Gourami Tank Mates

[mlrose74]

Help!! I have a 29 Gallon planted aquarium that is several years old. Initially we had zebra danios, cory cats and platies in our tank, and with the offspring of the platies, they kept us busy for a few years. Now, we have only 3 zebra danios and 2 cory cats remaining. I wanted to try some new types of fish this time around. I went to my usual local petstore two days ago and was saddened to discover my usual "fish guy" who never steered me wrong was no longer working there. However, I followed the advice of the girl who seemed to generally know what she was talking about. I purchased 3 male dwarf gouramis and 6 serpae tetras. The problem is, all three of the gouramis are having their fins nipped. They don't seem to be going after each other and, in fact, seem to have a very peaceful temperament (now mostly hiding!) I suspect the serpae tetras are the culprits though I do also have one zebra danio that is kind of a bully. So what do I do now? I called the petstore who said I could return any of the fish. I do love the look and grace of the gouramis so I'd love to keep them. Will their fins regrow? And what would be a better pairing of fish for this aquarium. Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[Carlovel1]

Poor gouramis.
Yes their fins will regrow after sometime and yes it was probably the Serpaes that nipped them. Do you know the sex of the Dwarf Gouramis?

 

[mlrose74]

Poor gouramis.
Yes their fins will regrow after sometime and yes it was probably the Serpaes that nipped them. Do you know the sex of the Dwarf Gouramis?

Thanks for your reply...I did put the serpae tetra in a tank by themselves last night. I will be returning them because, at this point, I only have the the 29 gallon for fish, the other is just for quarantine. The gouramis seems much happier now. But after scouring the internet last night, I am now worried about keeping all of them because they are all males. The lady at my lfs recommended to group them at least by 3 and they only carried males. But it sounds like that's not a good idea either (though at this point they don't seem to be bothering each other at all). So, any advice about what to stock my tank with? Right now I have 3 zebra danios (which are all that remains from a school I've had for a long time- probably need to add a few to keep them comfortable?), 2 cory cats, the 3 dwarf gouramis and the 6 serpae tetras (which I am thinking I should return.)Thanks again!

 

[TheDarkGoby]

Hmm. What kind of gourami do you have? Some are nicer than others. I see that you already know that Zebra Danio need to be in a school to live and grow. ZD aren't good tankmates for gourami because gourami don't like the darting-type of fish. Corys need to be in a group of at least 5. You might have better luck with the serpaes if you increase their numbers, but do some research to make sure you aren't overstocking. Serpae can be pretty mean to other fish.

Thats all I have for now.