Gouramis

[CharlieKlein]

I think im set on 2-3 honey gouramis. Right now i have 5 gold barbs, and kinda am gonna miss them so having honey gouramis will take their place. So
8 rumnynose tetras
8 neon tetras
5 lamp eye tetras
4 Juli Cory catfish
2 German blue rams
3 honey gouramis

Is that good
I only have 1 plant that goes to the surface but i am gonna ge 2 more. How can I sex them to make sure they are 1 m and 2f?

 

[Old Scales]

+1 with Bud29

Correct me if I'm wrong, isn't a 37g only 30" long? In a 30" tank with that stock already, I personally wouldn't do more than 1 pearl gourami - none would probably be better IMO. My stock was very close to yours in my 29, 30" long as well, and I wouldn't even put 1 pearl gourami in there. My rams took up almost the whole bottom area, and I had 2 schools of tetras and 1 school of rasbora in the mid-upper levels. As it is, there really is not any comfortable room to add a 4" fish, nevertheless two. As for size, while I have not kept any, I have seen several adults at the LFS at 4-5", as they breed most of their stock in-store.

Yes If the tank is 30" long, then what Bud is recommending is best. I was thinking the 37g was 36". Must be another one of those tall size tanks. OS.

 

[CharlieKlein]

Could I still get 2-3?

 

[Old Scales]

If you just have to have either a Pearl or Honey just get one. I don't know how big honeys get as I have never had one. Just Pearls. A tank's capacity is really determined by it's surface area. Extra depth adds looks but does very little to increase capacity. Your 37g has basically the same surface area as a 29g. I feel your pain though, I've always had to fight the urge to get "one more fish" when I know I'm fully stocked. LOL That's what trading with other fishkeepers is for. Good luck, OS.

 

[CharlieKlein]

If you just have to have either a Pearl or Honey just get one. I don't know how big honeys get as I have never had one. Just Pearls. A tank's capacity is really determined by it's surface area. Extra depth adds looks but does very little to increase capacity. Your 37g has basically the same surface area as a 29g. I feel your pain though, I've always had to fight the urge to get "one more fish" when I know I'm fully stocked. LOL That's what trading with other fishkeepers is for. Good luck, OS.

I originally planned on a angle but cut it out. Honeys are about 2 inches. I think 2 would work. They would be the only fish occupying the top level

 

[bud29]

I originally planned on a angle but cut it out. Honeys are about 2 inches. I think 2 would work. They would be the only fish occupying the top level

My gouramis really went all over. Not always at the top - sometimes they swam at the midlevel, other times near the bottom where rams usually are. Lots of people classify gouramis as top-dwellers but I have yet to see a gourami that just hangs around the top.

 

[CharlieKlein]

Yeah but they would occupy that partially and would be mostly alone there. Would adding 2 be ok?

 

[bud29]

Yeah but they would occupy that partially and would be mostly alone there. Would adding 2 be ok?

I would still think 1 is best.

 

[CharlieKlein]

Ok. Anyway. Here is my tank. What plants should i add and where to make it fuller? It looks empty still

 

[Try-na]

My gouramis really went all over. Not always at the top - sometimes they swam at the midlevel, other times near the bottom where rams usually are. Lots of people classify gouramis as top-dwellers but I have yet to see a gourami that just hangs around the top.

My honeys stay at the top. I would bet it has something to do with my floating plants. That's what they prefer.

 

[azmodan]

Live plants? Amazon swords, Vals, bacopa carolina, willow hygro and java fern are all nice low(er) light plants that are nice and tall. Anubias are always nice in a lowlight tank too.

Also, my honeys go all over the tank but sleep at night at the top. Floating plants help dim the light and bring out their color, which can be quite stunning.

 

[Try-na]

Ok. Anyway. Here is my tank. What plants should i add and where to make it fuller? It looks empty still

With my tank I added a power head to the top corner for extra movement then added a very tall plant that mostly hides it. Up can see it in the 1st pic. The plant is a pond plant that's 25" tall & was only $7 at a garden store. It's called Dwarf Papyrus or Cyperus Haspan Viviparous. This is where 2 of my male honeys live. One on each side. One of my female bettas lives with them too. In my other top corner I have a Fluval U1 submersible filter. I took out the sponge & added some media. I mostly wanted it to add movement to that corner. It's not much but it helps. I covered it with a plant. It's a fake plant, the only one left in my tank but it hides the filter well. You can kinda see it in the far right of the tank shot. This is where 2 more of my honeys live. My female honey stay close to the bottom.

In your tank you don't have enough areas for them to claim. Gouramies (honeys, dwarfs, pygmys) IMO don't seem to like just swimming around in the open. They like plants & hiding areas. They don't stay hidden but they like to know they can. I think you need to add some more. Try some live plants. I run stock Aqueon lights on my 55g. No ferts, no special anything & my plants grow great.

 

[CharlieKlein]

I only have one live plant. I want a really tall one to go where the filter is

 

[Try-na]

I only have one live plant. I want a really tall one to go where the filter is

Try pond plants. They are a lot taller & quite a few of them can be fully submerged even tho it says not to. You'd have to ask them which ones would be best. If the plant is going near your filter make sure it's not a real flowy or fluffy one. Try something that's stiff like the one I mentioned in my last post. Otherwise the leaves will get sucked into your intake & plug it up.

Oh & AVOID FOXTAIL!!!! I had it, grew like crazy & it looked awesome. I had it up one back corner & all across the back of my tank. Unfortunately it started shedding & completely plugged both of my filters & my power head. It was a huge mess to clean up. I'm still finding "leaves" everywhere!