Fish and water compatibility

[QuietDusk]

I'm starting up some new tanks and was wondering whether or not I'm going to have to doctor up my water for any of these species. My pH is 7.8 and dGH is 11.
I was thinking about the following:

Neon tetras
Dwarf gouramis
Trichogaster trichopterus (3 spot gourami)
T. leeri (Pearl gourami)
Reticulated cory (C. reticulatus)
Kryptopterus bicirrhis (Glass catfish)
Bleeding Heart Tetra
Cardinal Tetra
Rosy Barbs
Zebra danios
Giant Danios
Melanotaenia boesemani (Boeseman's Rainbowfish)

Geez, what a list. Sorry it's so long!

 

[TankGirl]

Some of the fish you list do prefer softer, more acidic water than what you have in your tap, but if you get them from a LFS on your water system the fish are likely adapted to your tap water.

There are many people who will tell you to mix with RO water, use peat and driftwood, even inject CO2 to lower the pH, and you certainly can do those things if you like, but these days the fish at the LFS are remarkably adaptable, so I would not worry too much about it.

Love your fish selections! What tanks do you have in mind for them?

 

[fishstixs05]

Just as suggestions for the fish selection and #'s
Make sure to keep the number of gouramies to a minimum, they will become aggresive with each other.
Depending on where the cardinals come from, they may not stand the high pH (if they are tank raised this should not be a problem
All of the barbs, danios, tetras, and glass catfish should be kept in schools, so unless you are geting a huge tank, you may consider not having all those fish. It is better to have a couple schools of happy fish than several pairs or trios of unhappy fish.
As for campatability, the list looks great, please post tank size soon!

 

[QuietDusk]

What I'm starting right now is a 40 gal. But of course I'm not planning to put all of those fish into one tank. I have a 30 gal and 10 gal waiting to be set up (just have to find good locations).
I just got - and I do mean "just," they're floating in their bags - 6 zebra danios, 6 neon tetras, 2 corys, and 5 rosy barbs. Will that fill my 40 gal or can I put some more fish in there?
I was planning on keeping the gouramis in pairs. Is it difficult to distinguish the sex?

 

[QTOFFER]

I think you could still fit a pair of dwarf gouramis in there. Are rosy barbs nippy like tiger barbs? Just a concern if you're going to have gouramis with them. You should check that out.

Or you could add a few more neons (6 is kinda the minimum # for a school and you might lose a few the first week).

You might also consider another cory or two. They seem to be happiest in groups of three or more and they have minimal impact on water quality, IME.

 

[TankGirl]

Be careful keeping dwarf gouramis in male/female pairs, if that is what you mean, and not just two males. Often it is best to keep the genders separate unless you are trying to breed, then you separate them again after spawning because they can get nasty with each other.

 

[QuietDusk]

The rosy barbs are defintely nippy. Felt sorry for the little neons when I first put them all in there; thankfully, a modicum of peace has been established now.

A few hours after I put them in the tank, a couple of the barbs started swimming around each other, side-to-side facing opposite directions. Spawning behavior?

Anyway, definitely not putting gouramis in there. A couple more corys is an idea. It's cute, sometimes they go shoal with the barbs. (I'm already falling in love with my fish....)