New Tank

[highfield]

Hi folks, I have a 138 litre tank have had it only a couple of months, unfortunately have had a few teething problems have tested water and everything ok. However from 4 gourami's, 3 guppies and 2 shark silver fin have only 2 gourami's and 1 guppie what is best to go with these. Am thinking of a shoal of something (i.e something a bit easier to deal with as am new to this) but what and how many? One of the dwarf gourami tends to be a bit of a bully and aggressive.

 

[KittyKat]

Just so you know about it for next time, read about cycling the filter.

Bala (silver) sharks were not ok anyway, what species is the gourami? What are the dimensions of the aquarium? What is your pH and temperature? Water hardness? Decor? Substrate?

Without knowing the above details, I would advise 15 tetras of one species.. I would look at rummy noses, for example.

 

[highfield]

the tank is width 150 x 75 x 40. Two types of gourami are dwarf gourami and honey gourami. The dwarf gourami is always bullying the other gourami but doesn't even bother the guppie. Would it be worth getting any more gourami or guppies as well as the rummy nose tetras. Also do you mean 15 of the above tetras species? Temp 27 not greatly planted and abt 6 ph. I thought the silver shark were quite hardy they never got bullied. Really need to add to my tank they are like peas on a drum lol

 

[KittyKat]

the tank is width 150 x 75 x 40. Two types of gourami are dwarf gourami and honey gourami. The dwarf gourami is always bullying the other gourami but doesn't even bother the guppie. Would it be worth getting any more gourami or guppies as well as the rummy nose tetras. Also do you mean 15 of the above tetras species? Temp 27 not greatly planted and abt 6 ph. I thought the silver shark were quite hardy they never got bullied. Really need to add to my tank they are like peas on a drum lol

Those dimensions give a water volume of 450 litres, not 138. Everything I say is based on the assumption that your aquarium is 150 x 75 x 40 cm is size.

Gouramis are known to be aggressive, in a tank that size, it's worth having 3-6 females per every male and keep only one male per species. Usually we recommend one species per aquarium.

If the above measurements are correct and you do have a 450 litre aquarium, I would go so far as to say get 30 tetras, in batches of 10 per week. Yes, I do mean tetras of one species, but you can pick the species yourself. Rummy nose tetras are only a recommendation.

Another 5-10 male guppies should be ok, but be careful as small schools of tetra will sometimes nip!

Bala sharks are hardy, but they are also active schoolers (keep 6+) and will grow to 16" long, so need very large tanks.

 

[highfield]

i blame my oh he got dimensions wrong. It is 70 x 40 x 40. What is the change now in the extra number of tetra's guppies and gourami's. Thanks so much

 

[KittyKat]

70*40*40 is 112 litres when full to the brim, more like 90 litres with decor and stuff (if you ever need to treat the fish).

In that size tank, I would go for..
* 1 gourami
* 5-10 male guppies
* 15 tetras (only one species)
* 8 small Corys (only one species)

..go keep in mind that guppies like hard, alkaline water while tetras like soft, acidic water. If your pH is 7.0, both should be ok, but if it is lower, I would go for tetras only. If it is higher, I would go for harlequin rasboras.

 

[highfield]

thank you