Suggestions-- Got A New Tank!!!!!

[BettaLisa]

Hello All!
A friend of mine no longer wanted to take care of his aquarium, so he gave his fish away & gave me his tank! It's a beautiful 28g bow-front, w/ heater, hood, light & filter! I am so excited! I already set it up, ran the filter for a few days, now I want to start adding fish. Here's my dilemma-- I have a few too many Zebra Danios in my (female) Betta tank, so I want to move them right away to the new tank, but I want to eventually get some Gouramis in there and a couple catfish too. I made a mistake putting the Betas with the Danios because I think they drive them crazy, chasing them, etc. My Betas all hide a lot now, so to reduce stress, I am taking the Danios out. Now, back to the question-- will Gouramis be stressed by those crazy Danios too? I know they are labeled "peaceful" & said to be compatible fish, but their activity level is so high that they end up driving calmer fish crazy! What should I do? Also, give me some lists of fish that you think would go well in there. I love colorful, peaceful varieties.

Thanks!

 

[captainGregor]

Hello BettaLisa and welcome to our great hobby!!! I am not sure you are aware of this, but just in case:
Since the original bio-filtration was most likely disrupted due to the move of the tank, you need to establish bio-filter. The process of establishing a bio-filter is called "cycling." There is an excellent article on cycling here - http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=21
in a nutshell you need for the tank to establish its own biofilter. The bacteria will grow on a filter media, gravel, sponge filter (if you have one), or "bio-wheel" of your HOB(hang-on-back) filter. For this process to occur you either do or do not need fish. If you use fish, they need to be pretty hardy to overcome spikes in ammonia and nitrites. In your case Zebra Danios happen to be extremely hardy and you can use them to cycle your tank. Make sure that you have test kit to measure ammonia/nitrite/Ph, etc.
If I were you, I would not buy gouramis and cats right away. Even though they could also be tough cyclers, you might want to be on a safe side and cycle the tank first before buying any other fish. As for their compatibility with Zebras, there are many types of gouramis, and the one I looked up pretty quick - dwarfs seem to be OK with them. Here is the link - http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=21&pCatId=974
hope you have fun

 

[BettaLisa]

Thanks for the advice-- believe me, I know all about cycling (I've lost my fair share of fishies due to my previous lack of knowledge in this matter). I do plan on cycling with the Danios, adding Bio-Spira, & waiting a month or so. Just wanted to know about some compatible tried-and-true fish that would be recommended.

Anyone have experience with Rainbow fish? How about Dwarf Gouramis?

 

[captainGregor]

Sorry about that There are so many people out there that do not know about it at all, sometimes it is better be safe than sorry.

 

[AJ]

I've looked up on Dwarf Gouramis as I wanted one. As far as I know they are mostly peaceful and tend to fight amongst themselves (especially if you get two males). I've also a book that says they are likely to be shy and retiring if kept with fishes that annoy them. I'd make sure it's well planted and has lots of hiding spaces if you try it!

 

[LondonGman]

I posted the below infrormation a while ago on the issue of dwarf gouramis at http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=9117&highlight= which is the full extent of my experience with them

I have 2 dwarf gouramis which I have had for awhile, but lost a couple before my present pair. I went to the shop and asked for two gouramis, and they sold me two males, a blue and red. They literally nipped each other to death. I asked the shop why they sold me two males as they are constantly attacking each other but apparently it is rare for a blue dwarf gourami to attack a red gourami …. Anyway they gave me a female gourami to add a bit of sex to the mix but it was too late for the two males and I eventually put them out of their misery.

I did not add another gourami to my tank to ensure that there was no gourami specific disease in the tank after which I added another red male dwarf gourami and he has been peacefully living in my tank with guppies, cardinals etc. He is a bit pugnacious (as described in a book) towards the female dwarf gourami but apparently, that is normal.

Therefore I figure that it is risky adding two males in the tank but they do like a chase, so add a female otherwise they may chase something else

the above is the full extent of my knowledge, take from it what you will LOL

since i wrote the above i added 2 angelfishes to the tank and he has stopped bulling the female.

 

[AJ]

Hey Gman - what DO you do with your baby guppies???

 

[LondonGman]

My mum will have most of them to restart an old fish tank which she is still putting together and a friend will have the rest. In the meantime I will try to find the best way to raise the guppy fry under different conditions. All good fun