Good tank

[soggysandwich]

I was looking to get 2 dwarf gouramis, prob. neon blue dwarfs. and i wanted to know if you guys think my tank is a good setup for them, if not what should i add or remove. in the tank i currently have 2 white skirt tetras (2 more may be coming soon), and one trap door snail. i was also thinking about getting some otos for the algae. are those fish good tank mates for gouramis?

 

[sylvia]

What size tank? It looks nice but I can't tell its size from the pic.

I'd add some more plants - particularly floating ones. It doesn't matter whether they're real or fake BUT make sure your gouramies would still have access to the water's surface as they need to be able to breathe air (or they'll drown).

White skirt tetras should be in groups of 6 minnimum as they are a schooling species. Depending on your tank's size, get at least 4 more before considering other additions to your current set-up.

You should also be aware that white skirts are known nippers so dwarf gouramies may not be the best tankmates for them. The long, trailing ventral 'feelers' these gouramies possess make them prone to being nipped. Having said that, if the skirts are in a good-sized school, they usualy occupy each other and don't harass their tankmates as much.

Otos would be fine but keep in mind that they are fragile and do best in heavily planted tanks with some algae growth. Actualy, dwarf gouramies are also quite fragile - being very susceptible to diseases - usualy brought on by stress. They do not handle fluctuations in water quality or water chemistry well at all. As such, if this tank is new, you should hold off the dwarf gouramies and otos for a little while longer.

 

[soggysandwich]

Oh sorry the tank is 20 gallons. im in the prosses of getting more plants, im trying to get a heavy planted tank. as for floating plant are you talking like lilly pads? well my tank was setup 8-11-2005. you i guess i should wait a little bit to get the gouramis, but i wanted to get the otos cuz im have problems with algae. and i wanted to get some new fish in the tank because right now the tank is pretty boring.

 

[sylvia]

Is the tank fully cycled?

If you can wait at least a couple more weeks, then add 4 more white skirts. That'll make the tank more interesting for you while you wait for it to mature enough to add otos (at least 3 more months from now). To be honest though, if the only reason you want them is to control algae, you may as well get an algae scraper. Otos aren't active fish that'll realy entertain you or impress friends. I've already mentioned how fragile they can be. They need excellent water quality at all times. If you like them for what they are, by all means get a few (2-3 idealy) but, otherwise, it's not worth the trouble. The dwarf gouramies would be fine to put in a couple of weeks after the skirts. Just make sure the tank's got plenty of hiding places for them by then. By floating plants I mean any species of plant that floats... duckweed, lilies, even elodea, are all examples. I should add that with 2 dwarf gouramies, 3 otos and 6 white skirts, your tank's then fully stocked so you shouldn't add any other fish (at least until the tank has been up and running for a while and all the fish are fully grown and still going strong.