A Good Mix?

[LeeAberdeen]

Been researching stocking a 230-litre aquarium and wanted to run my initial choice by you all, in case you see any potential problems. I'm thinking of four angelfish, four rainbowfish and four gouramis with, potentially, a couple of clown loaches too, although I might just stick with the previous three species because of the potential size of the loaches.
 
Does that sound like a reasonable list, or have I overlooked something glaringly obvious to the more kniowledgeable?
 
Thanks for your help.
 
Lee

 

[SimpleDog]

I would stick to a single Guarami unless you know how to sex them. If you get 4, you only want 1 male and 3 female. Also, your tank is not big enough for clown loaches. Angels should be in a school of 6 unless they are a proven pair, in which case, keeping 2 would be good.

 

[fluttermoth]

What are the dimensions of your tank, OP, and do you know if your water is hard or soft?
 
The angels need a tall tank (at last 18"/45cms) and would prefer softer water, while the rainbows would like it hard. The rainbows would also need to be in a group of at least six.
 
I'm not sure angels and gouramis would be a good mix either, tbh; the angels might be on the aggressive side. I'd go with one or the other, depending on your water.
 
Definitely a no on the clown loach, they get way too big.

 

[Ryan10]

I'm pretty sure my angels killed my gouramis.  Maybe a school of cory cat's instead of the loaches.  

 

[LeeAberdeen]

Thanks for all your replies. Interesting stuff. I suppose the main reason we come on forums like this is to get opinions or, as in this case, things we thought were facts exposed as mere opinions. I'd checked the mix of fish on various respected sites, including here http/www.tropicalfishbypost.co.uk/fish-compatibility.html where, as you'll see, gouramius and angels are down as compatible. They're not even down as "caution required", but a plain, unequivocal "compatible". I do appreciate all your replies, honest, but given that so many other people say there are no problems between gouramis and angels, I'm tempted to stick with them in the same tank. Also, my research found no problems of different water hardness requirements between rainbows and angels, which were both down as liking between 6-7.5 pH (I'm presuming that's what 'hardness' refers to, the pH content?).
I will ditch the idea of clown loaches, though, after your comments, maybe replacing them with the cory cats suggested. For some reason during my research, I'd missed them as potential tank occupants, but they are beautiful.
I will, also, make it six rainbowfish instead of four after your suggestion, so thanks for that.
The tank dimensions, to answer your question, are something like 120cm length, 46cm depth, 53cm height.
Thanks again, everyone, it's much appreciated.

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

You could try mixing small, younger angels with 4 gouramis of different species minus the rainbow fish and the loaches, if you really wish to pursue. What gouramis do you have in mind?

 

[hobby5]

No, pH and hardness are different things: http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_water

 

[LeeAberdeen]

You could try mixing small, younger angels with 4 gouramis of different species minus the rainbow fish and the loaches, if you really wish to pursue. What gouramis do you have in mind?

 
Was thinking of a blue, gold, opaline, chocolate, Indian or pearl gourami. Researching elsewhere as well as here, a consensus seems to have emerged that keeping just one gourami is a good idea, so think I'll do that. Unless anyone knows different, and can recommend a type of gourami peaceful enough to co-exist happily with other species, and with fellow gourami?

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

I had no trouble keeping a trio of gold gouramis before. Pearls are nice. They're kinda big but they are quite peaceful to other fish. Chocolates still tend to be delicate and does not fare well in a lively company of fast swimmers. The blue gourami is the original morph of the gold and opaline gourami but they grow quite fast and quite sizeable as well. How bout some cobalt blue dwarfs or powder blues? Those are small but robust dwarf gouramis that have quite the temperament despite their size