The Art Of Fishkeeping

[bordercollie05]

I'm relatively new to this hobby and I'm discovering more and more that it is not all science that goes into it. Finding a balance of happy fish in a community tank is harder than just knowing what a certain species is supposed to be like. As a result, I'm having a bit of trouble with my tanks.

My 28 gallon was stocked as follows:

1 angel
2 male dwarf gouramis (originally three, the fish guy said they should be okay together and actually don't seem to pick at each other too much)
6 cories

I then added 8 lemon tetras to the mix and everything fell apart. I think my blue dwarf gourami was really picking on the tetras. I've lost 4 since I added them and that's the only thing I can think of. Also, I think it killed one of my cories because I woke up to find it dead this morning as well.

I had my 3 female bettas in a divided ten gallon, and they've been demoted to their old smaller tanks so that I could move the two gouramis out of the 28 and into the ten.

So, right now I've got:

28 gallon:
1 Angel
4 Lemon Tetras
5 C. Leucomelas (cories)

10 Gallon:
2 male dwarf gouramis


My questions are these:

1. What else could I add to the 28 gallon? I considered neon rainbows at one point. Or should I just leave it with the current stocking?
2. I'm worried that my 2 gouramis may eventually bully each other in a tank as small as a ten gallon. Should I add two females? That seems overstocked to me.
3. Should I put one male gourami back in my 28 and try to add two females for him? (I've had trouble finding females, but I might be able to order them)
4. I would like to plant the ten gallon anyway, so maybe I could leave on gourami in it and add some sort of barb?

I'm sorry if this post is confusing, but I'm a little lost on what to do about my situation. I really like my gouramis and would like to keep them if possible. I'm just having a hard time finding a balance of fishy personalities.

Any input or advice would be welcome. Thanks in advance!

 

[n3ont3tra]

1. What else could I add to the 28 gallon? I considered neon rainbows at one point. Or should I just leave it with the current stocking?

I think you should add a few more lemon tetras, up to a total of ten. Tetras do much better in groups, and they look better, too.

2. I'm worried that my 2 gouramis may eventually bully each other in a tank as small as a ten gallon. Should I add two females? That seems overstocked to me.

It's recommended to stock gouramis with one male per two females. I would remove one male and add two females.

3. Should I put one male gourami back in my 28 and try to add two females for him? (I've had trouble finding females, but I might be able to order them)

You could also do that.

4. I would like to plant the ten gallon anyway, so maybe I could leave on gourami in it and add some sort of barb?

Barbs and gouramis generally don't mix well. Barbs are fin nippers and gouramis have long fins so I don't think it's the best idea. Also, barbs get relatively large for a ten gallon, and like to be in groups. Maybe you could add some kind of tetra instead, like neons or black neons.

 

[Squidman]

1. What else could I add to the 28 gallon? I considered neon rainbows at one point. Or should I just leave it with the current stocking?

I think you should add a few more lemon tetras, up to a total of ten. Tetras do much better in groups, and they look better, too.

2. I'm worried that my 2 gouramis may eventually bully each other in a tank as small as a ten gallon. Should I add two females? That seems overstocked to me.

It's recommended to stock gouramis with one male per two females. I would remove one male and add two females.

3. Should I put one male gourami back in my 28 and try to add two females for him? (I've had trouble finding females, but I might be able to order them)

You could also do that.

4. I would like to plant the ten gallon anyway, so maybe I could leave on gourami in it and add some sort of barb?

Barbs and gouramis generally don't mix well. Barbs are fin nippers and gouramis have long fins so I don't think it's the best idea. Also, barbs get relatively large for a ten gallon, and like to be in groups. Maybe you could add some kind of tetra instead, like neons or black neons.

But arn't tiger barbs the only barb really known to nip at fins?