Stocking advice needed!!!

[Ellie Potts]

Hello everyone! I have a 55 gallon aquarium that currently has 2 siamese algae eaters, and 1 male dwarf gourami. As soon as they're out of quarantine I will be adding my shoal of 6 harlequin rasboras and hopefully a bamboo shrimp. I would also like to add a female dwarf gourami and a pair of apistogramma cacatuoides. I'm a little nervous about stocking so I have a few questions:

Is it a bad idea to add a female dwarf gourami? I'm aware that most if not all fry would be eaten if they did choose to breed, but I'm not too concerned about it.
Am I ok to have a pair of apistos and a pair of dwarf gouramis in the same tank? I haven't read anything that would suggest otherwise but they are both considered a showcase fish and can get aggressive when breeding.
What size should I aim for my shoal of harlequin rasboras? 55 gallons is pretty big and I want them to be comfy and confident. Perhaps 9? or 12?
With this in mind, could I add a small shoal of some other small fish? Cherry barbs, hatchet fish, rummy nose tetra, etc.
I do have backup tanks I could move fish in the case of aggression or if a breeding pair needs it.

Temp: 80 F in the day and 78 F in the night
GH: ~10 dGH
10 hour light cycle
Tank size: 48″ x 13″ x 21″
25-50% water changes weekly
Decently planted

 

[Ellie Potts]

Well this didn't get any traction

 

[ClownLurch]

I dunno why it’s a popular type of enquiry that usually gathers a tank load of suggestions in response. Amongst which is always my suggestion of Microdevario Kubotai.
Cmon everybody help Ellie out here!

 

[Essjay]

I would definitely increase the harlequins to at least 10.
If you can get them, 2 female dwarf gouramis. many shops sell only males. And watch for dwarf gourami disease.

Gouramis and cichlids are not usually recommended as tank mates. I'd leave the apistos for now.


As for other fish, there are just so many. So far the fish you have are from Asia. Would you want to stick with only Asian fish or are you happy to mix continents? (ClownLurch's Microdevario are also Asian )

 

[CassCats]

The microdevario kubotai would be a fantastic and highly recommended choice.

Id skip the cherry barbs with your current temperatures, they like it cooler. And it's a gamble with dwarf cichlids. My male gourami i could think would despise them lol

But I would increase your siamese algae eaters to 6 as they like groups

 

[GuppyBreeder180604]

well in my opinion you could add 2 female gourami to lower sexual agression or parental agression from the male, the apistos could work since they are more bottom dwellers and gourami are surface dwellers but you will need a cave (put the caves opening facing away from everything else because they might eat their babys if they get scared, for the rasboras i think you could get up to 20 or 25 if your filter is good, remember to add leaf litter to help witha more natural look, also these fish beneffit a lot from tanins and botanicals so use as much as you can (it also helps to acidify the water and lower the hardnes)

 

[GuppyBreeder180604]

i would go for a biotope and not use apistos here tho, i would make them their own species only aquarium, you can do that on a 15 gallon as the smallest

 

[Ellie Potts]

I would definitely increase the harlequins to at least 10.
If you can get them, 2 female dwarf gouramis. many shops sell only males. And watch for dwarf gourami disease.

Gouramis and cichlids are not usually recommended as tank mates. I'd leave the apistos for now.


As for other fish, there are just so many. So far the fish you have are from Asia. Would you want to stick with only Asian fish or are you happy to mix continents? (ClownLurch's Microdevario are also Asian )

I am now quarantining 5 HRs to bring my school to 11. I'll call my fish shops to see if they ever have females (I'll quarantine them for a few weeks)

A lot of people have warned me about the apistos, I think I'll breed a pair in my 20 long and keep them out of the 55.

Initially I was planning in staying in Asia, but I'm not set on it. I love watching shoals of fish interact and there aren't many small shoaling fish from Asia.

 

[Ellie Potts]

The microdevario kubotai would be a fantastic and highly recommended choice.

Id skip the cherry barbs with your current temperatures, they like it cooler. And it's a gamble with dwarf cichlids. My male gourami i could think would despise them lol

But I would increase your siamese algae eaters to 6 as they like groups

I never looked into microdevario kubota but they look super cool. Maybe I'll get a group of 12 or so, that would be neat!

 

[Ellie Potts]

well in my opinion you could add 2 female gourami to lower sexual agression or parental agression from the male, the apistos could work since they are more bottom dwellers and gourami are surface dwellers but you will need a cave (put the caves opening facing away from everything else because they might eat their babys if they get scared, for the rasboras i think you could get up to 20 or 25 if your filter is good, remember to add leaf litter to help witha more natural look, also these fish beneffit a lot from tanins and botanicals so use as much as you can (it also helps to acidify the water and lower the hardnes)

I don't have much experience with leaf litter and using it to aquascape. I don't love the look of water filled with tannins tbh. Do I just add indian almond leaves?

 

[Essjay]

If you want another Asian shoaling fish, look at daisy's rice fish

Oryzias woworae – Daisy’s Ricefish — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

They are not the longest lived fish, I am now down to my last 5 females, but they are nicely coloured with pale metallic blue males and yellow females. The females have an interesting way of breeding - the eggs stick to her vent until they are pulled off when she swims through decor.

 

[GuppyBreeder180604]

I don't have much experience with leaf litter and using it to aquascape. I don't love the look of water filled with tannins tbh. Do I just add indian almond leaves?

yes just add some leaves and scatter them around the tank, just boil them first tho, i know the look of tannins is not for everyone but it really helps gourami and their babies

 

[ClownLurch]

I never looked into microdevario kubota but they look super cool. Maybe I'll get a group of 12 or so, that would be neat!

Mrs Lurch never had fish as a kid and had never set foot in a lfs until a few months ago.
The first non humongous tank in our local MA lfs had Microdevario Kubotai shoaling and they caught the light just right. They looked amazing......she still wants some but RO water will have to wait for a while.
Get em ASAP.

 

[CassCats]

Yes!
You can see them here in my 20

Bright and active nonstop

 

[Ellie Potts]

Yes!
You can see them here in my 20

Bright and active nonstop

Beautiful tank! I'll look into them and Daisy's ricefish as @essjay suggested

Any idea how many fish I should get? This is my first time trying to stock such a big tank and it's a little overwhelming.
11 Harlequin rasboras
1 male, and 2 female dwarf gouramis
2 siamese algae eaters
11 Microdevario Kubotai or 11 Daisy's rice fish

Is that list over stocked, understocked or just about right? The tank is a standard 55 (48" x 13" x 21") with an internal canister filter that filters 290 gph.