Fish Choices for new Tank - help?

[ErnieB]

I am starting a 37 gallon tank and you can see a picture of it below ( for aquascaping and such ). My ph is about 7.6. With the size of my tank, the plants and stuff i have and with this ph.... Can i have these fish below, and can these fish be kept together?

Male Betta ( Really hoping to be able to get a male that can co exist with any of these other fish - if its a definite no, then what about females? )

neon/cardinal/silvertip tetras ( I like all of these types would like to get a good amount for a small school)

pygmy corydoras ( would get a few to school together )

dwarf gourami ( 2-4 i think would be a cool amount )

kuhli loach ( get a few to school as well )

indian dwarf puffer ( really like this little guy and supposedly doesnt need brackish water )


Heres a pic of the tank

 

[BigJim]

First, read up on tank cycling. Other than that, the tank looks good.

I think you'd be fine with those fish except for the gouramis and the puffer. The puffer would nip the betta and the gouramis can be aggressive as well.

Bettas are really only aggressive towards other bettas or fish that look like bettas. (Fish with long, flowing fins)

My wife keeps a male betta with three neons in a 5g and I have a male betta in my community 29g. At worst they might chase some fish, but they're slow, so it's kinda funny to watch.

I'd get 5-6 each of the corys, khulis, and tetras.

 

[ErnieB]

Thanks for the reply. I figured the puffer was out... What are your thoughts on the kuhli and cory both being bottom dwellers ( didnt think of that originally ) Also what about the kuhli's fast movement, would it stress the other fish out?

If i dont do the male betta, you think the dwarf gouramis would work with the tetras and bottom dwellers? They were recommended to me as being "peaceful".

 

[sarahsunshine]

I've got 6 neons, 5 khulis, 1 pleco, and 6 harlequins, and 1 dwarf gourami in my 20g.

It's great!

I would recommend against 2 Dwarf Gouramis - I'm told they tend to kill each other off... As for the khulis, they don't seem to bother anyone.

I was going to get come corys, but decided to get the pleco instead. They work as bottom dwellers, but the pleco eats algae, and the pandas and khulis eat most everything. I chose the pleco to keep any algae that may grow under control. Another option would be otos that are algae eaters as well.

 

[dkpate]

I have my DG with my H. Rasboras, and the only time he bothers them is to chase them away from "his" food. The kuhlis (mine are the brown ones) are hardly ever on the bottom in my tank, cause they are too busy doing laps around the thermometer and bubble wand lol. But they don't bother the other fish at all, and even run into the other ones occassionally, but they don't seem to care.
Good luck!

 

[ErnieB]

Thanks for the replies. Right now i am trying my best to find a source for the regular striped kuhli's as i really want a school of them.

Other than that i was hoping to figure out a larger fish that was "cool" and could work in the tank to help fill in some of the empty space. That was partly my reasoning for the DG as they are colorful and bigger than tetra lol ( i suppose i could get a school of smaller fish as opposed to a couple larger fish and the school will fill in some tank real estate )

 

[BigJim]

Where are you located? The striped khulis seem to be difficult to find. I'm lucky to have a LFS that stocks them.

 

[ErnieB]

north east ohio, about 1 hr from cleveland and 1 hr from pittsburgh

 

[BigJim]

Hmm, probably not worth visiting Chicago to buy fish. Sorry. Maybe others here have found online sources.

 

[dkpate]

You could try AquaBid.com - Sell or buy aquarium related equipment and fish in an auction format!

 

[dkpate]

Oh, and I would advise against more than one DG in that size of aquarium. One will beat up the other one.

 

[ErnieB]

been checking aquabid all week. Dont have any ( yet anyways )

 

[joy13]

If you have a mom and pop type store in your area you can always ask if they have the kuhli loach on their list.

 

[ErnieB]

Theres a fish distributor near me. He said they are hard to keep alive but does get them from time to time. Im trying see if i can get them from him.

 

[meegosh]

I don't think the striped ones are hard to keep by any means. I have three in my 10g with playsand and they love it. I've had them for quite a few months now with no problems. They really seem to become more active after eating some shrimp pellets or frozen bloodworms.

 

[sarahsunshine]

I got a DG to “fill up the real estate” on my tank, and because he’s pretty colourful. He’s actually a bit of a disappointment because he’s always hiding. It’s kind of like playing where’s Waldo – you’d think he was easy to find because he’s bright orange and blue, but … no. Then again, I’ve had him for a week now and I’m told he should get a little more relaxed… maybe there's something big and colourful that's still peaceful - but more active?

 

[ErnieB]

yeah, i got 5 silvertip tetras and they would hide everytime they saw me coming. Its been about a week and a half and now they come out a little more. Just takes time for them to be confortable i guess

 

[kinto sol]

I wldd say dat its fine kuz i have a male betta wit some neon tetras an he doest do any thing to dem.as long as da fish are smaller and faster den a betta den it wld be fine.not sure about da oda fish

 

[fishboy444]

could I suggest a dwarf cichlid??

 

[Stephen]

Second the motion on the dwarf cichlids. I'm looking at getting some checkerboard cichlids as well. Checkerboards, blue rams or apistos would look nice in that tank.