Aggressive Gourami, Stocking Suggestions - Help!

[lilvenom]

Hey everybody. Please bare with me! I have always wanted a tank, but assumed they were lots of work, etc. I also knew it would take alot of knowledge and understanding of fish, breeds,etc to know what needs what, what goes with what and so on. A very good friend of mine passed away from cancer in April. His wife gave me and my husband his tank. Its 55 gallon. Have it all set up and water temp has been maintained at 76 degrees, ph is stable around 7-7.2.
Going to a local store, that had a pretty small selection. My husband likes bigger, colorful fish, I really didnt care, just want everbody to get along! We left the store with 2 angelfish ( silver and black stripes) and a gold Gourami which the chick at the store said would be fine. Well, mister Gold has proven to be quite intimidating to the angels. He corners them, and pretty much keeps them hiding in a corner behind the rocks.
Obviously, we want more then 3 fish in there, but as i have read you should only introduce a coupple at a time as to balance the bacteria, especially in a new tank setup. So my questions are many, but especially...was she wrong? Should that Gourami not be in with the Angels? what should be in there? What are some others I can put in there that may give us a few good variations of colors, etc? Someone help! As Im sure you can tell, I know very little and it seems the more research I do, the more confusing it all gets. I just want a happy, healthy place for the fish to live and for us to enjoy. Any help is soo very much appreciated! Thanks guys, and please go easy on my ignorance!

 

[Deep Seven]

Nitrogen Cycle

Here is the link on the nitrogen cycle I was talking about on the other thread.

 

[lilvenom]

Very helpful, thanks! But of course I have a question...I was planning on doing small water changes every 2 weeks or so, with a (iI think its a python?) vac/gravel type cleaner thing. Is this good to use? and since its a new tank, should I wait longer then 2 weeks to do a change or should I do it sooner? Again, sorry for my ignorance, Im sure these are very simple ideas for you guys! Haha! Just really would like to get as much info as I can and get evrything right without too many fishy casualties!

 

[bettafish]

At LEAST once a week for a cycled tank, more for uncycled tanks I hear ^^

 

[taylorodw]

Hello lilvenom, and welcome to AA. Sorry you had to enter the hobby through the death of a friend - but when you look and see your peaceful aquatic community, you can remember him fondly.

On to the nitty gritties

When you have a new tank, you may find yourself needing to do a water change (we often refer to them as PWC or Partial Water Change) every day or even twice a day!

The article you read talks about ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Basically, if ammonia or nitrite is over 0.25 ppm, you need to do a water change. Nitrates are sort of like mess in the house - you can let them build up, but eventually you need to take care of them. Most of us agree that below 40ppm nitrates is a healthy level.

Your tank will biologically turn ammonia into nitrite, and nitrite into nitrate, so once your biological filter is established you will only have to worry about the nitrate. A 50% PWC will remove 50% of, well, everything in the tank (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and a bunch of other stuff that is less important to know). So, if your ammonia gets to 0.5 ppm, a 50% PWC will take it down to 0.25 ppm. If nitrate is 40ppm, a 50% PWC will take it down to 20ppm. Make sense?

That said, lilvenom, the best investment you can make at the moment is a test kit! We like the API Master Freshwater kit here, but any liquid kit (not dip strips) will do you fine. If you are in the US, you can pick one up at Wal-Mart using site-to-store shipping.

This way, you can test your water and know exactly when you need to perform a PWC. No guess work needed

I will disagree (slightly) with bettafish. Most of our regulars do weekly water changes - I do 50% once a week - but that is no hard and fast rule. Some change the water every 12 days, 2 weeks, or even rarely/never. Typically the rarely/never is in a specialized system, and many of us disagree with that practice. But, there are very few hard and fast RULES in fish keeping, so it's all open for discussion

Okay, that's enough of the abstract stuff. Here's some usable advice for your tank, today, right now

If your fish are still juveniles (you can find their adult sizes online and find out if they have more growing to do), you are luckily in a position with a low bio-load. That means your fish produce relatively little ammonia for the tank size.

So, I would probably change the water 50% twice a week until you have a test kit to verify the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. If you ever notice your fish with reddened gills, seeming to gasp at the surface (except the gourami which will do that normally), or showing other obvious signs of stress, do a big water change!

Also, the angel/gourami mix is sort of iffy. The person at the store did not outright lie to you, because the mix CAN work sometimes. However, fish are similar to cats and dogs in that they each have a personality. If you got an aggressive gourami, it could bully, injure, or kill an angel. The same goes for the angels - they could bully, injure, or kill the gourami, or each other.

Since it sounds like you're having some problems with them, I'd try either adding more decorations (try to break up the tank and provide a ton of hiding places) or re-arranging the decorations. They may need to be separated eventually if they have ragged or nipped fins - but you can wait and see a while.

Okay, WHEW! That was a big post. If your experience is anything like mine was (check the join date - I got inundated with information and my head was swimming faster than my fish!), you may feel a little discouraged - but I know you can do it! Just take a little time to absorb the information at your own pace, and know that you can do a big water change to keep the fish healthy.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

You *must* buy an API test kit. At this point your tank will be cycling and you need to test the water every day. If either Ammonia or Nitrites are above 0.25ppm then do an 50% change.

Never let anyone tell you not to do a water change. They are pretty much always beneficial.

 

[lilvenom]

Thanks so much guys for your help! Especially you, Taylorodw! Lots of info, and yes, I am slightly overwhelmed but hearing you say I can do it helps! And yes, I will and do remember my friend all the time I am watching the tank, and hope I can make it as beautiful as he would have wanted! So, I am out to get a kit tommorow, as for today..big water change. The fish are all juveniles, so this is good.Though, I did notice last night the angels poking at the top of the water, which they hadnt done yet. Stupid me thought they must just be hungry! They also seem to be getting along a little better now. The Gourami is not cornering as much and seems to be leaving them alone for the most part. He was doing quite a bit of acrobatic moving last night. Rushing up and down, and kept doing this really funny move with the bubbler in the back. He was weaving through it from one side, get to the other and then ride the bubbles back! It was pretty entertaing, but i am wondering if his behavior was normal, or he was just bored and playing? It looked like he was having fun! We have named him Loco, as he seems a little crazy! Also, when will it be safe to add more fish? And does anyone have suggestions for what they should be? Thanks so much everyone, its nice to know theres help out there, other then the store clerks who dont seem to always know what theyre talking about!

 

[Mark Hewitt]

Rushing up and down, and kept doing this really funny move with the bubbler in the back. He was weaving through it from one side, get to the other and then ride the bubbles back! It was pretty entertaing, but i am wondering if his behavior was normal, or he was just bored and playing?

Sounds normal to me. I've just put a new bubbler in my tank with way more air output and my peppered cory is never away from it! Just swimming into the side of it and then away and back again, he loves it!

Also, when will it be safe to add more fish? And does anyone have suggestions for what they should be?

When you get your test kit, obviously do a test, if the results are:
Ammonia: 0, Nitrite: 0, Nitrate < 20 then things are looking good.
Do another test a week later and if you get the same result then you can start putting new fish in straight away!

 

[lilvenom]

Thanks! Everybodys been soo helpful! I think I would have given up by now, if not for this site! Off to get a kit after work today

 

[Cococalm]

Gold Gourami is ( if I am not mistaken ) a golden variant of the Trichogaster tricopterus family. Experience has taught me never to have them alone. They can be very territorial. I was advised when getting T. Tricopterus to have fish that are bigger than them in the tank as this makes them less likely to be aggressive ..... tho this did not work with Tiger barbs.

Personally, I tend not to mix fish from different parts of the world, but that is me. Taylorodw is spot on otherwise, provide hiding places and "divisions" in the tank to allow for territories to be formed.

Subdued light using floating plants can also help with the aggressiveness issue with the Gold Gourami. Water Hyacinth is great for this, and you get a lovely flower too

 

[lilvenom]

Thank you very much! Hes seems to be doing better now tho. Not nearly as aggressive. The angels seemed to have claimed one side and him on the other. They kind of teamed up on him once and since then they have seemed to be coexisting just fine! They swim around, play in the bubbles and feed well together. When its mellow time they have their seperate sections. Thanks for the info tho, and now that all my water readings are good, more fishy family members will be coming soon!