How To Organize My Gouramis

[alexta6]

Right now, i have two powder blue gouramis and three blue skirt tetras. i think gouramis are both male since their dorsal fins are both pointed. they are fighting. i have two tanks, one 10 and one 30. i separated them. i want to get angelfish in the 30 gal tank, but i'm afraid that they are going to fight with my gourami.

Cureent status of my tanks:
10 gallon has two oto catfish, smaller gourami and three ghost shrimp.
30 gallon has bigger gourami, three blue skirt tetras, one oto catfish, and three ghost shrimps.

If i want to add angelfish. What am i going to do??
Do you think that female gouramis will help the gourami's aggression in the big tank??
I can't find female powder blue gouramis anywhere.

Thank you.

 

[sylvia]

First off, powder blue gouramies are simply a color morph of dwarf gouramies so any female dwarf would do. Having said that, this won't help you.

The problem with angels isn't the gourami's aggression - it'll be the angels' aggression. Dwarf gouramies are aggressive towards each other and other similar species but rarely bother other fish. Being sensitive as well, they cannot handle aggression from other fish. Adding more gouramies (even if they are female), will simply mean there's less room for all your fish.

Angelfish are cichlids and, like other related fish, they can become horrendously violent if crowded or breeding. I'm sure I've replied about this before - angels cannot be sexed as juveniles so people will typicaly buy 6 and let 2 pair up. If for whatever reason you don't return the remaining 4, you will end up crowded as the tank's not very large (30 gallons). Even if you do, the pair, particularly if it breeds, will be aggressive and territorial. Getting single angels isn't realy an option either. They do much better in pairs or in a group and single ones can become realy nasty.

The other problem is those skirts. BTW, again, I've said this before, those fish are dyed. Black skirts are nippy fish. They shouldn't be kept with fish like angels that are generaly slow and have long, flowing fins. Otos (though I've never seen this myself and am a little skeptical) are also said to sometimes suck on the slime coat of large flat-bodied, slow-moving fish like angels. Basicaly, I don't think angels are a good idea for your tank.

If you want a cichlid that'll work better in your tank, consider rams - either bolivian or german/blue/gold. Alternatively, keyhole cichlids are amazing fish. They grow almost as big as angels but are more mid to bottom-dwelling so won't be competing for space with the gourami. They are also unusualy peaceful and even a breeding pair is relatively docile. Besides this calm character, they are quick and don't have fins that are likely to get nipped.

If you are set on the angels, I'd find your dwarf gourami a new home (or return it to the LFS) and move the skirts out (into the 10 gallon would work) as well. I do think the otos are ok (though others disagree).