Rethinking 52 Gallon Flatback Hex. Suggestions please?

JadaNae27

I am truely in love with Gouramis. The more I watch the one I have now, The more I want to have another gourami species in my new tank. I was browsing through the different species of gourami in the profiles and stumbled upon the Pearl Gourami. Are any other Gouramis suitable as tankmates for them? And if not what species are? I like tetras, but especially the smaller kinds of loaches and the unusually colored rasboras, like Harlequins. However I don't want to put harlequins or corydoras in as I already have those in my 20 gallon with my Dwarf Gourami pair. and I have to ask, because I love the color and form of these fish. Would Pictus Catfish be compatible with the gouramis or any kind of loaches?

I think I have been bitten by the gourami bug I know it can be a fairly risky business to the Dwarf Gourami indovirus. But they are so stunning and have such great personailtys and beautiful form ^_^

jentralala

I see we share a similar love for the gourami species ;) I have 3 Pearls in my 35 gallon, and I absolutely adore them. They're in with Harlequins and Kuhli loaches, and I love how well the tank works. I haven't done much research on them, but I think Honey Gourami and Moonlight Gourami are both gorgeous.

About the pictus - I don't know for certain if it's suitable, but I have heard that they are a very active fish, and Pearl Gourami are quite sedate...a lot of movement makes them very shy.

JadaNae27

I thought so, but I had to ask. Do you think there would be enough space in a 52 flatback half hex for 2 pairs of Pearl Gourami? And what rasboras do you recommend? I do particularly like the looks of the Khuli loaches ^_^

jentralala

By two pairs do you mean 2 females and 2 males? Gouramis do best with a ration of 1:2/3 females or more, the males like to keep a harem. So in order to have 2 males in a tank, you'd have to have several females for each male. I'm not sure if you have enough space for that but I could be wrong. I've seen posts from someone who has two males/several females in a 75, I believe.

I'm still very new to this and I haven't had much experience with other rasboras besides Harlequins, sadly. Have you checked the profiles? There are some very pretty ones. My only recommendation is to not get any that are very small, I think that could cause a couple problems.

I LOVE my Kuhlis. I only have 4 right now but I plan to increase to 8-10. They are so much fun, they have some of the most interesting 'personalities'. The more you have the less shy they will be. Just make sure to offer lots of hiding places :) I have oak leaves for mine to hide in.

JadaNae27

Well. I don't want to get any rasboras that are two active. I think I will get just one pair to start with and see how that goes.

Byron

None of the "rasbora" species are active, all are peaceful and fairly sedate. They thus make ideal tankmates to gourami. Just avoid the "dwarf" species that would almost certainly be eaten by any gourami as large as the Pearl.

And a 55g hex is ideal for gourami. A group of Pearl Gourami, being one male and 3 females, would be good. Two males and 4-5 females would be the next step up, and while this certainly might work, it also might not, depending upon the behaviour of the individual males. All gourami males are territorial, much like all cichlids (one reason the two should never be together) and they usually consider the tank as "theirs" and will defend it against rivals. The profile (click the shaded name) explains more.

Other gourami is sometimes possible, but more with the smaller species (there are several inour profiles with photos) and none of these should be combined with the "larger" species like the Pearl.

Lots of plants, branches vertical, and definitely floating plants which are a must for all gourami. Have a look at the various rasbora in the profiles (under Cyprinids). Some of the quieter tetra (Characins) will also work, unless you want to be authentic with a SE Asian habitat, since characins come from South America (or Africa).

Pictus Catfish I would not. They need a group, they get large, they will eat smaller fish, they need more space...check the profile.

Loaches can work though, at least some of them. The kuhlii was mentioned, but if you want to go with fish that will be out and about more naturally, have a look at the Botia species (also under the Cyprinids). Botia kubotai and Botia striata come to mind, as do the two dwarf species in our profiles. Always in a group, 5 or more, as loaches are highly social fish.

Hope this helps a bit.

Byron.

JadaNae27

Thanks Byron!

I thoroughly browsed through the majority of the fish profiles XD

What about this set up?

10 Kuhli loch
1 male, 3 female gourami
6 Dwarf Loach
10 Emperor Tetra ( It said they were compatible with Gourami and they are so stunning)
And even though I will have these in another tank already, I love their little black triangle
10 Harlequin Rasbora

this would put my tank at 101% stocked :)

Any Ideas on which fish I should add first?

Also. another question, Is there any sort of buffer I can make that will allow a Aquatech 30-60 filters flow to be less? It makes a little bit of surface current and there is no way for me to adjust it, but the end on it guarantees the kuhli loaches wont be able to get inside it. I'm pretty handy with silicone and such so it would'nt be hard for me to make something like it.

JadaNae27

I also thought you guys may like to see this XD A estimate of what the fish together would look like when I get everything set up. I love making these little things. i know everything is terribly sized XD

Byron

My only question wold be the two loaches together. I've never kept the kuhlii loach, but having the dwarf and the banded dwarf species, and together, I would be concerned about the nocturnal habits of the kuhlii annoying the dwarf. These are known to nip when angered. Which brings up the issue of fin nipping with the gourami that some sources do caution. I have never had this problem, but maybe I have friendly loaches. And they are not in with large gourami that might be more of a temptation. Not sure.

As for order, I would start with the tetra and rasbora; then the loach; last the Pearls so they are going into a tank that has fish and will not immediately be seen as "their space period."

My suggestion would be perhaps another filter. With gourami you want very quiet water; these fish occur in swamps and ditches with scarcely any water movement, and the Pearl also occur in quiet streams thick with vegetation--and the latter always means very low (or no) water flow. A small canister rated to the tank size would work, with a spray bar, and if it has a control valve for the flow, even better. Sponge filters are great with gourami, and I believe they can work in up to a 50g.

Byron.

JadaNae27

no worries ^_^ I'll take out the dwarf loaches and add in 5 more Harlequins. :P