Keep losing fish - is this TB?

[Dandy]

We've just bought a new Fluval gravel cleaner for about £16. Wish I'd thought of the DIY money saving solution! Normally we use that (or the old cheap one we had) to siphon water into a bucket and carry that bucket away. Refilling buckets next to the tank is a good idea though. Normally we don't wait 5 minutes for the dechlorinator though, usually put it in, fill the bucket to right temperature and pour the bucket in when full. That's assuming the dechlorinator has done the job with all the water mixing when the bucket fills.

I'll still treat all the fish then in that case, wasn't sure if it's worth doing after the death of the molly.

Are there any gouramis that can live in a peaceful tank? I would have put dwarf gourami down as being an option, but not sure what else. I know my parents had a kissing gourami with community fish decades ago and they seemed to get along. Would a female betta fish work with tetras? Previously avoided them as I hear they don't play nice with colourful guppies - which won't be an issue in the new setup.

 

[Colin_T]

Male and female Betta splendens (Siamese fighting fish) are not community fish and are best kept in their own tanks.

Pink kissing gouramis grow to a foot long and are not suitable tank mates for small fish like tetras.

There are a number of small gouramis that will be fine. Look for Indian Banded, sparkling, croaking, honey and licorice. There are a number of small Betta species that are peaceful but they are not commonly seen in shops so you might have to ask the shop if they can get them. But Betta imbellis and Betta coccina are small and peaceful.

Do not keep Bettas and Gouramis in the same tank because they will fight.

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You want the water and dechlorinator to mix for at least 5 minutes so the dechlorinator has time to come into contact with all the chlorine/ chloramine and neutralise it. An air pump blowing bubbles into the water is a good way to do this.

 

[Dandy]

Oh right, I thought female bettas were fine for community aquariums. Also thought kissing gouramis stayed small. Definitely need to do research before buying any fish. We didn't for the livebearers as we figured that's what everyone starts out with and the pet shops say they're easy to keep. I guess a lot of people in this area will be having them dying and probably not knowing why as the water company round here covers a large area.

But yeah thanks again for the advice. I'll look out for the species you mention but I don't think there's that much choice for fish in the area. Mostly just the common species so I doubt I'd find some of the ones you mentioned.

Going to take it slowly with restocking the tank so plenty time to research, whereas originally it was a case of the tank is ready let's get some starter fish.

 

[Essjay]

The best site for research is Seriously Fish http://www.seriouslyfish.com/knowledge-base/ It is written by fish experts not just someone who thinks he knows about fish.