Will These Get Along?

[starsatnight]

my tank is still in the early stages of cycling and i am thinking ahead of the day when i can begin to introduce fish... which leads me to.....

will any of the following make good tank-mates :
pearl gourmais
angelfish
cherry barbs
clown loaches
zebra danios

i have been reading various articles and some say that gourmais and barbs are fin-nippers, but others say that if i have 3 - 5 of them as companions that the aggressive nature is somewhat tempered.

thank you!

 

[bymauldin]

What size tank do you have?

 

[starsatnight]

What size tank do you have?

sorry - that's a good question! i have a 25 US gallon tank.

 

[Tessla]

A 25 gallon tank rules out clown loaches and angelfish. You could go with a smaller species of loach like the zebra loach, zipper loach (both three inches) or dwarf chain loach (2.5 inches.) Barbs are fin nippers, both barbs and danios (two inches) need to be kept in a school so I'd pick one species.

Pearl gouramis (four inches) can be territorial so I'd only go with one, five barbs or danios and a group of four loaches (of one of the species I listed) should fully stock your tank. That's 4 + 5x2 + 4x3 = 26 inches of fish which is a bit over the inch per gallon rule. If you go with the dwarf chain loach, you'd have a bit better stocking at 24 inches of fish.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

barbs will nip the gourami's arm/fin/things, instead of pearl you could get more dwarf, which are less territorilal to bigger fish

 

[dwarfgourami]

Just a couple of queries to previous posters:

do you really think cherry barbs would nip pearls? aren't cherries quite shy? I'd have thought they'd be intimidated if anything; besides, surely cherry barbs (unlike tiger barbs) aren't exactly schooling fish

also, "pearl gouramis should be kept on their own because they are territorial"- what's wrong with keeping several females to a male? the only reason I would not do it in the present case is that the tank is too small

are dwarf gouramis really less territorial than pearls? I thought pearls were comparatively gentle; and given recent findings about dwarf gouramis as virus carriers, I would be reluctant to recommend them to anyone; besides, they are really not hardy enough for a new tank

 

[Tessla]

I wouldn't think that cherries would nip pearls either, every gourami I've ever had could hold it's own. Found dwarf gouramis much more agressive than pearls as well.

Sorry dwarfgourami, didn't mean that they should be kept on their own... just in this tank if the OP wants any other fish, there isn't enough room for a couple of females and a male, probably should have worded that differently.

 

[starsatnight]

I wouldn't think that cherries would nip pearls either, every gourami I've ever had could hold it's own. Found dwarf gouramis much more agressive than pearls as well.

Sorry dwarfgourami, didn't mean that they should be kept on their own... just in this tank if the OP wants any other fish, there isn't enough room for a couple of females and a male, probably should have worded that differently.

thanks for the suggestions everyone.... tessla - question for you - are you saying that in a 25 gallon tank i shouldn't have more than one pearl gourami? will it be too crowded for them? i'm really getting fond of the idea of 5 cherry barbs, 3 pearls and 2 zebra loaches. i really want angelfish too - but that is probably a bit much for me.

thanks everyone!

 

[Picoreefer4966]

The larger gourami species, as tessla said, tend to get territorial and 3 in that tank would probably fight. If you're going to go with Pearl...I agree...only one. You could probably do a few of the dwarf gourami species in that tank with not much problem. As for you loaches.....they prefer to be in larger groups.....at least three. Clown loaches will get too big for that tank, though they're somewhat slow growing and IMO more interesting presonality wise than other loach species. Whatever loaches you do get just be sure to get all same species. Mixing loach species doesn't always work out too well. They tend to be more tolerant of their own kind. Cherry Barbs are a great choice IMO.
As for the Angels....a 25 gal tank isn't the best choice for an angel as they need a large and more important, tall tank.
You could probably go with the Barbs, One pearl gourami, the loaches, and maybe a school of like 6 rasboras or rummynose tetras.

 

[Misfits204]

Don't put the clown loaches with the angelfish the loaches are to active and will give tha angelfish stress


p.s. that is what happened to me and both fish died!

 

[starsatnight]

The larger gourami species, as tessla said, tend to get territorial and 3 in that tank would probably fight. If you're going to go with Pearl...I agree...only one. You could probably do a few of the dwarf gourami species in that tank with not much problem. As for you loaches.....they prefer to be in larger groups.....at least three. Clown loaches will get too big for that tank, though they're somewhat slow growing and IMO more interesting presonality wise than other loach species. Whatever loaches you do get just be sure to get all same species. Mixing loach species doesn't always work out too well. They tend to be more tolerant of their own kind. Cherry Barbs are a great choice IMO.
As for the Angels....a 25 gal tank isn't the best choice for an angel as they need a large and more important, tall tank.
You could probably go with the Barbs, One pearl gourami, the loaches, and maybe a school of like 6 rasboras or rummynose tetras.

thanks for the information picoreefer.... and i especially thank you for the rasbora recommendation. i hadn't come across that type in my research yet & i think i'm in love with them.... what wonderful colourations they have....

 

[Tessla]

Actually, I've had more issues with dwarf gouramis being territorial than any others. You could keep one male with two females of any gourami species, but there isn't enough room in your tank for three pearls, maybe honey gourami or dwarf gourami (don't get two males in that tank, not enough space.)

 

[-germ-]

Help. New to the forum.... hello all. Just made a possible error and run (blame the girlfriend) into aquarium keeping, with little thought to our lack of fish knowledge. We have a 65litre tank with 4 angels, 2 peach gourami and 2 snakeskin gourami.... Also a black shark which is currently in solitary confinement in the first tank we bought (last sunday) due to his territorial behaviour. Aside from the obvious mistakes (2 aquariums in a week, no research, no brain?) is this a viable community (with/without the black shark). OR is it another trip to the bank.
Apologies to all fish lovers who's disdain i probably deserve.....
Any advice?

 

[Tessla]

Help. New to the forum.... hello all. Just made a possible error and run (blame the girlfriend) into aquarium keeping, with little thought to our lack of fish knowledge. We have a 65litre tank with 4 angels, 2 peach gourami and 2 snakeskin gourami.... Also a black shark which is currently in solitary confinement in the first tank we bought (last sunday) due to his territorial behaviour. Aside from the obvious mistakes (2 aquariums in a week, no research, no brain?) is this a viable community (with/without the black shark). OR is it another trip to the bank.
Apologies to all fish lovers who's disdain i probably deserve.....
Any advice?

That's about 17 US gallons, much too small for the angels. The peach gourami would be fine in your tank, but I think the snakeskin would get too big. Black sharks need 55 gallons minimum and can be very aggressive, not a community fish at all.

Your best bet would be to take all of your fish back, including any you have in the first tank. If you keep them, they'll likely all die from ammonia poisoning. Then, read up on the nitrogen cycle and fishless cycling, get yourself some ammonia and start fishless cycling your tanks. While you're fishless cycling, you can research species of fish to keep in your tanks and plan out stocking levels. When your tanks are ready to add fish, add only a few at a time, starting with the hardiest species.

 

[LisaLQ]

I agree with Tessla, it'd be best to return them and start again once the tank is cycled. Angels need a tank that is at least 18" high, min of 29g anyway, black sharks get humungus, too. Even a red tailed black shark would get too big for your tank I'm afraid.

It's sod's law, you go out and buy fish without researching - you always end up having to return something - that's why it's better to research and decide what you want before you go to the fish shop - otherwise you'll only be out of pocket and horribly disappointed