Dwarf Gourami

[Welsh]

I have a male DG, along with: 5 neon tetras and 1 - 3" BN. The tank looks very empty, as the tetra's tend to stay at the bottom of the tank. I was considering purchasing a female DG, but I'm not sure whether the male will constantly attack her. What do you guys think? Should I go with the female, or add something else?

Thanks

 

[LyndaB]

Your tank is much too small to accommodate both male and female gouramis. They are very aggressive towards each other and require a larger tank.

 

[meegosh]

I agree with Lynda, DG's are notoriously aggressive towards each other. Maybe get some more tetras? Do you still have the 4 pristella tetras as your sig indicates? If so I would bump their school size up too.

 

[Welsh]

I thought that was the case, but I thought I'd check first. I guess I was just a little too hopeful haha

I don't know why I didn't mention them. I do still have them, but I'm not very keen on the fish so I don't really want to add more.... unless of course they need to be in a group of 6.

I was thinking about adding a few more neon's, not sure how many more to add though. Another 5?

I need something that will fill up the mid/top level, which is also colourful. The fish only seem to swim there when I feed them, which is a bit of a pain lol

Thanks for your help guys

 

[NoMoreGoldFish]

White cloud mountain minnows are tiny hardy fish that are always swimming near the top of the tank, they'll be great for a tank your size. Zebra danios too, but they might be a bit too big and active for a 15 gallon. People say 20 gallon is the minimum, but I think it can be doable in a 15 depending on the shape of your tank (longer, shorter tanks have a larger footprint).

 

[LyndaB]

My white clouds school with my rummies and they're all over the tank. Sometimes, I think my fish didn't get the memo that explained which level of the tank they were supposed to be at.

 

[Welsh]

My tank is 24'' long....so quite a bit of swimming space

Aren't the Minnows a dull,grey colour though?

I've wanted Mosquito Rasbora for a while... I love their pink/red colour, but I'm concerned they may get eaten by my DG. Am I being paranoid? lol

 

[LyndaB]

Oh trust me, there's nothing dull about a white cloud's coloring.....

White Cloud Mountain Minnow - Tanichthys albonubes

 

[Welsh]

Thanks I'll have to visit my LFS and have a proper look. How many do you think I could have in my tank? Baring in mind, that i'll likely be adding more neons too.

I've been doing this for 2 years and I still can't get my head around stocking a tank lol

 

[LyndaB]

Remind me.....

Ultimately, what is your proposed stocking?

 

[Welsh]

I've been doing a little research online and quite like the Red Serpae Tetra... I plan to change my gravel to black, and I think these will add colour and stand out in the tank. They grow about 1.5 inches, so the question is..... can I have these in my tank? Would you add another group of fish?

Thanks

 

[absolutangel04]

I've been doing a little research online and quite like the Red Serpae Tetra... I plan to change my gravel to black, and I think these will add colour and stand out in the tank. They grow about 1.5 inches, so the question is..... can I have these in my tank? Would you add another group of fish?

Thanks

IMO, no serpaes. They are notoriuosly nippy and I would never recommend them to be with a gourami of any sort. Some people have experience with them being peaceful, but that would require a bigger tank, and carefully chosen tankmates IMO. Also, your tank is a bit small IMO for too many schoolers. Personally, I think the 2 schools you have is enough, I don't think you have space for another one. You could up your numbers though so you have 6 neons.