How Big Do Groups Have To Be?
- Thread starter geo7x
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What exactly do you mean by 'groups'?
You can keep honeys singly if you want - males, in particular, are territorial and would actualy preffer being alone.
However, if you want to mix the sexes, a trio would be the minnimum - 2 females, 1 male. Realy, as long as there are 2 females per male and each male has about 10 gallons to himself, the number doesn't realy matter.
If you want a single-sex group, for males, keep a minnimum of 4 in at least a 20 gallon. For females, the number matters less - as does the size of the tank - but 3 or more is best. Remember that the more gouramies there are and the more space there is for them, the less likely they are to pick one ach other incessently and stress each other out.
In practice, honeys are one of the more flexible species as they aren't too aggressive.
What size tank do you have and what other fish? What sort of group were you considering?
You can keep honeys singly if you want - males, in particular, are territorial and would actualy preffer being alone.
However, if you want to mix the sexes, a trio would be the minnimum - 2 females, 1 male. Realy, as long as there are 2 females per male and each male has about 10 gallons to himself, the number doesn't realy matter.
If you want a single-sex group, for males, keep a minnimum of 4 in at least a 20 gallon. For females, the number matters less - as does the size of the tank - but 3 or more is best. Remember that the more gouramies there are and the more space there is for them, the less likely they are to pick one ach other incessently and stress each other out.
In practice, honeys are one of the more flexible species as they aren't too aggressive.
What size tank do you have and what other fish? What sort of group were you considering?
54 litres is about 13 gallons - so not big enough for all that, no.
Do you already have the other fish you listed? If not, perhaps consider getting some spotted rasboras instead of harlequins (they are smaller) and some pygmy cories instead of julii (again, because they are smaller). Then it would be just about ok to add one male honey as well.
If you can't find theose 2 species I mentioned, you can ask your LFS to order some in - they usualy'll do that for you.
If they won't, you could reduce the number of harlequins to 4, the number of cories to 2 and you can still just fit the honey. However, the rasboras do rpeffer a larger group size, as do cories, so this is realy a compromise that, idealy, can be avoided.
BTW, take a look at 20 gallon tanks - the increase in price is well worth it. Larger tanks are much mroe stable environments in terms of temperature and water parameters in general. Waste accumulates far slower and the water holds more oxygen. The amount of extra space it takes is also only slight.
Oh and don't add those fish to your new tank without FISHLESS cycling! There are links in my signature to tell you how to do that if you don't know already. Feel free to ask questions here or post in the beginners section.
Do you already have the other fish you listed? If not, perhaps consider getting some spotted rasboras instead of harlequins (they are smaller) and some pygmy cories instead of julii (again, because they are smaller). Then it would be just about ok to add one male honey as well.
If you can't find theose 2 species I mentioned, you can ask your LFS to order some in - they usualy'll do that for you.
If they won't, you could reduce the number of harlequins to 4, the number of cories to 2 and you can still just fit the honey. However, the rasboras do rpeffer a larger group size, as do cories, so this is realy a compromise that, idealy, can be avoided.
BTW, take a look at 20 gallon tanks - the increase in price is well worth it. Larger tanks are much mroe stable environments in terms of temperature and water parameters in general. Waste accumulates far slower and the water holds more oxygen. The amount of extra space it takes is also only slight.
Oh and don't add those fish to your new tank without FISHLESS cycling! There are links in my signature to tell you how to do that if you don't know already. Feel free to ask questions here or post in the beginners section.
geo7x
resistance is futile......
No, I havent got the tank yet, and yes, I will be doing a fishless cycle 
I will consider the pygmy cories etc option, but will probably go back to suggestions made to me before
thanks for the info
I will consider the pygmy cories etc option, but will probably go back to suggestions made to me before
thanks for the info
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