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Stocking!

5K views 47 replies 6 participants last post by  LasColinasCichlids 
#1 ·
Ok, so I have a 25 gallon tank, that is taller than it is long, made specifically this way because its labeled as a "live plant aquarium".

The stocking that I'm looking at currently is as follows:

9 dwarf corys
6 tiger barbs
and as the "focal fish" 1 dwarf gourami.

Aqadvisor.com placed my stocking level at 92% with suggested 22% water changes.

My only concerns with this are

1) Some sites say that the smaller gouramis, like the dwarf and honey, are bottom swimmers and as a focal fish I would want it to swim more of pretty much everywhere.

2) Are the tiger barbs ok with gouramis longer hair like things. haha (forget what they are called)

If you have any better suggestions/modifications to this stocking please let me know. :)
 
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#3 ·
The dwarf gourami, from what I have read is a mostly middle range fish. You can often tell by where their mouth is on their face where they spend most of their time (e.g. Guppies mouth's are on the top of their faces as well as hatchetfish, tetra have their mouths on the middle of their face, corydoras have their mouths on the bottom of their face meaning it spends most of it's time at the bottom [exceptions may apply]).

It is not suggested that you stock Dwarfs and Tiger Barbs together. Tiger Barbs can by pretty mean in groups of less than 10 (and they can still be mean in those numbers), and gouramis don't appreciate their constant "rudeness". You may and up with a wounded gourami, or wounded Tiger Barbs.

I have heard that large-ish rasbora schools will do well with dwarf gourami. You may want to look into that.

Does that answer your questions?
 
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#5 ·
Ok, so what do you guys think about this combo,

2x Dwarf Gouramis
10x Neon Tetras
9x Dwarf Corys

Aqadvisor put this combo at 91% stocking rate and 21% weekly water change.

P.s. Looked at some of the different Rasboras and one caught my eye, the merald dwarf, but I figured the gouramii would eat them?
 
#6 ·
Your latest idea is better than the first, but may still have some problems. We have fish profiles here, with info on water requirements, compatibility, behaviours, n umbers needed of the species, minimum tank size (for the species alone, adding other fish may or may not increase this), etc. Second tab from the left in the blue bar across the top, or click on the fish name if it is shaded in posts, example: Dwarf Gourami. If you read this fish's profile, you will find some issues to be aware of, even with neons.

Byron.
 
#9 ·
Byron, I have read the profiles up top on all three of the fish. :) I really enjoyed learning about them too. This site is def great for that reason, all those profiles. The problem that your referring to for the neons, is it that they are too colorful for the gourami? Will it make the male aggressive?

Gingerael, thanks for the input. Pearl Gouramis are beautiful,but I do think they be too big for my 25. They get up to 5 inches right?

LasColinasCichlids, Already planned on having some plants in the tank. I will be sure to post pics of the plants that I get so you guys can tell me whether or not it is enough.
 
#10 ·
Byron, I have read the profiles up top on all three of the fish. :) I really enjoyed learning about them too. This site is def great for that reason, all those profiles. The problem that your referring to for the neons, is it that they are too colorful for the gourami? Will it make the male aggressive?

Gingerael, thanks for the input. Pearl Gouramis are beautiful,but I do think they be too big for my 25. They get up to 5 inches right?

LasColinasCichlids, Already planned on having some plants in the tank. I will be sure to post pics of the plants that I get so you guys can tell me whether or not it is enough.
On the neon/gourami question, it might. This is one of those things that is a risk. Gourami are by nature territorial, and territorial fish sometimes show aggression to other species that appear to them to be rivals. But as with people, each fish can be somewhat different in things. One aquarist may have a gourami that is peaceful with other fish, while another aquarist may have a gourami that attacks and injures anything that approaches it. My thinking is to always expect the worst, and if you can provide for that, you will have no issues no mattder what the fish may turn out to be like. But believe me when I say, there is nothing worse than a terror in a community tank; the trouble this causes--stressed fish, poor health, fish losses--is not easy to remedy once you have it. I have twice had this, and I have learned.

The other dwarf gourami issue is their disease possibility, which is quite widespread. I personally would never chance this, unless I knew the fish came from a local breeder whom I could trust.

Pearl gourami need a 3-foot tank (the length is more significant than volume for many fish) to be at its best. And it might well devour neons, especially if they are small.

Byron.
 
#11 ·
The pearl gourami is actually quite docile as far as gouramis go and will leave its tankmates alone. I have housed them with neon tetras and never had any issue there. I agree that they do better in a longer tank and aren't really as concerned with volume so a 5 inch fish would be fine in your tank. They would make a great focal point for your tank.
 
#12 ·
Compatibility/Temperament: A peaceful gourami, quiet and sedate, suitable for a community tank of non-aggressive fishes that are not too active. Males are territorial, so best kept as a pair provided there are hiding places for the female to escape the male's attentions. Rasbora, loaches, less-active tetras, small catfish would make good tankmates; fish larger than the gourami are not suitable.

Read more: Pearl Gourami (Trichopodus leerii) Profile

This is the compatibility profile for the pearl gourami. As you can see, it gets along quite well with tetras and is considered a peaceful fish.
 
#13 ·
Compatibility/Temperament: A peaceful gourami, quiet and sedate, suitable for a community tank of non-aggressive fishes that are not too active. Males are territorial, so best kept as a pair provided there are hiding places for the female to escape the male's attentions. Rasbora, loaches, less-active tetras, small catfish would make good tankmates; fish larger than the gourami are not suitable.

Read more: Pearl Gourami (Trichopodus leerii) Profile

This is the compatibility profile for the pearl gourami. As you can see, it gets along quite well with tetras and is considered a peaceful fish.
You're quite correct, my apology for the mixup.:whip:
I wrote that profile too:oops:, so there is no excuse for my blunderings. :smash:
Obviously getting mixed up with the Blue.:roll:

Still the tank size issue, we all agree on that.;-)

Byron.
 
#14 ·
Byron, is there any visible signs that I can check for for this specific disease? Because I know of no local fish breeders therefor all of my fish will come from either Petsmart or Petland.

And if I do get an aggressive dwarf gourami could the pair temporarily live in a ten gallon? because I do have an empty ten gallon tank, but they would need to live there for awhile until I get a splurge of money.

Is it possible that the gourami's aggression would go away with time?
 
#15 ·
sometimes the heartiness of the gourami depends on its color, much like the betta. A red betta is going to be a heartier fish than a blue betta. temporarily housing the young gouramis in a 10gal tank would be fine as a quarantine type situation, however, the illness that usually affects gouramis is gourami specific and can not affect your other fish. it is a digestive bacterial disease and it would be impossible to detect on a young fish at a pet store.
 
#16 ·
The gourami profile says :

"This species frequently carries a disease known as "dwarf gourami iridovirus" which some believe has been caused by successive generations of inbreeding of this fish in the far east. Imports of the species often have high losses, and this disease is now known to be transmittable to other species in the same aquarium with an infected gourami"

Surely the profile isn't wrong.....I'm sure someone would have picked up on it.
 
#19 ·
places like petsmart have what is called a "centralized filtration system" so, in other words, every single tank shares the same water because it all gets filtered by the same unit and replaced into each tank. that being said, any dwarf gouramis bought from that store will have been exposed either directly (by sharing a tank) or indirectly (sharing the same water). So, if the disease is present at that store it will affect all gouramis of that species at that store.
 
#20 ·
According to my info, this disease is contagious to any species of fish in the tank [or in the tanks connected by the filtration system as someone mentioned is common in many fish stores now]. Neale Monks says it will spread to any species, and mentions guppies contracting it in the same aquarium.

Bandy, to answer your question, i would not buy this fish myself unless I knew the source. Most in the stores come from farms in SE Asia and this disease is very widespread there, hence the risk. I understand from Matt Clarke that most (perhaps all, can't remember totally) stores in the UK do not even carry this species any longer, to avoid spreading this virus.

Byron.
 
#22 ·
That too has been mentioned. Apparently there is no cure, and 90% of the fish infected slowly die. I still think it is just not worth the risk.
 
#24 ·
Well, crap. ha

So what should I do? Since I would buy all the fish from the same place and they would all be sharing the same water should I just go ahead and buy them?

If all the fish are affected by the disease, should I avoid any pet store because most of them sell these gouramis they all have that filtration system.

Does anyone know of fish breeders in South Eastern Ohio?
 
#27 ·
Not sure how close you are... but here are the links to the stores I was able to google near SE Ohio that are purely aquarium stores...

Aquarium Adventure :: The widest selection of aquariums, fish, corals and plants.

Dave's Tropical Fish ~ Toledo's Fish Store & More! ~ Toledo, Ohio

And a list of fish stores in the Lancaster area of Ohio (you can change city if too far)...
Lancaster Aquarium Supplies | Aquariums in Lancaster, OH

Hope this helps.

I usually buy my fish from a specific aquarium store...however their tanks are set up the same as petsmart. The other one I go to has them seperate, and I shop there too. I also buy my hardier fish (like guppies) from Petsmart. I havent had any issue with the disease dwarf gourami carry. However, I did decide not to get dwarf gourami for the same reason :)

As for housing 2 dwarf gourami in a ten gallon tank, that is fine, just make sure it is heavily planted (real or fake) and there is somewhere for them to hide if they feel the need to. I advice male and female or two females for this situation, but not two males.
 
#28 ·
Forgot to mention...

there are many places online to buy fish from... the one's I feel most comfortable with myself is www.liveaquaria.com and others recommend www.aquabid.com , but I havent ever bought from them.

Beware that at liveaquaria there is a $29 minimum purchase, and then its generally around an additional $30 for shipping...so I try to save it for very very hard to find fish.

There are other online fish stores that I am sure are quality, I just cant think of any of the others at the moment.
 
#29 ·
Thanks for the links LasColinas!

I was looking at live aquaria yesterday and I actually couldn't find the dwarf cory on there. I'll try out the aqua bid and see what happens there.

I will try and google some more about pure aquarium stores and see if I can find some closer, Lancaster is actually about an hour to 2 away from me.

Thanks again for all the help. :)
 
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