New 75 gal tank questions

Dolphinfrk11129

I have been given a 75 gal bowfront tank that currently has 5 fish in it. It has 1 Kissing Gourami, 2 tetras (don't know what type as I have not seen them yet) and 2 orange and white fish (the current owner does not know what they are but she stated they are not Goldfish)

I am bringing the tank back to my house tomorrow, but I know down the road I will want to add to the tank as I was told all the fish in there now are small. I already have a 30 gallon "sick" tank set up for new fish before moving them into the 75 gallon.

I just need more information on how many of what I can put in there. I really love tiger barbs and from looking online at many different places I found (according to websites) that they would be ok with the gourami.

Now I can't find much information other than just basic information on the Kissing Gourami (and I never owned one before so I really don't know much about it)

So here are a few questions:

Do I need 2 Gourami or should 1 of them be just fine?

How many Tiger Barbs can go in the tank?

Would 2 Cory Catfish be good enough for the tank?

I love having a fun, colorful tank and I know my kids (11 years old) will love having a tank again. Also at the very worst case along with the 30 gallon we will also be getting a 10 gallon tank... so I guess if I don't want the unknown fish in the big tank I can always put them in one of the smaller tanks and still have a "sick" tank...

Please any advise would be helpful... Again I am not looking to rush out tomorrow and buy new fish, maybe in a few weeks once I know that all the original fish are taking to the change and fully healthy.

TheWonderfulWub

Provided you kept enough Tiger Barbs that they spend their time chasing each other rather than the gourami; those long fins are a temptation.

Keep just one, two will fight. They can also get quite large, so keep that in mind.

There isn't really a specific number, but with that size tank you could get a pretty decent size school. I have a 75g in my store that has a school of 30~ Tiger Barbs in it, and they're happier than pigs in slop.

It would work, but more would be better. Cories are one of those fish that really appreciates having a large group of them.

I might look into rehoming the Kissing Gourami, other than that you should be fine (once you find out what the other fish are, that is).

Byron

Yes, I would get rid of that Kissing Gourami. It gets large (up to a foot) and will eat smaller fish and nibble plants. As noted in our profile, it is not a good community fish.

I know some people have relatively good luck with Tiger Barb, but this is just that--good luck. Others (and there have been a couple of recent threads) have the opposite, and they are terrors. Not a fish i would risk as it is going to limit options in tankmates. The Black Ruby Barb is similar in appearance but much more docile, I have a group in my 90g and they are beauties and they never even look at the trailing fins on my male Congo Tetra; Tigers would have these in shreds, and the Congo would be dead floaters.

Corys need a group; they live in shoals of hundreds and are highly social. Five is the minimum for a species, but if you have more than one species you can get away with 3 of a species but more is always better. You could have a nice mix in a 75g.

Do you know about our fish profiles? Second tab from the left in the bluebar across the top of the page. Most of the common fish are included, with data on numbers, compatibility issues, etc. There are several cory species, plus all the other possibles for this tank. If the name is used identical in a post to the profile, it shades as some did here, and you can click that for the profile.

Byron.