Gourami's not working out

thisandthat

Hi,

I've only have had one death in this tank other then Gourami's (pearl). I've checked PH and ammonia levels several times but I can't seem to keep Gourami's alive.

A history...

Bought three
one died...week or so later the other one died
Bought two more....same thing, still left with one (which one I'm not sure)
Bought one more...same thing one of the two died.
This is over a period of several months, different batches of fish and two different stores.

I have neon's, one Pleco, one Otocinclus, & two angel fish (which were additions between the 4 death and the 5th death.

Its a 50-60 gallon tank, good filter, good lighting, lots of aeration.


Maybe they just don't like me? Any suggestions?

Thanks

thekoimaiden

What species of gourami did you buy? Dwarf Gourami are notoriously fragile from years of commercial breeding. You could try buying from a local breeder instead.

thisandthat

All of them are Pearl

Byron

It is not always easy to diagnose fish deaths. It may of course by the fish themselves, or it may be something in the aquarium, whether water parameters, conditions, other fish (compatibility). More data would help us offer suggestions.

Can you give us the hardness (GH), pH, temperature? Have you tested for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?

Are there live plants?

Any signs of non-compatibility among the fish?

On a more general note, I do not recommend gourami combined with angelfish; both are very territorial, and males can have aggressive tendancies to ward the other species.

Byron.

beetlebz

Im also curious to find out how the fish are acclimated to the new aquarium... and especially the nitrates. I lost 2 Dwarf Gourami to dropsy when I allowed my nitrates to climb unnecessarily.