Centrepiece Fish...

[fmervin]

Hello all,

I have a 65ltr (approx 17 gal) tank with sand as substrate and nicely planted. I'm on the lookout for a nice centrepiece fish to finish off my tank and thought the gurus out here could suggest a few taking into account my tank and the fish I plan to stock. The fishes I plan to stock are below, the ones with a (*) are already in the tank

* 3 guppies (1 male, 2 female)
* 1 female molly
* 2 ottos
* 7 amano shrimps
1 male platty
3 zebra loaches
2 cory catfish
5 cardinal tetras

I was thinking of a male dwarf gourai or a male blue ram. Not sure how they would get along with the above fish though. Someone also suggested a thick lipped gourami, but my lfs doesn't stock them and said he'll try and see if he can order a few in. If he does, then I also have the option of a male thick lipped gourami. Please do let me know your thoughts

 

[Miss Wiggle]

you need a group of 6 cories really, i'd recommend one of the dwarf species pygmaeus, hastatus or habrosus

after that i think you aren't far off full tbh

how about a pair of sparkling or chocolate gourami? check water requirements though they can be a little delicate

 

[fmervin]

Thanks Ms Wiggle Gets a smile to my face whenever I type that name

you need a group of 6 cories really, i'd recommend one of the dwarf species pygmaeus, hastatus or habrosus

So are you saying that I can add 4 more to my stocking lists? Or should I take a few off somewhere else? My lfs said my tanks should be ok for a around 20 fish, but as I've heard before not to trust them so much
Can I keep 2 each of pygmaeus, hastatus and habrosus making it 6 in total? Or should I keep 6 of one? If so, which one would you recommend?

how about a pair of sparkling or chocolate gourami? check water requirements though they can be a little delicate

I'll have a look at these I've read that dwarf gouramis tend to get aggressive during breeding time and the ratio should be 2:1, do these gouramis also have the same requirements?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

lol

just to be pedantic i don't like being called Ms, I just don't get it, i'm not married so i'm Miss, if Ian ever gets his act together i'll be Mrs lol

personally i would take a few off somehere else, i've said it a million times but community tanks look infinitely better with larger groups of just a couple of species than 2 of everything, gets a bit noah's ark.

i'd get 6 of the same species, which one is up to you, i've just got some hastys and i love them. hastys and pgymaeus are more mid-water cories though, while they do scuttle around on the bottom they also spend a bit of time 'free swimming' which you don't expect from cories much. hasbrosus in behaviour are more what you would expect from a cory. all three have great personalities are are lovely little fish. they really do prefer being in a group so much more though.

all gourami's have the potential to be aggressive, but i think these two are one of the most peaceful. they won't do well with any big boisterous tankmates and aren't really aggressive IME. can't say on the ratio, google them and you'll find out.

 

[fmervin]

just to be pedantic i don't like being called Ms, I just don't get it, i'm not married so i'm Miss, if Ian ever gets his act together i'll be Mrs lol

LOL! Fair enough

personally i would take a few off somehere else, i've said it a million times but community tanks look infinitely better with larger groups of just a couple of species than 2 of everything, gets a bit noah's ark.

I'll take your advise and change my stock list so that there aren't so many out-of-place fishes.

i'd get 6 of the same species, which one is up to you, i've just got some hastys and i love them. hastys and pgymaeus are more mid-water cories though, while they do scuttle around on the bottom they also spend a bit of time 'free swimming' which you don't expect from cories much. hasbrosus in behaviour are more what you would expect from a cory. all three have great personalities are are lovely little fish. they really do prefer being in a group so much more though.

I think I like the idea of mid water cories so I might go for 6 of the hastys as well. And since they are only an inch I think they will fit in nicely Does the same male female ratio apply to cories? That is, 4 females and 2 males?

all gourami's have the potential to be aggressive, but i think these two are one of the most peaceful. they won't do well with any big boisterous tankmates and aren't really aggressive IME. can't say on the ratio, google them and you'll find out.

Tried searching google, they haven't mentioned about the ratio. I like the thick lips, I hope the lfs can get one in. He reckons a single male should be fine

Thanks for all your help

 

[gilaesther]

Miss Wiggle, you always seem to come up with fish that I can't find pics of, lol! What does a hastys cory look like?

 

[fmervin]

Miss Wiggle, you always seem to come up with fish that I can't find pics of, lol! What does a hastys cory look like?

gilaesther, there is a factsheet on them here
At least, this is what I think Miss Wiggle was referring to

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah i mean hastatus, i gave the full name earlier in the post

i don't think the m/f ratio in cory's is particularly important unless you plan on breeding, the males aren't pests like livebearers and none of them are aggressive to each other or anything like that.

 

[dwarfgourami]

And if you are going to breed corys, it's inverted ratios compared to livebearers, so 2m/1f.

 

[Feral123]

if he ends up getting all these fish. shouldnt he upgrade to a biggr tank soon?