The Always So Popular Stocking And Overstocked Question

[jcabs100]

My sister recently bought a 55 gallon tank and she had given me her stockin suggestion I said it was fine now she wants it similar to mine but she wants a mor "Asian fish" this is her stocking

1 gold male gourami
2 gold female gourami
3 blue female gourami
8-10 Kuhli loaches
She wants a chichlid from Asia but I'm my sure of any and if there are she wants 3-4 of those and she also wants corydoras from Asia again I'm not sure of any from there but of so she want 6-8

Will this stock be fine for her I told her that instead of Cory's to up the count of kuhli but she insisted on Cory's she crazy about them she going to have it planted it will ve a sand substrate she doesnt know if ahe wants black sand or tan sand and with a lot of driftwood that she is currently soaking...right now her tank is going through the cycling and it's almost about done...what do you guys suggest and any help with corydoras and chichlid from Asia

 

[fluttermoth]

There is only one Asian cichlid that I know of; the chromide, which is brackish, so can't go in a normal set up. There aren't any cories either; their ecological niche is filled by loaches in Asia.

So, she can either go with some sort of loosely Asian biotype, with rasboras taking the place of tetras, gouramis taking the place of cichlids and loaches instead of cories, or she can go with a normal community tank that mixes species from different areas.

 

[TekFish]

Before you start thinking about stocking fish, have you cycled the tank? If yes, then read on. If no look in the Beginners Section at how to do a Fishless Cycle.

I've never heard of Asian Corys... We'll see what other people say.
By 'Gold' and 'Blue' gouramis I'm assuming you mean the colour morphs of Trichogaster Trichopterus?
If so, I would keep only one species in the tank. What I think would be quite nice in there is a peaceful species of Barb, maybe Odessa Barbs?
Their are not many Asian Cichlids, but a interesting alternative would be a trio of Badis Badis, or the Chameleon Fish. These fish can change colour depending on their mood, and are very similar to Cichlids [they are both Perciformes].
The Kuhli loaches would be good since, because of their shape, do not add as much of a bioload as many other fish of their length.

TekFish

 

[jcabs100]

She doesn't want to mix I actually told her about having a mixed community tank but she insisted on the Asian I will tell her but would she be overstocked ?

 

[jcabs100]

Before you start thinking about stocking fish, have you cycled the tank? If yes, then read on. If no look in the Beginners Section at how to do a Fishless Cycle.

I've never heard of Asian Corys... We'll see what other people say.
By 'Gold' and 'Blue' gouramis I'm assuming you mean the colour morphs of Trichogaster Trichopterus?
If so, I would keep only one species in the tank. What I think would be quite nice in there is a peaceful species of Barb, maybe Odessa Barbs?
Their are not many Asian Cichlids, but a interesting alternative would be a trio of Badis Badis, or the Chameleon Fish. These fish can change colour depending on their mood, and are very similar to Cichlids [they are both Perciformes].
The Kuhli loaches would be good since, because of their shape, do not add as much of a bioload as many other fish of their length.

TekFish

Yes I know about fish less cycling in doing that now as we speak and as for the gourami yes there name if I'm not mistaken are opaline gouramis and even tho people say they are semi aggressive the ones that i have are very peaceful kept of course to the one male 2-3 female ratio I've been keeping fish for about 3 years now and I can honestly say I've never heard of this chameleon fish you learn something new everyday lol I will look into all the suggestions thanks tekfish

 

[TekFish]

All the fish I suggested were Asian.

TekFish

 

[JohnDyer]

Asia doesn't have any types cories or cichlids. Barbs and Danios are Asian, Rasboras, Rainbowfish, Bettas, Botia loaches, Rainbow/Redtailed Sharks, Knifefish, a bunch of catfish, and a few others.

 

[Ruskull]

Blue, Gold & Opaline Gouramis all go well together since they're all really just color morphs of the same fish, the Three Spot Gourami. Also, she is wise to keep only a single male and multiple females.

Depending on how aggressive the Three Spot Gouramis are, you may be able to add Pearl Gouramis to the list. Same as Three Spots, best kept in a 1 male 2 or more females ratio. To me the Pearl G's are the centerpieces of the tank.

Might I suggest Cherry Barbs? They color up nicely, especially the males, and having a large group of them is almost like having 2 different types of fish because the coloration of the males & females is so different.

As others have already said, there are no Asian Corys unfortunately. Clown Loaches would be great but they grow too big for that tank. I don't know enough about them to recommend, but some nice Polka-Dot Loaches (Botia Kubotai) might be a good fit instead of the Corys. They only get about 4-5 inches long I believe and they'd be great in a group of 3-6 or so. I'm sure someone else here would be able to name some other Loaches that might work even better.

The Badis-Badis & Scarlet Badis look great too but I don't know anything about them other than that they look cool.