I started out with 6 tiger barbs to cycle the tank, and later added 2 bala sharks (yeah, I know they're going to get big. I'll either donate to the local aquarium park or get a larger tank when their size becomes an issue. Currently, they are only about 2 inches long.)
I then added 2 flame gouramis and all was well for about a week or so. Then I added an angelfish. He died in less than a day, so the LFS gave me a replacement. The barbs started nipping him on the 2nd day, so I removed the barbs. Then the balas started nipping him and he didn't make it.
So, I put the barbs back in and before the day was half over, they started going after the gouramis. Out they came again.
What else can I put in with the gouramis? I'd really like to have a bit of variety and I do prefer the color/shape of the semi-aggressives but I'm not having much luck with compatibility here. Maybe my memory is faulty, but I swear I don't recall having such difficulties with a semi-aggressive community way back 20 years ago when I last kept fish (actually, I owned an auarium shop all those years ago, if you can believe that.
) Seems like a lot has changed, lol.
I want to keep the gouramis and I'd like to try angelfish again (I honestly wonder if the ones I got were sickly. They didn't once try to hide or defend themselves, even though I have a ton of plants. They just stayed at the top and hardly moved, didn't eat and let the barbs and balas bite them) but I keep getting conflicting information on whether they can co-habit together. Anyone here have the final word on that?
What about other barbs? Will rosy barbs work? I've been warned away from tetras of any kind, but I'll go ahead and ask about those, too.
TIA for any direction/advice you can offer!
Lisa
I then added 2 flame gouramis and all was well for about a week or so. Then I added an angelfish. He died in less than a day, so the LFS gave me a replacement. The barbs started nipping him on the 2nd day, so I removed the barbs. Then the balas started nipping him and he didn't make it.
So, I put the barbs back in and before the day was half over, they started going after the gouramis. Out they came again.
What else can I put in with the gouramis? I'd really like to have a bit of variety and I do prefer the color/shape of the semi-aggressives but I'm not having much luck with compatibility here. Maybe my memory is faulty, but I swear I don't recall having such difficulties with a semi-aggressive community way back 20 years ago when I last kept fish (actually, I owned an auarium shop all those years ago, if you can believe that.
) Seems like a lot has changed, lol.I want to keep the gouramis and I'd like to try angelfish again (I honestly wonder if the ones I got were sickly. They didn't once try to hide or defend themselves, even though I have a ton of plants. They just stayed at the top and hardly moved, didn't eat and let the barbs and balas bite them) but I keep getting conflicting information on whether they can co-habit together. Anyone here have the final word on that?
What about other barbs? Will rosy barbs work? I've been warned away from tetras of any kind, but I'll go ahead and ask about those, too.
TIA for any direction/advice you can offer!
Lisa
