Temple themed tank

nicolaas

I have a 17gal tank that I want to put gouramis in and try to make a Asian biotope,with a temple theme.Any ideas are welcome.

Mgreen

I have two young honey sunset gouramis, they are awesome. They are relatively active and very nice to look at. They get along with all the other fish, glos,tetras (2 breeds). However, do not add any fin nippers with gouramis, they will hide and not fight back. Also, try and find females as it is known that male gouramis sometimes do not get along. I am also looking to add more gouramis to my tank, possibly dwarf females.

TheresaMcMurrough

Love the tank MGreen! Do you have a colored light or does the decoration reflect that wonderful glow?

thekoimaiden

For gourami in a 17 gal tank your best bet is going to be a group of Honey Gourami. You could get 2 males and 3 females. As for a biotype setup, someone else will have to answer your question. I have no experience with that.

ETA: I saw an awesome picture of a tank with an temple setup that included a "river" of blue gravel through the tank. I saw it in the betta section. If you want you could look through the photos subforum and see if you could find it.

nicolaas

Yes I now about the fin nippers and gouramis. I have 2 moonlight, 1 pearl and 1 Dwarf Gourami and a Kuhli Loach.

thekoimaiden

The Kuhli Loach needs to be in groups of at least 6 other kuhlis in order to feel safe as they are a schooling fish. You also might want to check our profiles for Moonlight Gourami and Pearl Gourami (click on the shaded names) as I believe they get too big for a 17 gal tank. The Dwarf Gourami would be fine in it, tho.

nicolaas

I now the kulhi is a group fish but I see him in the day every day so I think he's happy. I want more of them but there hard to find in my town.I think if it is just the 4 gouramis I can pull it of with a good filter.

thekoimaiden

If by see him every day, you mean he swims in circles around the tank, then he's not happy. That is a sign of stress in loaches. He would really benefit from having some buddies. Any species of Pangio loach will do.

It's not just the filtration. The Moonlight Gourami and Pearl Gourami get large. About 6 inches. That is a foot and a half of fish between those 3 fish. That is too much to be comfortably housed in a 17 gal tank. Not to mention the aggression factor. Gourami are aggressive with other gourami. Recently I was helping a friend who had 4 Blue Gourami in one tank. The fish were constantly nipping and biting each other. That level of aggression is stressful for the fish.

nicolaas

The pearl and moonlight's arn't nearly as aggressive as the blue,gold and the three spot gouramis{same fish}.The kuhli swims slowly and eats with the light on.

thekoimaiden

Even if the aggression isn't a factor, there is still the size issue. According to fishbase.org moonlight gouramis get about 13 cm and pearl gouramis get about 12 cm. That is too much fish for your size tank. Dwarf Gourami and some smaller schooling fish (neons, cardinals, rummynose, ect) would be a much better setup. With the except of Dwarf Gourami, these gourami you have chosen are best suited for large setups (ie above 50 gal).

But in the end, it is your tank, and you can do with it what you want.