dwarf gouramis or other options for office community tank?

[BeckyCats]

Hello! I am partly responsible for a tank at work. It is 30 gallons and has sand substrate, a lot of live plants, a small piece of driftwood, a large artificial decoration that looks like driftwood, and lots of places to hide. The current residents are 4 skirt tetras, 2 peppered cories, and 1 neon tetra (the sole survivor from an original 10 about 2 years ago).

Because the fish are fed with an automatic feeder (it is in an office, so this feeds them on weekends and holidays, vacations, etc.), they do not associate people with food, so are consequently very shy. The fish swim around the tank normally until a person approaches the tank or enters the lobby, and then all the fish dash to the back of the tank. "Are there any fish in here?" is a question we get often.

Our thought was to add some new fish to the tank and to hand feed a few days a week. The new fish will be used to being fed by people, so will rush up to eat and hopefully the others will do the same. We want something that will stand out in the tank. The black skirt tetras blend too much and are difficult to see. With this being an office tank, visual appeal is important. So, this (finally) leads me to my questions:

1. Just want to make sure we don't overstock. Should we wait for the skirt tetras die before getting new fish? They are about 3 or 4 years old now, I think.
2. We are considering a dwarf gourami or two. They are beautiful and a pair of them would be about the right size I think (please correct me if I'm wrong) and not create too much bioload for the tank. I read that they are very shy though. Does anyone have experience with this? Also, I read their health can be fragile. Reading the internet makes one think that they are almost all doomed to die from the gourami disease.
3. If the dwarf gouramis are not a good fit, any other suggestions would be welcome and appreciated. Other thoughts I had were male-only platys, or male-only guppies. They are beautiful and not shy (but we don't want them breeding, so no females!).

Additional info you will need about the water:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20ppm - 40ppm (I can never seem to get it below 20ppm)
pH: varies between 6.6 and 7.0 depending on how close to water change
GH: 150ppm

Thanks in advance for any comments/suggestions.

 

[CryptFan]

Before getting anymore fish add at least 5 more neons, and at least 4 more corries if the same type( they will be more active the more you get) I would not bother getting more skirt tetras if they are already that old. Then I would suggest either another type of gourami, or Apistogrammas, as dwarfs are shy, mean, and susceptible to disease.

 

[seangee]

I agree. All the species you mention are social fish and should be in a group of at least 6. In the wild they are in groups of hundreds or even thousands. When they don't have plenty of their own kind they feel insecure and hiding is a typical response. I would actually make the groups even bigger - say 10-15 neons and 6-8 corys. Apistos may be a good choice, but the display would (IMO) be better if you just got more neons and cories.

As for feeding they will be just fine if only fed on week days. Its also worth mentioning that the tetras and corys are forest fish and don't like bright light. If you look at the pic in my signature you will notice that all of the tetras are hanging out in that half of the tank that has floating plants. Adding floating plants like frogbit or water sprite will help dilute the light and make them feel more secure. I know this sounds back to front but the more hiding places your fish have (e.g. plants) the more you will see them.

 

[Retired Viking]

I would get more neon tetra, at least 5 if not 10 more

 

[Byron]

The Skirt Tetrass (Blasck or White) are a problem here. You cannot have sedate fish (like gourami, cichlids) in with this species as they tend to fin nip such fish, and being in such a small group this is likely to be heightened generally.

Dwarf Gourami are still a health risk unless you can get them directly from the breeder and you know he/she is reliable.

 

[Waterstrider]

All these are true but I’ve got some radical ideas for you here.
1 Seriously give away the neon to someone or a good store with neons,
2 forget gourami they’re especially bad with skirt tetras and do terrible in pairs.
3 sounds like people like the skirts but they’re hard to see and don’t offer the colors you want, so build a bigger school with skirt glofish, may a neon green and a galaxy purple skirt. They’re the same species so should be fine hanging with your already established skirt tetra school and will be as bright as a gourami, just a thought, unless you hate glofish lol

 

[Munroco]

I hate glofish. Honey gouramis might be a better bet, there are some really nice colour varieties about these days.

 

[Colin_T]

Fish can become nervous if the water quality isn't up to scratch. Try doing a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week. Then do a 75% water change and gravel clean once a week. After the first week of daily water changes, get some new fish.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Get 20 neons and a couple more catfish.

Don't add gouramis.

Hand feed during the week when you are there and don't feed on weekends on public holidays. If your on holidays for a week don't bother feeding either.

 

[Fishmanic]

I have 8 neon tetra in with 4 black skirt tetra and a neon blue dwarf gourami. The skirt tetra occasionally chase each other but don't bother the gourami at all. The dg is very active in the tank and pretty much keeps to himself. He is in my 35 gallon tall hex tank and mainly stays out in front in the open or occasionally hang out under the floating water wisteria. He often swims up and down repeatedly and plays in the bubbles from the airstone. The neons stay more toward the bottom of the tank. I had two dg at different times and they did not live more than 6 months. I hope this one lives longer as he is a real beauty.

I wouldnt add to the neon tetra but instead I would add at least 3 more cories and perhaps a school of rummy nose tetra.. maybe 7 or 8. I would not add any more neon tetra. You could try just one dg but definitely not two as they can fight if in pairs.

 

[Waterstrider]

I hate glofish. Honey gouramis might be a better bet, there are some really nice colour varieties about these days.

I wasn’t suggesting it for you and gourami are still problematic with black skirts

 

[BeckyCats]

Thanks all, for the suggestions. I should make a few things clear. Weekly water changes are not going to happen. Please understand that I did not start this tank, and the person who did, is not great about doing water changes (I think she has done less than 1 per year since setting up the tank), so I have taken it upon myself to do as many as I can, which is about one a month. I am recovering from cancer and do not have much energy. The tank is too far from a sink to use a python hose (and the faucets aren't the types that can be used with one anyway). Draining the water requires filling a 5-gallon bucket multiple times and lugging the water to the toilet. This is very heavy for me and requires a great deal of energy on my part. Then, refilling the tank requires many trips back and forth with a 2.5-gallon jug from the office kitchen back into the lobby (no small trek). If you didn't read carefully at first, you may be asking why this was set up in the first place when it was such a hassle to maintain. The answer is that I didn't set this up. I would never have set up a tank at work. But someone else did (I don't control other people). Now that it is here, I hate to see fish living in filthy water (which is what was happening), so I do as much as I can to help. But again, I have health limitations and there is no one else willing to help. I have asked. So please do not tell me to do weekly water changes. As I said in my first post, that isn't going to happen.

Allowing the current inhabitants to die off of old age and then decommissioning the tank is something that I have suggested more than once, but that isn't going to happen either. Again, it is not my tank and not my decision. I can only do what I can do. So, within these limitations, I am looking for suggestions on hardy fish that are okay with a once a month water change. As long as we keep lots of live plants and keep stocking low, we should be okay.

As far as specific suggestions that have been made so far:
We have sand, not gravel.

The tank lighting is pretty low. They are LEDs and relatively dim. We need to use low-light plants for the most part.

We had water sprite for a few years, but it is now dying out. I've been looking for more but haven't seen any in the stores. We also have several large clumps of java fern and some kind of sword I think (large, doesn't want to be buried, lots of places for fish to swim in) and one or two other plants. The tank is reasonably heavily planted. As I said, there are lots of places to hide. So many, in fact, that we never see the fish.

The lone neon is the sole survivor from an initial group of about 10. I'm not sure if the owner of the tank wants more or not. I will mention it, however, it seems to me that neons die very quickly and are so susceptible to disease that I almost hate to continue supporting the mass-production of them. I am inclined to allow this one to pass away (which frankly, should be soon since it is on the older side) and not get more. I will mention as a possibility to the tank owner just having a neon species tank, but even when we had lots of them (and yes, with plenty of plant cover, floating and other), they tended to sit still near the bottom of the tank. Perhaps with hand feeding, they would come to the top when approached and look livelier.

I considered taking the neon home with me because I have a 55 gallon tank with a few senior citizen small tetras and cories. My concern however is that the stress of being netted, transported (1 hour commute), and then plopped into an alien environment, would be more stressful than it was worth. Besides, it would still be the only neon. Ditto with the pepper cories. Capture and transport is likely to be more trauma than it's worth, especially as my cories are a different type anyway.

The cories are the last 2 survivors that were transplanted from another tank a few years ago. They are also getting old. There were originally 9 of them. The others died from age as far as I can tell (around 6 years old or so). Again, not sure if the owner of the tank wants more of them because they are never seen (dark fish on a dark substrate). They add to the bioload but not to the aesthetics of the tank (which, as an office lobby tank, is important).

I don't think the glofish colors will look quite right with the look of the lobby but white skirt tetras might work. One of the current ones is white (the other 3 are black). The white one stands out better. But, that said, I think the tank owner is looking for more color, so I don't know whether she'll want more of the skirts.

Point taken about the skirt tetras being fin-nippers. I didn't know that about them, so that is important info to learn. We will either need to wait until they pass or get compatible species. Again, I would consider moving them to my home-tank of senior citizens, but as they are already 3-4 years old and that is their life expectancy, I feel it would be cruel to move them now.

Apistogrammas are a good suggestion and certainly one to research further and possibly consider if we wait for the others to pass first. Doesn't sound like they will work with the skirt tetras, but again, maybe after they're gone.

What about male-only guppy or platy groups? Are male-only groups of either okay (one or the other, not both)? Will they be miserable without females? If so, we can't have them, because we can NOT have a breeding situation going on. Ain't nobody got time (or energy) for that!!!

Seangee: What is that floating plant in your tank in your signature? I love that.

 

[BeckyCats]

Here's a crazy thought. What about a single betta? Once all of the current inhabitants are gone, of course (I know they are aggressive and don't like company). Not sure how the tank owner would like one single fish in a 30 gallon tank, but bettas have so much personality and they are certainly not shy. It could be the office mascot. There are larger varieties of them too, I believe, so maybe one of the larger ones could be a good option?

If so, this gets me into sourcing. Is there an ethical place from which to buy them? I am not interested in local breeders, who, let's be honest, are probably mostly just people who bought a pair at petco and are inbreeding them - the backyard breeders of the fish world. If anyone knows of a reputable, humane source for bettas, please let me know.

Also, thoughts on whether this is a good idea or not.
Thanks!

 

[CryptFan]

Thanks all, for the suggestions. I should make a few things clear. Weekly water changes are not going to happen. Please understand that I did not start this tank, and the person who did, is not great about doing water changes (I think she has done less than 1 per year since setting up the tank), so I have taken it upon myself to do as many as I can, which is about one a month. I am recovering from cancer and do not have much energy. The tank is too far from a sink to use a python hose (and the faucets aren't the types that can be used with one anyway). Draining the water requires filling a 5-gallon bucket multiple times and lugging the water to the toilet. This is very heavy for me and requires a great deal of energy on my part. Then, refilling the tank requires many trips back and forth with a 2.5-gallon jug from the office kitchen back into the lobby (no small trek). If you didn't read carefully at first, you may be asking why this was set up in the first place when it was such a hassle to maintain. The answer is that I didn't set this up. I would never have set up a tank at work. But someone else did (I don't control other people). Now that it is here, I hate to see fish living in filthy water (which is what was happening), so I do as much as I can to help. But again, I have health limitations and there is no one else willing to help. I have asked. So please do not tell me to do weekly water changes. As I said in my first post, that isn't going to happen.

Allowing the current inhabitants to die off of old age and then decommissioning the tank is something that I have suggested more than once, but that isn't going to happen either. Again, it is not my tank and not my decision. I can only do what I can do. So, within these limitations, I am looking for suggestions on hardy fish that are okay with a once a month water change. As long as we keep lots of live plants and keep stocking low, we should be okay.

As far as specific suggestions that have been made so far:
We have sand, not gravel.

The tank lighting is pretty low. They are LEDs and relatively dim. We need to use low-light plants for the most part.

We had water sprite for a few years, but it is now dying out. I've been looking for more but haven't seen any in the stores. We also have several large clumps of java fern and some kind of sword I think (large, doesn't want to be buried, lots of places for fish to swim in) and one or two other plants. The tank is reasonably heavily planted. As I said, there are lots of places to hide. So many, in fact, that we never see the fish.

The lone neon is the sole survivor from an initial group of about 10. I'm not sure if the owner of the tank wants more or not. I will mention it, however, it seems to me that neons die very quickly and are so susceptible to disease that I almost hate to continue supporting the mass-production of them. I am inclined to allow this one to pass away (which frankly, should be soon since it is on the older side) and not get more. I will mention as a possibility to the tank owner just having a neon species tank, but even when we had lots of them (and yes, with plenty of plant cover, floating and other), they tended to sit still near the bottom of the tank. Perhaps with hand feeding, they would come to the top when approached and look livelier.

I considered taking the neon home with me because I have a 55 gallon tank with a few senior citizen small tetras and cories. My concern however is that the stress of being netted, transported (1 hour commute), and then plopped into an alien environment, would be more stressful than it was worth. Besides, it would still be the only neon. Ditto with the pepper cories. Capture and transport is likely to be more trauma than it's worth, especially as my cories are a different type anyway.

The cories are the last 2 survivors that were transplanted from another tank a few years ago. They are also getting old. There were originally 9 of them. The others died from age as far as I can tell (around 6 years old or so). Again, not sure if the owner of the tank wants more of them because they are never seen (dark fish on a dark substrate). They add to the bioload but not to the aesthetics of the tank (which, as an office lobby tank, is important).

I don't think the glofish colors will look quite right with the look of the lobby but white skirt tetras might work. One of the current ones is white (the other 3 are black). The white one stands out better. But, that said, I think the tank owner is looking for more color, so I don't know whether she'll want more of the skirts.

Point taken about the skirt tetras being fin-nippers. I didn't know that about them, so that is important info to learn. We will either need to wait until they pass or get compatible species. Again, I would consider moving them to my home-tank of senior citizens, but as they are already 3-4 years old and that is their life expectancy, I feel it would be cruel to move them now.

Apistogrammas are a good suggestion and certainly one to research further and possibly consider if we wait for the others to pass first. Doesn't sound like they will work with the skirt tetras, but again, maybe after they're gone.

What about male-only guppy or platy groups? Are male-only groups of either okay (one or the other, not both)? Will they be miserable without females? If so, we can't have them, because we can NOT have a breeding situation going on. Ain't nobody got time (or energy) for that!!!

Seangee: What is that floating plant in your tank in your signature? I love that.

i was just about to suggest male guppies because they are very hardy and colorful.
if you add more corries they will be so active you won’t know hat hit you. In small groups corries do not feel safe and hide, but in bigger groups of 6+ they will always be by the glass upfront.
so I suggest leaving the current inhabitants and getting:
10-12 male guppies or platies
6-8 albino corries(if the other ones are that old I wouldn’t bother getting more of the same variety, and the albinos pop on dark substrate) here is my tank with black sand and albinos

 

[Byron]

No fish is going to be in good health with too few partial water changes. It would be best to give the fish to whomever, but as that is not realistic here it is better to leave the fish as they are, do your best, but please do not add more fish. I understand the reason you cannot care for them as one should, but do your best and don't make things worse.

 

[CryptFan]

I believe that if an aquariums water parameters are fine and the fish are happy and thriving then why do water changes? now I’m not saying just don’t do water changes but if you test your water and the tests come back saying that your parameters are fine then why change the water. i know not everyone is going to like me for this, but I have not done a water change on my 36 gallon in 2 months simply because all the fish are healthy and thriving, I have not lost a single fish due to bad water parameters. I do top off water every week which normally is like 2 gallons. So as long as you test the water on a strict schedule and the water parameters are okay then I don’t think you have to change water on a weekly basis.