honeys & corys -- how many in 30 gal?

[coolchinchilla]

I don't want to crowd my tank, so I thought I'd ask before I bought anybody. My tank is still in the midst of a fishless cycle, so I don't need to be hasty.

My tank is 30 gallons with a whisper HOB. I've decided on two kinds of fish:
-8 honey gourami
-6 panda corys

I'd like the tank to be easy to take care of, so I want to be well below the bioload limit. Am I in the ballpark here? Can I add more gourami? Too many? Fewer corys? What should my male/female ratio be for these fish? How many can I add at one time?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Toirtis]

Am I in the ballpark here?

Yes.

Can I add more gourami?

I would not.

Too many?

Probably not....unless you see any signs of conspecific aggression.

Fewer corys?

Not at all..six is a good number.

What should my male/female ratio be for these fish?

I would go all females or even pairs for the gouramis and reverse trios for the corys.

How many can I add at one time?

If your tank is well cycled, you could probably add all the corys at once, if they are small (½"/1cm), or the gouramis in pairs.

 

[Stuart]

Reverse trios are 2 males to 1 female by the way A good ratio for corys, but unless you are intending to breed the corys I wouldn't worry about sexes - they will be happy whatever group they are with.

 

[shady3210]

I dunno about that many gouramis in that size of a tank. Especially since most LFS only sell males. I think there will be alot of aggression.

 

[msmonih]

I would not do 8 Honey Gouramis in a 30 g tank. 6 Corys are fine. Personally, I like having an even number of males/females of the Cory. Or 1 male to 2 females. The Gouramis should be in pairs and since you are talking species only...I would really on do 4 Honey Gouramis - 2 males 2 females with plenty of hiding places.

Honey Gouramis can be territorial just so you know. My male is very territorial and pretty much controls the upper right handside of the aquarium.

Just my opinion, if you want to do 8 Honeys then you should look into a larger tank like a 90 g. In our 90 g we have 6 m 6 f Blue Gourami in our community tank, this gives the 6 males enough room to create their own territories and for the females to get away when they want too. And Gouramis do better in m/f pairs.

 

[shady3210]

I'd still do only 1 pair in a 30. If you want another colorful fish look into a ram pair. They are very colorful and ussualy take up the lower middle were gourami take up middle top.

 

[coolchinchilla]

Thanks guys for your input.

Hmmmmmmm.... Maybe honey gourami aren't the best choice. I looked on liveaquaria.com and they listed honeys as difficult to keep and territorial during spawning. 8O I think I'll go with a different kind of gourami, maybe pearls or blue dwarfs? I think angels would be cool but they would do better with water softer than mine (ph=8.2+ from tap).

Why is it so hard to choose a fish? <sigh>

 

[Toirtis]

Colisa lalia are going to be more territorial than the honeys, so one pair only...pearls are nice, but one pair at most as they are a far larger fish.

 

[RoK]

Colisa fasciata (banded gouramis) are another option; if they are available in your area of course. IME they are quite hardy and more peaceful than the Colisa lalia and Trichogaster trichopterus species. Also, they don't get as large as pearls.