Barbs, Corys And..?

[Snape]

Hello all.

My new 20gal setup is going nicely, its been a few months now and have gradually been adding stuff, plants and fish along the way. I will hold my hand up now at the start and say that maybe the last purchase I made was driven more by impulse than common sense.

Currently I have 6 cherry barbs, 2 Cory and 2 penguin tetras. The barbs and cory I could not be happier with - beatiful little critters. The Penguins however are just a bit on the nippy side. I had planned on adding 2 a week until I had 6 but after this pair went in and observing a bit of behaviour in the shop I think I've changed my mind as they seem obsessed with fighting / chasing each other and the barbs. I'm aware that this aggression might be alleviated or at least diffused by a school of 6 but I'm not sure I want to take the risk and end up with 6 fish I don't want rather than 2.

Just popped into my new favourite LFS and they said they would take the tetras part ex for some dwarf Gourami (1M 2F) which I thinking might be the better option. They look lovely too.

So if you were me, which way would you go - 4 more Tetra or 3 Dwarf Gourami?

Cheers

Mark

 

[ennbee]

Personally I would go with the tetras. Gone off Gouramis cos they keep dying sooner rather than later.

 

[Tessla]

I'd actually take the tetras back and get yourself a couple more corys, they prefer to be in a group of at least three, four or five would be better. If you'd like gouramis eventually, I'd go for honey gouramis or sparkling gouramis, also small species but tend to have fewer health problems than dwarves.

 

[Snape]

I'd actually take the tetras back and get yourself a couple more corys, they prefer to be in a group of at least three, four or five would be better. If you'd like gouramis eventually, I'd go for honey gouramis or sparkling gouramis, also small species but tend to have fewer health problems than dwarves.

This was the idea, kinda interactive research. Read a lot about DG's over the last day or so and its amazing the number of negative articles about them. It really shows that maybe its worth making your mind up then waiting a few days and seeing if you're still sure - I'm not at all sure about Dwarfs any more. However Honey G's look good, so do sparkling G's. Would they get on OK together? Not 100% made my mind up yet but a Male and two female honeys is about 5" and the same of sparkling is 3" which takes me just about bang on the 20" mark for the tank. Mmm. Time for a couple more days thinking, I've not ruled out more corys either but the missus really like being able to tell them apart. She lost track of individual barbs after we added the latest two and she's worried if I add more she won't be able to say hello to "Edgar and Zoidberg" individually each morning. Wimmin.

One decision made - the penguin tetras are being rehomed.

Cheers

Mark

 

[Biulu]

I'd actually take the tetras back and get yourself a couple more corys, they prefer to be in a group of at least three, four or five would be better. If you'd like gouramis eventually, I'd go for honey gouramis or sparkling gouramis, also small species but tend to have fewer health problems than dwarves.

This was the idea, kinda interactive research. Read a lot about DG's over the last day or so and its amazing the number of negative articles about them. It really shows that maybe its worth making your mind up then waiting a few days and seeing if you're still sure - I'm not at all sure about Dwarfs any more. However Honey G's look good, so do sparkling G's. Would they get on OK together? Not 100% made my mind up yet but a Male and two female honeys is about 5" and the same of sparkling is 3" which takes me just about bang on the 20" mark for the tank. Mmm. Time for a couple more days thinking, I've not ruled out more corys either but the missus really like being able to tell them apart. She lost track of individual barbs after we added the latest two and she's worried if I add more she won't be able to say hello to "Edgar and Zoidberg" individually each morning. Wimmin.

One decision made - the penguin tetras are being rehomed.

Cheers

Mark

Gouramis are great! As long as you plant your tank heavily, and you have a good filter, it shouldn't be a problem to put in the gouramis.

Good luck!