20 gal tank Dwarf Gourami Tank mates

[shamoorek]

I have a 20 gal tall tank with 2 dwarf gouramis, (male and female) 8 tetras, a bamboo shrimp, and a panda garr. For decor and equipment I have 3 bulbs that are going to sprout and become plants, a top fin filter, heater, bog wood, cave thing, bubble maker, and rock gravel. I want to add 2 more gourami sized fish or a little smaller, but dont know what else to add. I dont want another school. My ph is around 6.8-7.2 and water temp is 78-80. Any advice??

 

[shamoorek]

Nevermind everyone...thanks for viewing my post, but I just called local fish store (not petsmart) and they made some suggestions.

 

[guppygourami]

Just wondering, what're you planning on adding?


Namirah?Canadian, Eh??

 

[shamoorek]

The fish store suggested a couple fish. I didn't want another schooling fish so, they said possibly a mini Indian orange fantasy eel Which would be fricking awesome, dwarf cichlid, or a couple dwarf rainbows. Im definetly going get the eel and maybe a bright colorful dwarf cichlid.

 

[Fishperson]

Be careful about the eels, sources say they are fairly hard to feed and I'm guessing with the fish you have not much food reaches the bottom, where they seem to reside.

 

[shamoorek]

what sources are you looking at? I couldnt find any information about the eel. All i found was a couple pictures from expired auctions, and i already planned on hand feeding the eel.

 

[jmg05005]

I have a 20 gal tall tank with 2 dwarf gouramis, (male and female) 8 tetras, a bamboo shrimp, and a panda garr. For decor and equipment I have 3 bulbs that are going to sprout and become plants, a top fin filter, heater, bog wood, cave thing, bubble maker, and rock gravel. I want to add 2 more gourami sized fish or a little smaller, but dont know what else to add. I dont want another school. My ph is around 6.8-7.2 and water temp is 78-80. Any advice??

Skip the eels, get 2-3 more of the panda garr.

 

[shamoorek]

Skip the eels, get 2-3 more of the panda garr.

an eel is wayyyy more interesting

 

[absolutangel04]

I would add more panda garra, and I would do a trio of rainbows like the celebs or threadfin. I have celebs in a 20g and I really enjoy them.
I am somewhat skeptical about that eel in your setup. You will have a hard time finding one, and also a hard time getting food to it. It is a lot to assume it will come out and actually take food from your hand that the tetras won't get to first. Your panda garra would be more interesting if you had an actual group of them. Also, mostly those eels just hide all day. They also need a fair amount of cover, and if you don't even have plants yet, I would skip the eel for now. If you are looking for more info, they are a newly described spiny eel, and need care similar to any other spiny eel.
Side note: Make sure you actually have a male and female dg. Females are fairly rare in the trade, and your more commonly end up up with a dull colored male passed off as a female. If everybody gets along, then it is fine. But, sometimes that can change when they reach breeding age. Just something to watch for.
As for a bright colored dwarf cichlid, well, there are quite a few, but they are fairly sensitive and some are pretty feisty. So, be cautious. You don't actually have much space for territorial fish, especially if you have a dg pair that could end up breeding.

 

[jmg05005]

an eel is wayyyy more interesting

Its also not appropriate for your tank. The panda garr would be better off with at least 3-4 of them.

If you want to stress out and kill your fish, go for the eel then. If you want to be a responsible fish-keeper, then listen to what the people on this site suggest.

 

[shamoorek]

Im not here get griped at and argue, but I went with the eel and and a ram. I now have 8 tetras, a panda gar, male and female gourami, ram and mini eel. How is this going to stress out my fish? The eel seems to be doing awesome he found a hiding spot, got comfortable, ate from my hand with a medicine dropper and then hung out in the open for at least an hour playing with his reflection in glass. The ram is also doing good he found a comfortable spot and swam around like normal. The only agression shown is with the two gouramis, but that seems to be calming down with the addition of other fish.

 

[jmg05005]

Im not here get griped at and argue, but I went with the eel and and a ram. I now have 8 tetras, a panda gar, male and female gourami, ram and mini eel. How is this going to stress out my fish? The eel seems to be doing awesome he found a hiding spot, got comfortable, ate from my hand with a medicine dropper and then hung out in the open for at least an hour playing with his reflection in glass. The ram is also doing good he found a comfortable spot and swam around like normal. The only agression shown is with the two gouramis, but that seems to be calming down with the addition of other fish.

The eel will get too big for your tank and the pandas should be kept in small groups.

 

[absolutangel04]

Im not here get griped at and argue, but I went with the eel and and a ram. I now have 8 tetras, a panda gar, male and female gourami, ram and mini eel. How is this going to stress out my fish? The eel seems to be doing awesome he found a hiding spot, got comfortable, ate from my hand with a medicine dropper and then hung out in the open for at least an hour playing with his reflection in glass. The ram is also doing good he found a comfortable spot and swam around like normal. The only agression shown is with the two gouramis, but that seems to be calming down with the addition of other fish.

Well, good luck. I hope it all stays going well.
"Playing" with his reflection in the glass doesn't actually indicate play, it indicates stress more likely. Spiny eels are not the "play with their reflection in the glass when they are happy sort." Maybe yours is different. Time will tell. Spiny eels frequently waste away in community tanks and die in about 6 months after purchase. That is why people warned you against it. Hopefully your experience is better. By nature, they tend to hide. Being out in the open so soon more likely indicates he has not yet found a place to stay fully comfortable. Though, the smaller spiny eels do tend to make more public forays than their larger counterparts (ie peacock eel).
I am not chastising you, just giving you insight into why people suggested you shy away from it. I have so far not known many people with long term success on one of the fantasy eels. After all, they are newly described and wild collected without knowing too much about their specific needs like some fish that have been in the hobby for decades. But, keep the water nice, make sure he has places to hide, and keep getting him food and hopefully he does well.
Dg can be feisty and can certainly cause havoc, but it varies based on individuals. Don't count on them staying chill after he novelty of new fish has worn off, but you can deal with that if happens.

 

[shamoorek]

the gets about 5 in long max and about the size of pen around...hint the name mini orange fantasy eel.

 

[absolutangel04]

the gets about 5 in long max and about the size of pen around...hint the name mini orange fantasy eel.

Hint: the name Macrognathus lineatomaculatus is the actual name of the species and not just a common name people came up with to sell a fish. Sometimes, that common name is applied to different little Macrognathus, but the M. lineatomaculatus is the one it should be referring to. That is the trouble of common names though. This species has a few other variations in common name as well.
Again, good luck with him. They are tricky for the long term (ie years), but spiny eels are cool dudes when they are in the right environment. Hopefully yours adjusts and continues to do well.