[Chesherca]

Oh yeah! No giving up on any new friends just yet!!!! Or ever! You DO have that QT tank. . . that someone *could* live in if need be ;) Hopefully they will chill out when they get to the main tank. I've read of people taking the less-dominant fish and putting them in the new tank first in similar situations. Then the 'underdog' is already comfortable, and knows where the hiding spots are when the dom comes over, and things go a bit more smoothly. Might work with these guys if they keep it up all through QT.

Any more eggs yet? I know it's all kinds of trouble, but SO COOL!!! :)

[thekoimaiden]

That's not a bad idea. Throw the smaller gourami in there a day ahead of the two butts. Thanks, Jes!

So today everyone had their first water change. It was chaos as you can imagine. The loaches (all of them) went nuts and sent the gourami into hiding. And for the first time EVER one of my cats took an interest in the fish.

Still no eggs, and there probably won't be another for a while as I destroyed the male's bubble nest with my water change. He didn't seem to happy about that.

[boxercrazy156]

everything looks awesome!!! Just read the whole thread did your Tiger Lotus live I planted 3 and they all died off

[thekoimaiden]

Thank you! Unfortunately the lotus didn't live. I haven't seen a leaf from it since it wilted. Oh well. Later in the year I'm going to try for more crypts since they seem to be doing wonderfully.

When I woke up this morning the smaller female gourami looked too stressed to leave her in the QT any longer. The older female is being quite the bully. So I've put the smaller one in to the community first as Jes suggested. Let her find the hiding spots before she has to deal with the other female and Mr. Sunshine. The rest of the fishies go in on Wednesday.

I've also decided that I want some Amano shrimps in my 29 gal instead of cherries. ... I saw the female eying the cherries today, and I don't think it will end well with three gourami and 12 or so tetra. Amanos get double the size as well as have the bonus of being better camouflaged than a beautiful red shrimp.

[boxercrazy156]

I never have had good luck with gouramis getting along I had to separate them unless you have a large tank I had 4 none of them got along
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[thekoimaiden]

It does seem like gourami are a bit of hit or miss. But I hope there will be enough hiding spaces in my 29 for everyone to get along.

That being said, since all has been clean in the QT for a week, I'm putting everyone in the main tank! I took off the lid and.... MORE EGGS!! I can't make them stop breeding!

Everyone is in the main tank now. The aggression between the two females appears to be much less now. Thank you Jes for that suggestion! But I'm waiting for the lights to come on tomorrow... who knows if the peace will stay.

The loaches are going nuts... expected that. They are loaches after all. Jes, I don't envy you.. having to catch loaches smaller than mine. Patience, a big net, and a little luck lol!

AND! To make things better I snapped a few pics of everyone in the new tank before I sent them to bed!


The happy couple wishing everyone a happy Valentine's Day!


Mr Sunshine and one of his ladies as well as the loaches. These are the new guys... the old ones are more red-brown.


And one of my two ladies.

[Chesherca]

Ahhhh! Beautiful! Glad to hear that everyone is safe at home, and aggressions seem to be cooling off a bit. Hope things continue to go well, they're all really beautiful - can't wait for the lights to come back up! Yeah. . . I don't envy anyone who needs to catch loaches, lol! Tricky lil' buggers - but well worth it in the end! :) Glad all went well for you!

[Perlumia]

Very pretty tank! What is the beautiful floating plant, and do you have a glass cover over your tank? I want something that floats but have a glass cover, and I don't think the two mix well from what I've read. Your calico is gorgeous, BTW; my late great calico has been succeeded by two large cats who are very interested in the fish...my point being the glass cover is a necessity for me. Or I'd surely find one of the cats swimming ...

[thekoimaiden]

Thank you, Plummy! I do not actually have a glass cover on this tank, but I do have one for my QT tank. The only type of live plants I have in that tank are the floaters and they do wonderfully! Glass tops come with a back section that is just plastic. Removing that will aid in circulation and help the floaters stay healthy.

Oh no!! We don't want any cats in tanks!! (Just ask Boredomb ) I don't know whether to say I'm sorry or you're lucky about your cats being interested. I can't even get mine to give the fish a second look!

[Perlumia]

Is the floater Water Sprite? I never considered taking the plastic bits off (duh!), although my female drinks out of the 10 gallon by dipping her paw in the small space next to the filter at the back.