I Love My Fish..but Are They The Right Stock?

[shirlz]

I have a fully fishless cycled 200L deep tank, moderately well planted and with bogwood, rock and a fine to medium gravel substrate. The present stock, which seem to be living happily together are:

2 Angels
4 powder blue Dwarf Gouramis
5 Blue Cochu Tetras
1pair young German Blue Rams
1female Kribensis
1 Male yellow Lab
1 Golden Nugget Plec
1 Leopard Frog Plec (L134)

Future additions were to be 6 Silver Hatchet Fish
and 3 Yoyo Loaches

I've been told that the plecs get to big(6-7") and (4 1/2) respectively for my tank and the Lab shouldn't be in there and the Gouramis will be too aggressive.
Thing is , I love them all....Help!!

 

[Colin_T]

The yellow lab sounds like an African rift lake cichlid. If so it will turn nasty when older and kill everything in the tank. They also require hard alkaline water.
The powder blue dwarf gouramis might argue a bit with each other but won't cause any problems to the other fish in the tank. Have some floating plants in the tank and they should hide in there. Because there are 4 of them any sagression should be spread out and probably won't be a problem.
Male dwarf gouramis are colourful (blue, red. etc), females are silver. The males argue over territory, that's all.

 

[SJ2K]

Personly id say lose the lab (as said, will NOT work), take back 1/2 of the territorial gouramis and the rest sound fine

 

[shirlz]

This is so frustrating. I had researched all the fish for this tank over the weeks it was cycling. All except the Yellow Lab, that is! I fell in love with him in the LFS yesterday and bought him on impulse when the man said he would be fine with the fish I had! I know I've got be sensible about this, but it's reallly disappointing. He looks great in the tank with the Angels and the Krib especially. Oh well....

 

[Colin_T]

You can leave the yellow lab in there if you want but chances are in a few months time when it matures you will start losing fish.

 

[shirlz]

You can leave the yellow lab in there if you want but chances are in a few months time when it matures you will start losing fish.

Which fish is he likely to harm out of my stock?

 

[Colin_T]

Which fish is he likely to harm out of my stock?

everything

particularly other cichlids, angels, rams, kribensis, tetras. He may not bother the gouramis because they normally hang out by the surface and he might not bother the pleco. But everything else will be fair game.

 

[shirlz]

Which fish is he likely to harm out of my stock?

everything

particularly other cichlids, angels, rams, kribensis, tetras. He may not bother the gouramis because they normally hang out by the surface and he might not bother the pleco. But everything else will be fair game.

Okay. I gave in to common sense and your valued advice and the Lab has gone back to the LFS. Got 4 Boesmani Rainbows instead. How come everything ends up costing more money?!!
Thanks to all for your hepl.