--but these are all the same fish.  They attain four to five inches, but some report six inches.  This is fine in your tank, but just be aware that sometimes they can get a bit nasty as they mature.  You mention a green gourami...I've no idea what species this might be, can you provide the scientific name?  I'm almost certain it wouldn't work in with the Gold, especially if the Gold is a male.
 
The Odessa Barb should be in a group of six or more, but five will likely be OK.  It attains close to three inches, and is an active swimmer.  Not a good match with the sedate gourami, but the Gold gourami species is one that may be able to handle this, though it is not ideal.
 
There really isn't much room in the upper levels with the barbs and gourami, but you could look for some suitable substrate fish (not the sharks, as already mentioned, this would be inhumane and trouble down the road).  There are some lovely dwarf loach species, or the Zebra Loach (Botia strigata) that would be OK in a group of 5-7, provided you have several chunks of bogwood as loaches need this.
 
Now, a few comments about fish and tank sizes.  Fish grow continually, both externally in size and internally with the development of the organs.  The fish can become stunted in small spaces, either because of the physical space or the resulting water quality, or both.  Fish do not grow to the size of their present tank as some still maintain, but they must have adequate space right from the start.  Their temperament as well as their physiology depends upon this.  Forcing any fish to survive in what the fish sees as too small an environment is not humane.  Whomever told you that either shark could live healthily in a 20g was mistaken.
 
Byron.

I meant green tiger barb and thats sad about the shark... Any other suggestions for a good centerpiece fish?

 

[Byron]

I meant green tiger barb and thats sad about the shark... Any other suggestions for a good centerpiece fish?
 

 
I would not consider Green Tiger Barbs here, with the Odessa and gourami.  The green is just a variant of the regular Tiger Barb, and these are nippy fish.  A group of 10 (preferably more than this) in a 30g on their own is minimum; in larger tanks they can be combined with other fish, but not sedate fish like gourami which are too much of a temptation for nipping.
 
"Centrepiece" fish often have issues, or special needs.  You already have the gourami which most would consider a centrepiece.  The Odessa will fill the space.  Beyond my previous suggestions with the loaches, which really would be a good match for the barbs and gourami, I'm not sure what to suggest.  Once one has a given species, it becomes important to work with and around that.
 
Byron.

 

[cherokeeyeah]

 

I meant green tiger barb and thats sad about the shark... Any other suggestions for a good centerpiece fish?
 

 
I would not consider Green Tiger Barbs here, with the Odessa and gourami.  The green is just a variant of the regular Tiger Barb, and these are nippy fish.  A group of 10 (preferably more than this) in a 30g on their own is minimum; in larger tanks they can be combined with other fish, but not sedate fish like gourami which are too much of a temptation for nipping.
 
"Centrepiece" fish often have issues, or special needs.  You already have the gourami which most would consider a centrepiece.  The Odessa will fill the space.  Beyond my previous suggestions with the loaches, which really would be a good match for the barbs and gourami, I'm not sure what to suggest.  Once one has a given species, it becomes important to work with and around that.
 
Byron.
 

Alright thank you for the help. Im going to look into the loaches instead of the tiger barb. One last question could I have one female and one male gourami? Or would they too fight too much?

 

[Byron]

Alright thank you for the help. Im going to look into the loaches instead of the tiger barb. One last question could I have one female and one male gourami? Or would they too fight too much?
 

 
You're welcome.
 
It is not easy to answer your question with any certainty.  Male gourami of all species are territorial, to varying degrees from species to species, and sometimes with individual fish within a species.  So ensuring only one male is best.  As for female/male ratio, with most gourami, it is best to have more females than males, because the males can be very hard on the females.  In some species the females must be removed after spawning for instance.  A determined male will drive or hound a female to the point of death sometimes.  The species you now have is one of the more aggressive.  One male and two or three females would be the best, but again the individual fish may have other ideas.  There is unfortunately no guarantee.