Hi guys,
My wife and I have just bought our first fish tank. It is a 60 litre (15.85 UK gallon/ 19.04 US gallon) tank which measures 60cm by 30cm by 40cm. We have filled it with a good amount of gravel, three fairly large ornaments, some small plastic plants and three living plants in a corner which provide a good hiding place for any shy fish.
After leaving it empty (of fish) for a week, we had the water tested at our local pet shop (where we bought the tank from) and were told that it was fine so we bought four male Dwarf Gouramis and carefully introduced them into the tank following the instructions on the bag. I had read that these are peaceful, community fish which shouldn’t cause any trouble or bully other fish (although the more I read about them, I occasionally find information which contradicts this).
The fish seem perfectly healthy and are a joy to watch as they are so beautiful! I don’t think there’s any risk that we may have overstocked the tank as each of the fish are about 5cm long and shouldn’t grow to be much longer according to the man in the pet shop. However, I am a little bit concerned that having four Gourami in a relatively small tank may cause them to fight amongst themselves as I’ve read (since buying them) that they can be quite territorial.
They occasionally chase each other around and nip at each other (especially during their twice-daily feeds) but on the whole they are generally friendly and seem to be enjoying their new home. However, if anybody has any advice or recommendations regarding whether or not we have too many males I would be very glad to hear them!
Thanks in advance,
Dan
PS – When we originally bought these fish we hoped to eventually keep them with some Glowlight Tetra, Black/ SIlver Mollies and possibly a Siamese Fighting Fish. Any thoughts on this combination of fish in a community tank are also very welcome...
My wife and I have just bought our first fish tank. It is a 60 litre (15.85 UK gallon/ 19.04 US gallon) tank which measures 60cm by 30cm by 40cm. We have filled it with a good amount of gravel, three fairly large ornaments, some small plastic plants and three living plants in a corner which provide a good hiding place for any shy fish.
After leaving it empty (of fish) for a week, we had the water tested at our local pet shop (where we bought the tank from) and were told that it was fine so we bought four male Dwarf Gouramis and carefully introduced them into the tank following the instructions on the bag. I had read that these are peaceful, community fish which shouldn’t cause any trouble or bully other fish (although the more I read about them, I occasionally find information which contradicts this).
The fish seem perfectly healthy and are a joy to watch as they are so beautiful! I don’t think there’s any risk that we may have overstocked the tank as each of the fish are about 5cm long and shouldn’t grow to be much longer according to the man in the pet shop. However, I am a little bit concerned that having four Gourami in a relatively small tank may cause them to fight amongst themselves as I’ve read (since buying them) that they can be quite territorial.
They occasionally chase each other around and nip at each other (especially during their twice-daily feeds) but on the whole they are generally friendly and seem to be enjoying their new home. However, if anybody has any advice or recommendations regarding whether or not we have too many males I would be very glad to hear them!
Thanks in advance,
Dan
PS – When we originally bought these fish we hoped to eventually keep them with some Glowlight Tetra, Black/ SIlver Mollies and possibly a Siamese Fighting Fish. Any thoughts on this combination of fish in a community tank are also very welcome...