Gourami's and Tank Questions

[Ldy-Icedragon]

Hey everyone,

I am new to tropical fish and I just started my tank 2 weeks ago. I have 3 male dwarf Gouramis and 1 Ruby Shark in a 5 gallon tank. (Don't worry I plan on upgrading the size very soon). After only two days I was a huge fan of my little Gourami's, they starting eating their flakes right off of my finger and now the Ruby Shark does it too Anyways when I bought the Gourami's I wasn't told that the males would fight. Mine fight a lot but it doesn't seem very serious, no one seems over stressed. They usually just flip their bodies at each other a few times and then swim away. Well I've read online that males shouldn't be kept like that, but sometimes can be. Will my guys be ok? Would they be better off in a 10 gallon or a 20 gallon tank?

~Danielle

 

[sylvia]

You are going to need a 30 gallon minnimum and prefferably as soon as within a couple of weeks.

Though the 3 male dwarfs would manage in a 20, the shark will not. Rubies become increasingly aggressive and territorial as they mature. They do not tolerate similar-looking fish and should be kept in nothing under 30 gallons.

Also, your tank has only been set up for two weeks. Has it been cycled fishless? The gouramies, at least, are a terrible choice for maturing a tank. They get stressed easily (especialy when cramped) and are prone to all sorts of infections. In a 5 gallon, the stress would eventualy kill all the fish (if the deteriorating water quality if you ahven't already cycled doesn't kill them first).

Have you tested your water's parameters? What are they. I'd like current test results for ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte. Also, if you are not going to manage to upgrade within the next couple of weeks, I strongly urge you to take back 2 of the gouramies and the shark. The remaining gourami would be ok in a 5 gallon CYCLED tank. If, on the other hand, this tank has not been cycled already, returning all your fish and doing a fishless cycle is much kinder.

If you have questions regarding cycling and setting up a tank etc, the links in my signature should help. If you have any questions after reading through that, feel free to ask.

Welcome to the forum as well.

 

[Ethos]

Ouch! I know how that can be......if I were you, I'd go and quickly return the ruby shark of w/e before you get attached to it! Love makes you do crazy things! If you want to spend hundreds of dollars keeping this fish, keep it. But if I were you, I wouldn't want that little fish to dig a hole in my pocket!

What colors are the dwarfs?