Can I add more?

[Ravenes]

Was wondering if I can have up to four thick lipped gourami there pretty small so I was wondering if I could complete the school.
I have 2 thick lipped gourami
6 white skirt tetra
6-5 Pygmy corydoras( I can’t tell they hide a lot)
My tank is 29 gallon tall. So idk if I’m at the maximum

 

[itiwhetu]

Not in a tall tank. I never like keeping Gouramis in more than about 12 inches of water. I think they prefer shallow tanks.

 

[Ravenes]

Well I can’t re home them what do I do?

 

[itiwhetu]

Well I can’t re home them what do I do?

Just keep the two you have, and look at adding something in the bottom part of the tank. Maybe Glowlight Tetras or Cardinals. Glowlights, Black Neons and things like Cherry Barbs are really hardy. Cardinals are a little more difficult to keep.

 

[Ravenes]

Looking at my stocking already should I get more fish?

 

[itiwhetu]

My calculation, you can safely add another 6 fish or so. I would look at Cherry Barbs or Checker Barbs. Purely because they are hardy and don't swim much.

 

[Ravenes]

Are cherry barbs rare to come by?

 

[itiwhetu]

Are cherry barbs rare to come by?

They are a common species.

 

[Ravenes]

Ah so it should be in the lfs then

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Ah so it should be in the lfs then

That would depend on where 'local' is.

To learn about any fish, Seriously Fish is a great site to visit and I'm giving you a link for the Cherry Barb, a marvellous fish to keep.

 

[Byron]

If this is a regular 29g (tall), I will assume the length isd 30 inches/75 cm and the width is 12 inches/30 cm.

You already have a problem with the fish species. White Skirt Tetras are known fin nippers, and should never be housed with sedate fish like gourami. And aside from the gourami, if you remove them and stay with the White Skirts, another 4-6 would be advisable as they are better in a group of ten or more, due to their natural "aggressive" nature.

Trichogaster labiosa is the species of gourami here, and a small group would be better, but not with the White Skirts.

These issues need to be resolved before any consideration is given to adding more fish of other species or the gourami.

 

[Ravenes]

If this is a regular 29g (tall), I will assume the length isd 30 inches/75 cm and the width is 12 inches/30 cm.

You already have a problem with the fish species. White Skirt Tetras are known fin nippers, and should never be housed with sedate fish like gourami. And aside from the gourami, if you remove them and stay with the White Skirts, another 4-6 would be advisable as they are better in a group of ten or more, due to their natural "aggressive" nature.

Trichogaster labiosa is the species of gourami here, and a small group would be better, but not with the White Skirts.

These issues need to be resolved before any consideration is given to adding more fish of other species or the gourami.

Well they seem to be getting along no nipped fins yet. I’ve been watching them for weeks they seem to ignore each other

 

[Byron]

Well they seem to be getting along no nipped fins yet. I’ve been watching them for weeks they seem to ignore each other

That is missing the point. I will explain.

Fish behave the way they do because it is in their species genetic makeup. We can know how a species will normally behave, and knowing that we avoid putting it in an environment that is likely to aggravate it. The species Gymnocorymbus ternetzi is the Black Widow and the White Widow Tetra, nd it is more feisty as a species. In small numbers (anything less than ten) it usually becomes more feisty which means increased aggressive behaviour, such as fin nipping. This is how the fish behaves because that is how it has evolved.

Individual fish of a species may show more aggression or less, for various reasons. But it cannot be assumed that "all is well." It likely is not. Even if there is no actual physical interaction, the fish are communicating chemically via pheromones (read by the fish in that species) and allomones (read by fish in other species), and these can be as stressful as physical attacks when they are aggressive signals. None of us can possibly say the fish in our tank are fine when it comes to natural behaviours, unless we are providing the fish with what they "expect," when it comes to space, numbers, other fish in the tank. This is the only humane way to keep fish.

The gourami are probably being negatively impacted by the tetras. The gourami would be better with a small group. This is two things against them being healthy.

I cannot tell you what to do, I can only point out the scientific-proven consequences of "x" so you can decide what best to do.

 

[Ravenes]

K I thank you for your concern

 

[Ravenes]

I agree