My Aquatic Experience :)

[Fishywishy333]

Hi everyone, it has been a journey, I'll tell you about it. So some of you may know that my Dwarf Gourami (his name is Nigel) is a bit of a murderer. About 5 months ago, I got him for my 60 litre being told that he would get along with any other community fish. So I already had 12 neon tetras and 4 guppies and in less than a week some of my tetras had developed neon tetra disease and others white spot. The gourami and guppies had also developed it. Then all the tetras died and two guppies had also died. After that there was just two guppies and the gourami. I saw one guppy bullying the other, so the bullied guppy died. Then I saw the gourami biting chunks out of the guppy the night before it died. So then it was just the gourami.

So he had been on his own now for at least 3 months when I did a makeover of his tank. This is what it looked like the day before: http/i.imgur.com/UNr1rWi.jpg This is what it looks like now: http/i.imgur.com/wYQE0Ir.jpg Then I added fish. This is where it went wrong again. I wish I hadn't done it now. I got 10 rummynose tetras and 5 Amano shrimp. It was really the shrimp that was the problem. I went to my Dad's house for an hour or two and a shrimp had already been eaten when I came back. then later we saw him try to bite a shrimp a couple of times. We did something risky then, we put him in the bath for the night. He was acting weird at first and everyone was thinking he would die. I cried long and hard then, it was so sad for me.

I got up in the morning and was so happy to see that he was alive! I had such a grin on my face. We went to Pets at home after that to get him a tank and everything. I got a 30 litre (I would have got a bigger one if I had the money, but this might just be temporary anyway) and some more shrimp for my 60 litre. Then we set it all up upstairs and got Nigel in. He seemed okay afterwards and was swimming around quite happily . We would just keep checking on him every so often.

And that's it guys! I hope you found this post fairly interesting.

Thanks

 

[Ny82]

I am in 2 minds with this post I don't know if it's a wind up because surely common sense would kick in at some point?
The 60L was very overstocked, that probably brought on the ich. Guppies and gouramis are usually a no no. 
Why did you put him in the bath? That really was a silly thing to do. Also why is he in a 30L? Why not stop buying more fish for the 60L and look after the one you have properly. 60L is too small but it's a lot better than 30L.

 

[stanleo]

I have done a quick search for dwarf gourami care and the general consensus is that 10gl or roughly 38L is the minimum size for them. My experience compared to your experience tells a different story.
 
I have mine in a 29gl/110L tank that is heavily planted and he gets on great with fish and shrimps. I accidently got a cherry shrimp that was easily small enough for him to eat into the tank and its still in there after 3 months. He gives half hearted chases now and then at the fish but never anything serious and he leaves my whisker shrimp alone.

Your tank may be too small for him to comfortable with tank mates. I can't see the after pic of your rescape so I don't know what that looks like but your before pic shows very little cover which will make him nervous and be constantly on the defensive.
 
If I were you, I would put the gourami back in the 60L, put the shrimp and rummynoses in the 30L and if you haven't and are able to put a lot of plant cover in there and preferably something that floats on the surface as well to block some of the light. Then if he seems calm when you approach the tank, you could try putting 5 of the rummynoses back in to see how he behaves with them.
 
I realize you didn't ask for advice on this tank so I hope you don't mind me putting my two cents (and big nose)in.

 

[Ruskull]

I've successfully kept Dwarf Gouramis with Guppies myself, just saying.  As I'm sure you know they have very different personalities sometimes, same with Guppies to be fair.  Those tanks are overstocked though, and that will almost always lead to Ich and other nasties.
 
You should be looking at smaller fish, ones that require a smaller living space.  Dwarf G's are fine in small tanks like 15-20 gallons as long as the other fish are compatible.  I'm actually keeping a DG with a huge Bolivian Ram male & a male Lyretail Molly and they all co exist with Glowlight & Neon Tetras in a 20 gallon high. 

Oh, and you can copy & paste that link in your browser to see the after picture Stanleo.  To be 100% honest the improvement is awesome!  The plants and natural look of the tank will likely help the Dwarf G feel more at home and give all the fish some cover.  I can't wait to see what the new scape looks like when those plants grow in a bit more.
 
I also agree with Stanleo, I'd put the Dwarf G back in the larger tank, which is roughly 15-16 US gallons right?  I hate metrics.............

 

[stanleo]

 

Oh, and you can copy & paste that link in your browser to see the after picture Stanleo.  To be 100% honest the improvement is awesome!  The plants and natural look of the tank will likely help the Dwarf G feel more at home and give all the fish some cover.  I can't wait to see what the new scape looks like when those plants grow in a bit more.
 
I also agree with Stanleo, I'd put the Dwarf G back in the larger tank, which is roughly 15-16 US gallons right?  I hate metrics.............

I agree that is a very nice rescape! I love what you have done with it, fishywishy! Maybe add some floating plant like moss balls or something but well done!!!!
I didn't know I could do that with the link. LOL I am such an idiot when it comes to computers!

 

[Ruskull]

It's all good, everyone should always be learning new things.................

 

[Fishywishy333]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will put the gourami back in the 60 litre and put the rummynoses and shrimp in the 30 litre. Also thanks on the compliments on the rescape, and I agree, you learn by making mistakes sometimes . Should I add the rest of the rummynoses in if he behaves okay with the 5 after a while? Or just leave the 5 rummynoses in the 30 litre with shrimp?
 
Ny82, it was my first time keeping fish and I didn't know much. As for putting him in the bath, I agree it was a little silly but I wanted to save the other fish and I put some hiding places in the bath. He was okay once he got used to it. And I also thought he would maybe get along with the shrimp and fish since they were not ill in any way. Well, I'll take your post as constructive critisism anyway.
 
Thanks - Fishywishy - 

 

[Fishywishy333]

In fact, when I have enough money I'll buy an 120 litre, put the rummies in once it has cycled, and then put the gourami in the 60 litre again.