poor pearl gourami

[Hanako]

I have one moonlight gourami, one pearl gourami, and 2 cardinal tetras in a ten gallon tank. The two gouramis used to be the same size, but the moonlight has grown to 3 inches and is constantly nipping at the pearl. As a result, Freebie the pearl is skinny and small, spends most of her (pretty sure it's a her, no red throat) time hiding. Her 'feelers' (apologies, i'm so ignorant with these fish!) are short and kinked, why is this? How can i help her out? We didn't intend to have her, but she came along for the ride in some free floating plants we got at our LFS.

I'm trying to re-home the moonlight gourami, and would like to acquire more pearl gouramis. What is the safest way to go about this? and how many can i safely keep? are the cardinals okay in there?

) sorry lots of questions...

 

[-*-MicHAeL-*-]

pearl gouramis can not be kept in 10 gallon tanks they grow to 6 inches and being in their is probably stunting their growth!! thats why she may be ill so id rehome her and im not sure about the moonlight the onlly gourami that can be kept in a 10 gallon without cruelty would be sparkling gouramis and dwarf gouramis

 

[Ddraig Goch]

The large gourami types should be kept in at least a three foot tank, (I'm guessing yours is about two foot,) they need the length to swim freely. You do need to split them up as soon as possible or the pearl may get so harassed she will die. I would suggest that, if you can’t sell or give them away, you ask you local fish shop if they will swap them for other fish. Dwarf gouramis are very pretty and honey gouramis would be even better suited to your tank as they are very small, and very cute.
I don't know how well the cardinals will get on with them; just make sure that they don't pick at the gouramis.
As for the red throat on the gourami, this change in colour happens when mating so it is not necessarily a female as it has no mate in the tank.

 

[sylvia]

Pearl gouramies get to 5". They should idealy be in at least a 20 gallon and, the females especialy, appreciate having others of their own kind around. However, you cannot add any more pearls (or any toehr fish for that matter) to your current tank.

Moonlight gouramies can get to 7". Those need at least a 30 gallon realy. They aren't aggressive fish but, when cramped in a 10 gallon with another gourami, it's no surprise you are having problems.

Cardinal tetras also happen to be a schooling fish so should be in a group of 6 at least.

Honestly, to save all your fish - they will suffer and eventualy die otherwise - return the two gouramies to your LFS or get yourself at least a 30 gallon tank immediately to move them into.

If you choose to return the gouramies and just stick to your 10 gallon, make sure you get 4 more cardinals. Then leave that tank with just the 6 tetras in because it'll be fully stocked.

The reason your pearl is in such a bad condition is both because of being stressed by the other gouramies and lack of space and, possibly, might be because of bad water quality also.

Is your tank cycled? What are your water parameters and the temperature inclusive?

If you haven't cycled it or are a beginner to tropical fishkeeping, read through all the links in my signature and then feel free to ask about anything you aren't sure of.

 

[Hanako]

Oh goodness, I knew it...I'm killing the poor little guys !!

Well I just picked up a freshwater testing kit, and here are the results:

pH: 7.8 (why so high?)
ammonia: 0 ppm
nitrite: 0 ppm
nitrate: 10 ppm
temperature: 22 degrees celsius

I don't think I'll trust the opinion of the LFS clerks again .

What is best if i can' only keep a 10 gallon tank for now?? I don't think I want to keep 6 cardinals...

will guppies work? or a lone betta? I would prefer a 'community,' probably not too likely with just a 10 gallon though.

again, sorry for my ignorance, I'm very new to fish

 

[Ddraig Goch]

You could have a 10gal community tank just be careful what fish you put in, keep to the small ones and be aware of the fish that like to be kept in shoals. I'm sure if you post your preference on the forum you will get all the advice you need, what type of fish would you like to keep?

 

[sylvia]

Oh goodness, I knew it...I'm killing the poor little guys !!

Don't be too harsh on yourself! It probably is the LFS you should be blaming for not telling you about the fish. In future, make sure you do some research before you buy any.

As for a community in a 10 gallon, this is deffinately an option and there's an endless number of fish to choose from.

If you like bettas and guppies, either would work. However, not both at once as bettas and guppies don't usualy get along.

If you want a male betta, a single one with 4-6 pygmy cories or a couple of khulie loaches or a trio of platies (1 male, 2 females) would work. In fact, there's a lot that can go with a betta. The only rules are that it must not be something that will nip (eg: cherry barbs) or is prone to being nipped (eg: hatchetfish) and it must not be related to (gouramies) or look similar to the betta (guppies). Most anything else, provided it stays small, would work. Ask beforehand though to be certain (don't rely on your LFS - ask this forum).

If you'd like mroe than one betta, you can go for females. They have to be in a group of at least 4 to disperse aggression. A couple of kuhlie loaches would work with them but there's not much space for anything else.

Guppies are probably an even better option because they don't limmit you as much as to what you can keep with them. Provided it's small and won't nip, it'll work. A good option (if you want both male and female guppies) is a trio (1 male, 2 females) with a dwarf gourami OR a trio of honey gouramies and either 4 pygmy cories OR 2 kuhlie loaches OR a trio of platies OR 5 or so spotted rasboras. There's all sorts of options. Alternatively, an all-male group of guppies (3-5) would work fine and you won't have to worry about them breeding. You can still mix them with any of the above.

There's plenty of other options - both to mix with the above fish or completely different species. My ideal 10 gallon community would be one with only tiny species:
a trio of sparkling gouramies or 6 spotted rasbora or 4 pygmy cories or a trio of endler's livebearers or a trio of mosquito fish. Any of these could be mixed so that you have a total of around 10 fish in the tank (they all get to about 1") but make sure they are still in the specified group sizes (eg 6 spotted rasboras and 4 pygmy cories).

Are there any fish you particularly have taken a liking to besides guppies/bettas or is there a theme or something you'd like to base your choices around? An idea would be to take back all your fish except the 2 cardinals (just temporarily to keep the tank cycled) and, while you're there, take note of all the small-growing species they have. A list of the common and scientific name for each and note whether you like any in particular. Then, if you post the list, we can try to come up with a combination you'd like.

Alternatively, look around the pictures forum to see if there's something you like the look of. There is bound to be a miniature version you can keep even if what you originaly saw gets too big.

 

[Hanako]

sylvia thanks so much for the info . I googled a bunch of the fish you mentioned, and love the colorful look of the loaches and platies. For some reason my LFS only has male bettas.

I would like fish that won't nip too much at my plants, I have some wisteria and java moss, and would like to add more varieties.

I'm off to some LFS's to check some fish out right now . Hopefully get an extra bag or two to take back Silvio and Freebie.

 

[Ddraig Goch]

I'm sure that your local fish shop will be able to order any fish you would like if they don't have it in stock.

 

[Hanako]

I'm sure that your local fish shop will be able to order any fish you would like if they don't have it in stock.

Thanks! didn't think about that !! I guess they must be getting some in, the female betta tank is empty....



After browsing for a couple hours at different stores, found i loved the look of these guys:

sunset platy
red wagtail platy
batman platy
endler's livebearers - very pretty, but almost all of them had really torn up fins
dwarf gourami - are these too big for a 10 gallon? some of them looked huge!
guppies
show male bettas - but they looked so very sad, i felt i should buy a bunch!
clown loaches

would this work out alright? 3 male guppies, one dwarf gourami, and 3 platys(same species)?

 

[Annastasia]

All the Platies you listed are the same species, just different color variations. These can be mixed. However, the Male Guppies could be a problem. You usually need at least 5 Males to really make it work out. With 3, you can have 2 ganging up on the weakest one, and harrassing him. Sometimes they go so far as to kill him. So you really need a bigger school for just Male Guppies. It also works best if you add them around the same time, so one can't establish the tank as his, and fight all the other's coming in. With Male Guppies, you'll see some nipped fins. Don't panic, this is normal in all male tanks. None of the Guppies are going to look like perfect little guys. I think you should be able to keep 5-6 Male Guppies, 2 Platies, and 1 Dwarf Gourami though. The Guppies aren't big waste producers...so I don't see much problem. Sylvia might have a different opinion, though.

Edit: You may also want to get Platies of the same sex (probably female) to cut down on fry. You can quickly get over-run with these guys, and they are all going to need places to go once they grow up. Even if you do get females, you'll probably have some fry because they can store sperm for up to 7 batches of fry. Just something to think about.

 

[sylvia]

Anna's plan sounds fine to me - 5 male guppies, 2 female platies and the dwarf gourami.

If you don't know how to sex livebearers (both platies and guppies): Just look at the anal fin (The one under the body at the back. It's between the tail and the two paired ventral fins.). In males, this anal fin is modified to be tube-like and is called a 'gonopodium'. In female's, it's fan-shaped. You'll see the difference when you compare them.

The dwarf gouramies were huge? This might mean they were mis-identified. The dwarf gourami is colisa lalia but there are some similar-looking fish that also belong to the colisa genus with which it is sometimes confused. If you can get the scientific name, that would help. If they are indeed dwarfs, one of those would be fine but keep in mind that they are susceptible to disease. You may be better off getting a male honey gourami (colisa chuna/sota). These are hardier, get to almost the same size and, though dull at your LFS, will develop a dark blue-black underside and bright coloration as it matures. To sex them, the males have a longer dorsal fin (top fin) and are generaly brighter colored; even at a young age.

 

[Annastasia]

Guppies are pretty easy to sex. Males have big tails, and bright colored bodies, usually. Platies are harder, but Sylvia's description was good. There's some pictures in the pinned topic that may help. Here's the link: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=13664 Male on the left, female on the right. Once you get to the store it can be a little harder, because females don't always have their anal fin extended all the way, and it can look like a male. However, if you watch them for a while, you can usually tell.

 

[Grouchy]

I had to keep a pearl gourami in a 10 gallon tank for a little while (neighbor moved away and left the fish in a plastic cup for us). It's in a 55 gallon tank right now but if you have to keep it in the 10 gallon for a while by itself or with a few small other fish it seemed like planted surroundings and a small piece of driftwood to hide behind kept it happy and healthy until I was able to acquire my 55 gallon aquarium.

Planting consisted of vals, some lillies and some long thing plants.

 

[KeddyPie]

I can't help much, but I thought I'd mention something important that seems to have been missed You mentioned you like the clown loaches... I like them too, they are so beautiful but they are a HUGE no-no for a 10 gallon, which you'd understand if you saw a full grown one.. They can get over a foot long! Just something you ought to remember ^___^

-Katy, overuser of emoticons