Can I Get Pearls In My Tank?

[RamboFish]

So I have a 90l tank (stock and pic in signature) I'm looking at a centerpiece fish and have been looking at a pair of pearls. However looking at some of the threads here I'm worried ny tanks not big enough now .
Any advice on their compatibility with my tank would be amazing

 

[KittyKat]

I would not want to put lace gouramis into anything shorter than 4 ft, but in a 4 ft tank, I would keep 1m 2f.

It is not the volume, but the dimensions that matter. Your tank is 62*39*52 cm (l*w*h), which basically means that it doesn't have anything more going for it (in terms of stocking) than a 60 litre would. The length of the tank restricts you to smaller fish, while the height and the width doesn't give you anything extra other than total number of fish or more stable water (the two are interchangeable).

As an educational side point, since I advise against lace gouramis for your tank, lace gouramis are compatible with all of your fish, although I would be worried about the phantoms nipping when kept in those numbers.

In terms of what I would do with your tank, I would increase the red phantom numbers to 10, then I would review the Cory species and make sure I had only small ones (panda Cory is the largest I would put into that tank), also make sure that I had at least 6 per species, and because I would not want any more than 10 in total, that means I would keep only one species. I would swap the bristlenose pleco for something smaller, like 1m 2f pitbull plecos. I would also change the gravel for sand so that the Corys can dig. Next, check the water parameters, and see what will go with them. Finally, I would add a pair or 1m 2f centrepiece fish, ending up with a stocking along the lines of:
* 10 neons
* 10 red phantoms
* 1m 1f SA dwarf cichlid of a pair species (not a harem species) like Apisto. borellii (soft water) or 1m 1f/group gouramis of a peaceful species like Betta channoides, B. simplex, B. strohi, Trichogaster chuna, Parasphaerichtys lineatus, Parosphromenus deissneri, Pseudosphromenus cupanus or P. dayi (neutral water)
* 6-10 Corys of one species
* 1m 2f Parotocinclus jumbo

If you are interested, I came up with a partial list of species that I consider suitable for a tank with the bottom area of 60*30 cm, which you can find at http/blog.natureaquarium.co.uk/?page_id=278

 

[RamboFish]

Don't understand all the Latin names lol. While your advice is very detailed and useful, I'm not planning on completely changing my tank not yet anyway lol only just re-did it all. I asked my experienced lfs about the corys and they said its ok. I also was planning on changing to sand but apparently its very difficult to keep clean but my corys all group together and seem happy.
What are the centre piece fish you recommend? Latin names threw me off there lol. Thanks for the help

 

[ZoddyZod]

latin names are great when using google - gets you the exact information rather than if you try using some of the common names applied to fish (with some fish having multiple common names in the trade).

 

[KittyKat]

Don't understand all the Latin names lol.

Scientific names, not Latin some are actually Latinised Greek or other languages. First reason to get up to scratch on them is what Zoddy said: some common names are used for different species and some species have very many common names. Second reason is that most of the species I named do not have common names so you either learn the scientific names or you're pretty much screwed when it comes to asking for those fish in a shop For example, the only two common names I have ever heard used for Apisto. borellii are "borellii Apisto" and "Borell's apistogramma"

Pronunciation tips: read as it is written, mid-word "i"s are usually pronounced as "ee", end-of-word "i"s are usually "aye". For example, Parotocinclus jumbo is pronounced "parr-oto-SINK-luss jum-BOW" and Apistogramma borellii is "apist-o-gram-ma bo-rel-lee-aye". If the second half ends in "-ii", that means that the fish was named after a person called the same as the second half minus the "ii".

If you're having real trouble with them, write them down on paper when you go into the shop to ask for the fish. There's nothing wrong with that, I do the same for those that I have trouble pronouncing.

A couple of interesting side points: the best LFS I have ever had (which was my last one, I am currently LFS-less) used only the scientific names, and no common names, for labelling their fish, and when I lived abroad for three years, the only way I had of communication with people at LFS was with scientific names (and by waving my hands about) as we did not speak any languages in common.

While your advice is very detailed and useful, I'm not planning on completely changing my tank not yet anyway lol only just re-did it all. I asked my experienced lfs about the corys and they said its ok.

My experience is very different from what your LFS says: if there are enough per species to form schools, the different Cory species will not even mix together. It is pretty much a solid fact that all Corys are schooling or shoaling species, so I really don't know how your LFS can say otherwise if they know anything about Corys. Fish are aware of others of their own species in a "me", "me + one", "me + two", "me + three", …, "me + few many", …, "me + many many" sort of way. In my experience, 5 fish in total is "me + four", 6 fish is "me + few many" and "me + many many" is usually 10-15 (varies between species). For some species, those barriers are at even higher number, but I do not know of any species where they are lower. Shoaling (including schooling) species (I say) must be kept in groups because it is a self-defence mechanism and the behaviour that they exhibit when not in groups is very "unusual". It's kinda like the difference between looking at a healthy person and someone with a limp, but where the limp is mental, not physical.

I also was planning on changing to sand but apparently its very difficult to keep clean

I have never had any problems keeping sand clean… are there any specific things that you have questions or worries about?

What are the centre piece fish you recommend? Latin names threw me off there lol. Thanks for the help

Sorry, you're just gonna have to learn them As Zoddy said, Google is your friend here for finding out more about them.

 

[Twinklecaz]

Lol is easy to keep clean - but gravel looks clean when it isn't. The good thing with sand is, if it looks clean then it probably is.

 

[Ruskull]

2 Pearl Gouramis ina 20 gallon isn't a good idea, not enough swimming space. I have a pair in a 36 gallon and I really wish I had a longer tank for them, then I could add more females!