Dwarf Flame Gourami Chasing Guppies

[Svenka]

I have a fairly new tank with 2 male guppies, a dwarf flame gourami, and a pleco. All in one 10 gallon tank. I've noticed in the past couple of days the the gourami has been chasing my smaller guppy around. This morning I noticed that the guppy has a notch out of his tail. The guppies seem to be afraid of Mr. Gourami and avoid him like the plague. Is there anything I can do to fix this problem, or will I have to get rid of one of my fish?:?

 

[dkpate]

I had my guppies in with my DG and he chased them occasionally, but never nipped at them. You can try rearranging the decorations, but you might still run into problems, since that is a pretty small tank.
What kind of pleco do you have? Common plecos can get up to 2 feet (the dark brown with black spots, usually).

 

[Svenka]

I think it's just a common one. He's not anything special. I'll try to rearrange some things. I'll probably try to get some bigger plants too. Thanks for the tips!

 

[tyspot1000]

Welcome to AA!

I personally dont think a DG belongs in a 10 gallon, as moody as they are, I wouldnt put one in anything less than a 20 gallon.

But If you insist on keeping it, I would recommend to making as many hiding spots as possible for no eye contact with eachother.

You did say that the aquarium is fairly new, is that meaning you just set it up and put fish in it? Is so, you need to learn about the nitrogen cycle, heres a link:The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

I would also recommend getting rid of the pleco, (like said above) they can get 2 feet in legnth and need at least a 100+ tank.

Hope this helped.

Tyler

 

[Svenka]

I asked the saleswoman at Petco if every one of the fish would work well together in my 10 gallon tank. She said they would be fine together.If I get rid of the pleco, how do I control the algae without using a ton of chemicals and such. Could I get another type of pleco? Also, won't the pleco that i have just stay small because of it's environment?

 

[tyspot1000]

The DG can stay in there, just make sure to make more hiding spots so that they cant get to eachother as much.

Other ways of keeping algae under control is to do manual labor (Scrubbing off with algae scrubber) or getting a fish/ invert that will be able to fit in the aquarium.

There arent any plecos that could fit in a 10 gallon, even the most of the dwarf plecos need a 20 gallon or more. Have you considered a netrite snail? They are great algae eaters and a single one is perfect for a 10 gallon, But I wouldnt add any algae eaters until some algae starts configuring.

That "fish only grow to the size of the aquarium" is a myth. If that does happen to a fish in a smaller enviroment than what its suppose to be in, It is called 'stunted growth'

Hope this helped

Tyler

 

[dkpate]

I would suggest a snail also, most of them love algae. You shouldn't have an algae problem though, if you are keeping up with water changes, the tank isn't in direct sunlight and not leaving the tank light on for too long.

 

[Svenka]

Ok, so it will be about a month before I can go back to the pet store and get more fish/decorations. If I throw out the pleco and gourami (do I just flush them?), what fish can I get to replace them that will get along with my guppies and still be beautiful and diverse?

EDIT: Last time I was at the pet store they had some shrimp, about 1 inch long and clear. I don't really know what these are good for, or what they do. I was wondering, could I get one of those to go in my tank?

 

[tyspot1000]

Dont ever flush live fish, just take them back to the fish store.

The shrimp you most likely seen was a ghost shrimp. They are good bottom cleaners, they could go in your tank.

Some other fish that could go in your setup would be platies, celestial pearl danio, endlers, sparkling gourami, honey gourami, or some small killifish.

 

[aqua7]

Please don't ever flush live fish . As the above comment states, take them back to the store.

A good algae eating fish is the Siamese Algae Eater, not to be confused with the Chinese Algae Eater (which becomes very aggressive).

Otocinclus is also a good algae eating fish (stay at about 1.5"-2"), but keep in mind that Otocinclus' are delicate fish and require a well established tank with algae and some companions of it's own kind.

 

[dkpate]

Shrimp are also very delicate, and should not be put in a fully established tank.

+10 to the no flushing!

 

[Svenka]

Ok, so no flushing! Got it! I just didn't know you could take them back. Thanks for all the advice! As you probably all know by now, I'm new at this.

 

[aqua7]

As you probably all know by now, I'm new at this.

...and everyone is here to help out .

 

[Svenka]

My guppy has more notches out of his tail today. He's swimming very slowly and is usually at the bottom of the tank now. I figure he will die within the next day or two. Is there any way to know if the gourami will attack the other guppy once this one has died?

 

[tyspot1000]

It is possible that, that could happen.

 

[Svenka]

How delicate are shrimp? My tank has only had fish in it for about 2 & 1/2 weeks. Is that too well established or should I be ok? Are they very hard to care for? I kinda need things that are easy to care for, for now any way.

 

[tyspot1000]

Shrimp are very delicate to water conditions, and What dkpate meant was that they need a fully established tank (3-4 months after cycle) before entering the aquarium. I think dkpate just had a typo

I wouldnt say they are hard to care for at all, One of the easiest inverts I've kept. They are great bottom cleaners, cleaning up leftovers and fish poop off the bottom.

My first shrimp That I got was the amano shrimp (I got them 3-4 months ago). they are really great and look cool. I havent kept any ghost shrimp or red cherry shrimp, but I soon will

You could start of with ghost shrimp, they are very cheap at Fish store/ pet stores (33 cents). The amano and red cherrys are a little bit more expensive.

 

[Svenka]

Ok, sounds good, I'll try them. And they sound like exactly what I want.

 

[tyspot1000]

Awesome

 

[dkpate]

Yes, I meant fully established LOL. Thanks Ty.