Dwarf Gourami and Neon Tetra

[speckles69uk]

Hi everyone,

My tank has just finished a fishless cycle, and now the time has come to add some fish. I would appreciate your advice on the following stocking please: -

A pair of Dwarf Gourami
6 Neon Tetra

and at a later date, when the tank has further developed, I would like to add

a Horned Nerite snail
and some cherry shrimp

My tank measures 60cm x 30cm x 40cm (however my water level only reaches 32cm, as I did not want water coming into contact with the wire of the powerhead in my internal filter, which is a Juwel 600)

I also have a heater setup, currently at 25oC, the pH is approximately 7.5, The tank has a large gravel substrate, with some artificial plants, some natural fern and a couple of ornaments. I intend to add some floating plants.

According to AqAdvisor, with the addition of the snail and 6 cherry shrimp I am well within the stocking level, my pH is fine and my filtration is also fine.

Your aquarium filtration capacity for above selected species is 337%.http://www.aqadvisor.com/AqHelp.php#FiltrationCapacity
Recommended water change schedule: 19% per week.
Your aquarium stocking level is 63%

Does the above stocking, with my current tank setup seem ok and is the info provided by AqAdvisor quite accurate?

I look forward to your responses.

Thank you for taking the time to read

 

[mistersprinkles]

First thing, top up your tank. All the way to the top. Leave about 1" between the lid and the water. The electrical cords can very safely be submerged. I've been doing it for almost 12 years.

Your stock is fine. I'd add everything at once. If you've been doing fishless cycling the proper way, you should have biofiltration capacity for a full stock list from the get-go.

Get your shrimp and your snails.

Also, you may want to try honey gouramis instead of dwarf gouramis. They're more mellow. It'll be hard to find a pair of either as females aren't usually sold in most places. Best of luck though.

 

[fishyd]

I agree with Mistersprinkles. Look into honey/sunset gourami. (They go by both names) I have 3 in my community and are very friendly and I have seen no aggression at all. Also stay smaller than most others.

 

[speckles69uk]

Hi,

Thank you for your replies, it's really appreciated.

I've topped up my tank, it looks so much better without the visible waterline. I was just worried with the cables of the heater and powerhead being submerged. But all seems ok.

If my calculations have been correct, I dosed the ammonia upto 3ppm, testing daily the ammonia, ph, Nitrite and Nitrate with the API freshwater test kit. A few days ago the Nitrite suddenly dropped. I've been adding the ammonia daily and the tests show Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm and the Nitrate was between 80pppm and 160ppm. I carried out a 75% water change to lower the Nitrate levels.

All in all, the cycle has taken under 3 weeks. I did use some used filter media in the tank and Nutrafin Cycle, so I'm assuming they've speeded up the cycle a little.

I'll have a look into trying to find a female and male honey gourami.

If it does prove to be quite difficult, what other stocking options would you recommend?

I'd like to have 1 or 2 fish that are like a centrepiece to the aquarium, preferably with some attractive colouring and a small school of fish, with the odd snail and some shrimp.

Thanks again for your advice

 

[mistersprinkles]

Hi,

Thank you for your replies, it's really appreciated.

I've topped up my tank, it looks so much better without the visible waterline. I was just worried with the cables of the heater and powerhead being submerged. But all seems ok.

If my calculations have been correct, I dosed the ammonia upto 3ppm, testing daily the ammonia, ph, Nitrite and Nitrate with the API freshwater test kit. A few days ago the Nitrite suddenly dropped. I've been adding the ammonia daily and the tests show Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm and the Nitrate was between 80pppm and 160ppm. I carried out a 75% water change to lower the Nitrate levels.

All in all, the cycle has taken under 3 weeks. I did use some used filter media in the tank and Nutrafin Cycle, so I'm assuming they've speeded up the cycle a little.

I'll have a look into trying to find a female and male honey gourami.

If it does prove to be quite difficult, what other stocking options would you recommend?

I'd like to have 1 or 2 fish that are like a centrepiece to the aquarium, preferably with some attractive colouring and a small school of fish, with the odd snail and some shrimp.

Thanks again for your advice

If you can't find honey gouramis you could try black paradise fish. I had a pair in a 15 gallon and they spawned with viable fry. With any labyrinth fish you should have a floating plant (real or fake, doesn't matter) in a calm, current free corner of the aquarium. The fish will make a bubble nest in it. If you want a real plant try Hornwort. It's cheap as it gets, and easy to raise with no co2 and low light.

For schooling fish you could try coral red or purple pencilfish. They're unusual looking and not many people have them. Having said that, good luck finding them at most pet shops. They just aren't sold that commonly.

Other options are cardinal, rummy nose, neon, lemon, bleeding heart tetras, cherry barbs, celestial pearl danio, etc.

 

[josh7]

I would lean away from neons they always seem to die easily for some reason. I would get a Male flame dwarf gourami as your center piece then a school of either harlequin rasbora or cardinal tetra

A good stock would be
1- Male Dwarf Gourami
7- Harlequin Rasbora or Cardinak tetra
6- Cory Cats

 

[speckles69uk]

Hi,

I am looking at other school options, I just thought of the neons originally, as they seem quite popular and have nice colouring. The schools you have mentioned all look great, it's just choosing. There is so much choice

I do like the idea of some Cory's, but I have a gravel substrate, and it's the large type that could be quite rough, I don't want them to get hurt. I am willing to change to sand, but it seems a bit of a waste with the gravel though, as I've not had anything in the tank yet.

Are dwarf gourami's ok on their own as a species?

 

[mistersprinkles]

Hi,

I am looking at other school options, I just thought of the neons originally, as they seem quite popular and have nice colouring. The schools you have mentioned all look great, it's just choosing. There is so much choice

I do like the idea of some Cory's, but I have a gravel substrate, and it's the large type that could be quite rough, I don't want them to get hurt. I am willing to change to sand, but it seems a bit of a waste with the gravel though, as I've not had anything in the tank yet.

Are dwarf gourami's ok on their own as a species?

Any fish that isn't a schooling fish is ok on it's own.
I would steer you away from dwarf gouramis though. They get sick and die very easily. Honey gouramis are hardier.

 

[speckles69uk]

Thank you for all your replies, it's really appreciated.

I've decided that I'd like some corys in my tank. I've changed the gravel to a sand substrate. I plan on getting 4 peppered corydoras, 6 cardinal tetras and a snail. I'll get these for now and look around for athe honey gourami

 

[Fishperson]

Just for reference, this is a 20 gallon tank, so a great stock would be 4 cories, 6 tetras, a snail, and a honey gourami OR 3 otocinclus.

 

[Scottyhorse]

You could add a honey gourami AND three oto's if you want. Both have fairly light bioloads.

 

[Fishperson]

You could add a honey gourami AND three oto's if you want. Both have fairly light bioloads.

Okay, I thought otos had fairly high bioloads as mine are always pooping!

 

[josh7]

Honestly IMO you can do a dwarf gourami if you like the looks of them. Just make sure to pick the healthiest looking one keep water conditions great and feed a varied diet for about a month. Then you you should be just fine with it! A good stock would be what has been said something like

1- Dwarf Gourami
6- Neon or cardinal tetras or harlequin rasbora
5- Cory Cats
4- Oto cats( these guys aren't the hardiest make sure to have good water quality and a good green algae supply.)

 

[mistersprinkles]

Honestly IMO you can do a dwarf gourami if you like the looks of them. Just make sure to pick the healthiest looking one keep water conditions great and feed a varied diet for about a month. Then you you should be just fine with it! A good stock would be what has been said something like

1- Dwarf Gourami
6- Neon or cardinal tetras or harlequin rasbora
5- Cory Cats
4- Oto cats( these guys aren't the hardiest make sure to have good water quality and a good green algae supply.)

I just don't see the point of recommending fish that aren't particularly hardy. For someone to keep fish that aren't hardy they should have many years of fishkeeping experience under their belt. Otherwise fish die or get sick and people get discouraged and leave the hobby.

1- Honey gourami
6- Cherry barbs
6- bronze cory (avoid Pandas. They are very sensitive.)

 

[josh7]

That's why I put that the dwarf gourami isn't the hardiest fish out there. I'm just saying that you could try it the OP is running a risk but I'm saying if they like the looks of them why not go for it and see what happens. There is no point in getting discouraged when a fish that isn't hardy dies. I also put down ottos aren't the hardiest if they don't wanna run the risk they don't have to do my stock list I'm just saying they could do it.

 

[Fishperson]

As long as you have good water, Otos are not that sensitive and are very hardy.

 

[fishyd]

In my opinion, you should get what you want. be aware or what is sensitive and what is hardy. Do not be discouraged if some do die, its inevitable. Just see if something is wrong and correct it best to your ability

With hardy fish, they'll be able to survive swings and such in your tank. If you go more hardy, I think you should still have a more sensitive specie in your tank. You'll be able to see if there's possible problems and correct it quickly. With more hardy, (in my experience) you won't notice until it's too late and may be past correcting and saving some fish.

 

[speckles69uk]

Hey everyone,

Thank you for all your suggestions and advice. Today I purchased 4 peppered cory's. I spent just over an hour acclimating them to the temperature and ph of my tank (the ph of the LFS was quite similar to mine).

I'd like to add the school of 6 and the snail tomorrow, do you think I should wait a little longer?

I still haven't decided about the 1 or 2 'centrepiece' fish yet, but I have decided I won't be getting the dwarf gourami. Apparently they were quite a hardy species, but do get quite sickly now and I'd need to make sure I was getting them from a trusted breeder. I'm sure I read that a certain percentage carry a dwarf gourami only disease which cannot be cured, which is rather sad. I've also decided I won't opt for the oto cats either, I don't want to overstock. I do like the idea of a honey gourami, not 100% decided yet though.

I'm loving the little cory's, they're fantastic to watch, I could look at them for hours. They love the sand and the little hideouts and have such lovely little characters. I am a little worried of whether I should move the airstone (it's currently in a corner behind a large ornament), and whether to point the filter tube end a different direction (it's currently pointing towards the very centre).

Thanks again for your replies