how many Gouramis can I have in a 40ltr tank

[Roen]

the thing is I live in a place where there is only 1 let's store and that's let's at home and the only showing fish they sell are neon tetras do you suggest any websites to buy fish from

sorry I meant shoaling not showing

 

[Essjay]

Neon tetras need a bigger tank, I'm afraid. 60 cm long is the smallest recommended for them.
To be honest, Pets@Home are very variable in fish quality and advice. I would take no notice of anything they say in case they are one of the poorer branches.

Is there no other shop? No Maidenhead Aquatics in a garden centre nearby? (all the ones I have visited have been in garden centres). It is better to get fish in person if at all possible. Postage for delivery if you buy on-line is quite expensive, and you can see the conditions that fish are kept in if you can visit the shop yourself.

 

[Roen]

Neon tetras need a bigger tank, I'm afraid. 60 cm long is the smallest recommended for them.
To be honest, Pets@Home are very variable in fish quality and advice. I would take no notice of anything they say in case they are one of the poorer branches.

Is there no other shop? No Maidenhead Aquatics in a garden centre nearby? (all the ones I have visited have been in garden centres). It is better to get fish in person if at all possible. Postage for delivery if you buy on-line is quite expensive, and you can see the conditions that fish are kept in if you can visit the shop yourself.

I have a maidenheadaquatics 30 mins away from me actually another thing is I do prefer the bigger types of fish so do you recommend any also would it be possible to have a split betta fish tank or have a single betta tank

 

[fluttermoth]

Let's take a step back...

There are two ways of choosing a tank and it's stock, once you've worked out whether your water is hard or soft.

You can buy a tank and then choose fish which will happily live in it, for the rest of their lives, OR

You can decide which fish you want to keep, and then build the tank around their needs.

As you don't have a tank yet, my best advice for you is to go to every fish shop you can get to and write down the names of all the fish you like. Then post that list here, and we can go through which ones might be suitable

DON'T ask the shop for any advice, or buy anything apart from test kits, which you will need for cycling. Tell them you're just browsing

 

[Roen]

Let's take a step back...

There are two ways of choosing a tank and it's stock, once you've worked out whether your water is hard or soft.

You can buy a tank and then choose fish which will happily live in it, for the rest of their lives, OR

You can decide which fish you want to keep, and then build the tank around their needs.

As you don't have a tank yet, my best advice for you is to go to every fish shop you can get to and write down the names of all the fish you like. Then post that list here, and we can go through which ones might be suitable

DON'T ask the shop for any advice, or buy anything apart from test kits, which you will need for cycling.

thank you but I have a tiny room with not much space I also can't spend much money. I also have school so it means I can't get down to places like that ,that often

 

[Essjay]

A tank the size you want is perfect for a betta I would rather see just one male rather than split the tank for 2. But just a betta, or maybe something like a nerite snail. Bettas don't make good community fish.
You need smooth decor that won't catch his fins, and floating plants are useful for bettas as well.

Maidenhead Aquatics can be variable for bettas. My next-to-nearest has very few, plain looking bettas scattered throughout the tanks. But the nearest has a rank of tiny tanks just for bettas and they have some stunning ones. These are not those tiny cubes you see in so many places but are filtered via a system that trickles water down from layer to later - and the 'tanks' are bigger. My last betta was a peach coloured half moon from there; he died recently 30 months after I got him, and I now have an orange betta with pale blue iridescence from the same MA.

 

[Roen]

A tank the size you want is perfect for a betta I would rather see just one male rather than split the tank for 2. But just a betta, or maybe something like a nerite snail. Bettas don't make good community fish.
You need smooth decor that won't catch his fins, and floating plants are useful for bettas as well.

Maidenhead Aquatics can be variable for bettas. My next-to-nearest has very few, plain looking bettas scattered throughout the tanks. But the nearest has a rank of tiny tanks just for bettas and they have some stunning ones. These are not those tiny cubes you see in so many places but are filtered via a system that trickles water down from layer to later - and the 'tanks' are bigger. My last betta was a peach coloured half moon from there; he died recently 30 months after I got him, and I now have an orange betta with pale blue iridescence from the same MA.

do shrimp or any other bottom feeders go well with bettas

 

[fish boi]

do shrimp or any other bottom feeders go well with bettas

i'm not a betta expert but i can say that the males will be more aggressive and may or may not bother shrimp
also you can always by a used fish tank that's how i got my 40g for my hamster. they cost a lot less and might come with supplies

 

[fluttermoth]

do shrimp or any other bottom feeders go well with bettas

Bettas are best kept alone. Some will live with other fish, but some won't, and if that happened, you'd need to be able to move the fish to another tank. Same with shrimps. Snails are usually okay, but nerites can be very hard to feed.

If you don't have much time or money, go with the 40l tank and the betta, on it's own, as it'll be far less worry and potential expense for you.

 

[Roen]

Bettas are best kept alone. Some will live with other fish, but some won't, and if that happened, you'd need to be able to move the fish to another tank. Same with shrimps. Snails are usually okay, but nerites can be very hard to feed.

If you don't have much time or money, go with the 40l tank and the betta, on it's own, as it'll be far less worry and potential expense for you.

ok thankyou very much and does maidenhead sell aquatic plants also I've had 2 nerite snails before and they Lay there eggs EVERYWHERE and it so annoying to scrub them off the glass so would the do that even more in a tropical tank

 

[Bugdozer]

I would dispute some of the advice offered in this thread.
As long as you have a decent filter, a 40l tank will have no trouble keeping your ammonia and nitrite levels at zero with just three dwarf gouramis in it. They aren't fish that need to dash up and down a lot, like zebra danios, so they don't need huge amounts of swimming space, so unless your tank is very tall and thin, they will have enough physical space.
If your filter is not able to zero the ammonia/nitrites from just three DG's, then you need a better filter, not necessarily a bigger tank.

 

[SeanTrollope]

definitely disagree

 

[fluttermoth]

I would dispute some of the advice offered in this thread.
As long as you have a decent filter, a 40l tank will have no trouble keeping your ammonia and nitrite levels at zero with just three dwarf gouramis in it. They aren't fish that need to dash up and down a lot, like zebra danios, so they don't need huge amounts of swimming space, so unless your tank is very tall and thin, they will have enough physical space.
If your filter is not able to zero the ammonia/nitrites from just three DG's, then you need a better filter, not necessarily a bigger tank.

I would say it's not a question of physical space, but aggression. Male gouramis can be quite aggressive, and a 40l doesn't leave much room for a female to escape his attentions; they're also much, much better maintained in trios rather than pairs, IME.

 

[Bugdozer]

definitely disagree

Would you care to elaborate on why?

 

[SeanTrollope]

because they are aggressive fish and they need space to get away from one another