More Gouramis Advice Please!

[doresy]

Hi, ok so I have recently entered into the lovely world of gouramis. Got me a male and a female dwarf neon blue. Rushed back to LFS and got another female on advice from you guys. Now I am thinking, as I have all small fish in my 155ltr., maybe a couple of Pearl Gouramis? Told that, although quite large, they are a placid fish. So if 2 what is good, 2 males, 2 females or one of each (or is the 1 male 2 females still best.)
Other stock: 6 guppy, 3 platty, 7 harlequin, 3 siamese flying fox, 3 neon tetra, 2 peppered catfish, 3 panda and 1 bronze corys? Reading all that maybe up to limit already? hope not
Oh one last thing....floating plant, can this be artifical? if not ,what real plant is best

 

[sylvia]

The easiest question first - yes, the plant can be artificial though real ones are better because bits can be nipped off an eaten or used in th support of bubblenests. If you just get tall-growing plants, you'll achieve a similar effect, however.

Your tank is approximately 38 gallons. Using the inch per gallon guideline, you currently have the following:

3 dwarfs = 6 gallons
6 guppies = 6 gallons
3 platies = approx 5 gallons
7 harlequins = approx 12 gallons
3 flying fox = 12 gallons
3 neons (these need to be in a larger group) = 3 gallons
6 cories = approx 8 gallons (considering the small size of pandas).

In total, you are looking at about 52 gallons which is a lot more than your tank's capacity. In other words, going by this guideline, you are very much over-stocked though most of your fish are probably not yet fully grown.

If you want something to add, just 3 mroe neons. Nothing else. Wait until or your fish are mature and then think about your stocking again. You may well find you need to rehome some rather than add more.

BTW, assuming you change water weekly, what are your current nitrAte levels?

 

[doresy]

The easiest question first - yes, the plant can be artificial though real ones are better because bits can be nipped off an eaten or used in th support of bubblenests. If you just get tall-growing plants, you'll achieve a similar effect, however.

Your tank is approximately 38 gallons. Using the inch per gallon guideline, you currently have the following:

3 dwarfs = 6 gallons
6 guppies = 6 gallons
3 platies = approx 5 gallons
7 harlequins = approx 12 gallons
3 flying fox = 12 gallons
3 neons (these need to be in a larger group) = 3 gallons
6 cories = approx 8 gallons (considering the small size of pandas).

In total, you are looking at about 52 gallons which is a lot more than your tank's capacity. In other words, going by this guideline, you are very much over-stocked though most of your fish are probably not yet fully grown.

If you want something to add, just 3 mroe neons. Nothing else. Wait until or your fish are mature and then think about your stocking again. You may well find you need to rehome some rather than add more.

BTW, assuming you change water weekly, what are your current nitrAte levels?

Sorry don't have stats as I am not home testing yet (new years res.!). LFS did test earlier this weekend and said all ok (30% water change 3 days previous) All in the tank is very small (most only a few months) and all water changes are with water+minerals from LFS. Thanks for the formular, didn't realise there was one.....perhaps i'll leave the pearls. I did realise though that the neons needed a few pals but i inherited them and forgot, will remedy that

ADDED found this site http/www.fishtanksandponds.info/resource...gcalculator.htm and entered my spec and measurements of fish (that was fun) and I seem to be about 4 inches of fish too much!

 

[sylvia]

I know I used that 'formula' but I want to emphasize now that it is only a guideline. It is obvious that you are overstocked but don't trust any of those calculators for this information. They do not take into acount things like filtration, temperature, planting or the behaviours of the fish.
The reason I asked about the nitrAte is to see just how much overstocked you are. Generaly speaking, as long as one weekly water change of around the volume you are doing keeps nitrates under 40 (idealy 20) ppm, your tank is ok. This isn't to say that you should add more though as the fish may still not be fully grown and overcrowding can lead to aggression issues as well as simply overloading the filtration.
Once a tank is mature, though, looking at your nitrates may be the best way to judge your stocking (within reason). The inch per gallon guideline, for one, doesn't truly apply to fish over about 2" as only the length of the fish (not the width/height) is considered. 6 neon tetras are not equivalent in terms of waste production to a messy 6" pleco