Gouramis For New Aquarium?

Mariposa

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I'm new to aquariums but absolutely love fish and want to do it right. I bought my tank three weeks ago and stocked it with starter fish. Problem is every pet store I visit contradicts all the books I've read. Any advice on how many fish I can put in a 22 gallon tank and which fish are good for beginners?
I was thinking of starting with gouramis.
One person I spoke to told me I could put a pair of dwarf gouramis, 20 harlequin rasboras and 8 barbs in this tank ... sounds overstocked to me.
Any thoughts, I could use some advice
 
I'm not sure if your tank is cycled or not..but gouramis should not go in uncycled tanks. You said you put starter fish in the tank..what kind of fish is that? Don't trust the pet store, unless it is highly recommended. Usually, the books are what you want to follow, because pet store employees usually don't know what they're talking about. (Sorry for anyone who's an employee at a petstore :D)
 
Yes, my tank is cycled and my starter fish are whitemouth tetras.
What do you think about the one inch of fish per gallon of water rule?
 
It is a good rule to follow. Although it does not always apply. And yes you were told wrong. That is far too many fish for your tank! :blink:
I would not recommed dwarfs for a newly cycled tank either. They are very sensetive fish and really need a tank that has been stable and cycled a good 3 months or more. It is also best to add only a few at a time to give the bacteria time to adjust and only add more after an all clear after a week or two.
Hugs,
P.
 
Just reading some other posts and was wondering, do you think I should get honeys instead of dwarfs?
And how many other fish do you recomend putting in a 22 gallon tank?
 
Use the inch per gallon guideline to estimate how many fish you can keep but make sure the tank's cycled first. It sounds like you cycled with fish (generaly not reccomended) and this is rarely complete within 3 weeks (usualy takes 6 or so weeks). Test your water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Also, the inch epr gallon guideline does not consider behaviour or schooling requirements. For example, most gouramies are territorial, some are downright aggressive and most tetras school.

White mouth tetras? What's the scientific name for those (or post a pic)? They should be in a school (6) and you need to find out how big they grow. With 6 fish that are probably around 1.5-2" once fully grown, your tank is already half-stocked. Some tetras are nippy and won't work with certain gouramies.

Honey gouramies are a good choice. Quite hardy and only get to 1.5". They are good top-dwelling fish but need to be kept at a ratio of 2 or more females per male (or stick to only one sex with 10 gallons per male, 5 gallons per female). In your tank, I'd reccomend getting a trio (1 male, 2 females). By the inch per gallon quideline, that's another 4.5 gallons occupied.

That leaves you with a little room for some bottom dwellers. I'd suggest 4 cories (prefferably bronze, peppered, albino (usualy color morph of bronze) or blackfin as these are hardiest - stick to just one species as these are also schoolers and like to be in groups of their own kind). With each cory growing to 2" or so, that's another 8 gallons occupied and your tank's fully stocked.

If you like, in future, once your tank's mature, you can fit in a trio of platies (1 male, 2 females) in as well for extra color - but any more than that is realy pushing it.
 
Hi,

I must admit I put a couple male dwarfs in my 10 gal tank when it had only been cycling a month when i was just starting out. They seemed to settle down quite well even though it was "newly" cycling. I've since moved them into a 45 gal tank now and added 4 dwarf females as well and apart from them chasing each other when they tend to wander into each others territory, I've had no problems at all.

However, i think each fish/tank is different and I suppose i've just got lucky with these guys. I did lose some lemon tetras early on at a similar time i was adding the gourimis and they died within 24 hours so it shows that it depends on how hardy/sensitive some fish are to new tanks.

Hope things go well with your new tank though.

Take care
 
Thanks,
My latest problem is some reddish spots that have developped on some of the leaves and gravel ... I suspect it might be a brick coloured lava rock that came with the aquarium, I am thinking of taking it out.
 

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