Tank Mates

[mhancock]

I have a 55l tank that is a little empty as I had to remove the dwarf gourami due to the dreaded disease....

The tank now has two tiny corys, two honey gourami, a tiny female guppy, two rams, one betta and three swordtails.

What else could I add to it (that I can buy in the UK) that would look good and be compatible? I like strong colours and ideally something that you can see from across the room as the sofa is not next to the tank! The tank is very well planted and aerated.

Thanks,


M

 

[AshleyT]

Might start to get overstocked when some fish start to grow if you carry on addin fish to a small tank

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I have a 55l tank that is a little empty as I had to remove the dwarf gourami due to the dreaded disease....

The tank now has two tiny corys, two honey gourami, a tiny female guppy, two rams, one betta and three swordtails.

What else could I add to it (that I can buy in the UK) that would look good and be compatible? I like strong colours and ideally something that you can see from across the room as the sofa is not next to the tank! The tank is very well planted and aerated.

Thanks,


M

Sorry, another "tardis" small tank that is poorly stocked...

Which Ram species? You could perhaps move a breeding pair temporarily to a 55l by themsleves, but you would want them in a 100l+ in a community.

Swordtails reach ~12cm, are rather boisterous/nippy, really need a 4-foot tank.

Betta with a Guppy could end in tears for the livebearer.

Two is a bad gourami number, 1 or 3+, with no more than one male.

Corydoras need more than a group of two, minimum 6, ideally 10+. A 55l would only really suit hastatus, habrosus, pygmeus or panda... And that would use up most of the responsible stocking room.



... A lot of fish need rehoming, to leave you with either the Betta or one Honey Gourami with a group of 6 of the same catfish species.

 

[mhancock]

I have a 55l tank that is a little empty as I had to remove the dwarf gourami due to the dreaded disease....

The tank now has two tiny corys, two honey gourami, a tiny female guppy, two rams, one betta and three swordtails.

What else could I add to it (that I can buy in the UK) that would look good and be compatible? I like strong colours and ideally something that you can see from across the room as the sofa is not next to the tank! The tank is very well planted and aerated.

Thanks,


M

Sorry, another "tardis" small tank that is poorly stocked...

Which Ram species? You could perhaps move a breeding pair temporarily to a 55l by themsleves, but you would want them in a 100l+ in a community.

Swordtails reach ~12cm, are rather boisterous/nippy, really need a 4-foot tank.

Betta with a Guppy could end in tears for the livebearer.

Two is a bad gourami number, 1 or 3+, with no more than one male.

Corydoras need more than a group of two, minimum 6, ideally 10+. A 55l would only really suit hastatus, habrosus, pygmeus or panda... And that would use up most of the responsible stocking room.



... A lot of fish need rehoming, to leave you with either the Betta or one Honey Gourami with a group of 6 of the same catfish species.

Thanks for your thoughts. Currently only 0.67 inches of fish per half gallon there is plenty of capacity.

Not sure which species of ram, pics here:






The swordtails are currently 2" long, obviously if they do get as long as suggested then they would need moving into my larger tank.



LFS was very confident about a pair of gourami. It's worrying how often advice varies.....

In terms of combination of stock, the gourami tend to chase the other fish sometimes but no compatibility problems otherwise.

 

[Tonyb111111]

I have a 55l tank that is a little empty as I had to remove the dwarf gourami due to the dreaded disease....

The tank now has two tiny corys, two honey gourami, a tiny female guppy, two rams, one betta and three swordtails.

What else could I add to it (that I can buy in the UK) that would look good and be compatible? I like strong colours and ideally something that you can see from across the room as the sofa is not next to the tank! The tank is very well planted and aerated.

Thanks,


M

Sorry, another "tardis" small tank that is poorly stocked...

Which Ram species? You could perhaps move a breeding pair temporarily to a 55l by themsleves, but you would want them in a 100l+ in a community.

Swordtails reach ~12cm, are rather boisterous/nippy, really need a 4-foot tank.

Betta with a Guppy could end in tears for the livebearer.

Two is a bad gourami number, 1 or 3+, with no more than one male.

Corydoras need more than a group of two, minimum 6, ideally 10+. A 55l would only really suit hastatus, habrosus, pygmeus or panda... And that would use up most of the responsible stocking room.



... A lot of fish need rehoming, to leave you with either the Betta or one Honey Gourami with a group of 6 of the same catfish species.

Thanks for your thoughts. Currently only 0.67 inches of fish per half gallon there is plenty of capacity.

Not sure which species of ram, pics here:

View attachment 66809

View attachment 66810


The swordtails are currently 2" long, obviously if they do get as long as suggested then they would need moving into my larger tank.
View attachment 66811


LFS was very confident about a pair of gourami. It's worrying how often advice varies.....

In terms of combination of stock, the gourami tend to chase the other fish sometimes but no compatibility problems otherwise.

If think the rams are Bolivian Rams, and to be honest they don't look too happy as their colours are pretty faded. Look them up on here and compare the colours and you will see what i mean

 

[ian]

they are german blue rams and need higher temps than the rest of those fish. I also agree with NOTG.

 

[Tonyb111111]

they are german blue rams and need higher temps than the rest of those fish. I also agree with NOTG.

I thought that at first, and edited out. Seems to be a lot vertical black lines for a GBR?

 

[ian]

the black stripes are caused by stress.

 

[mhancock]

Thank you,

The rams are now in my bigger tank, which is 28 degrees (warmer than the smaller tank). Will keep an eye on them to check that the back goes as they were definitely darker in the small tank than when I purchased them.

It seems that with each fish there's something new to learn, and then you realise how little you knew about the fish you already had when something else crops up!

 

[Tonyb111111]

the black stripes are caused by stress.

The penny drops, I have 1 male and 4 females and one of these is always getting harassed, she has black too, now I know it's probably due to the harassment. I have a mating pair so may rehome the rest

 

[mhancock]

PS - just realised that the stress could have been me with a camera on the side of the tank! Many of the german blue rams on google image search also have black.....

the black stripes are caused by stress.

The penny drops, I have 1 male and 4 females and one of these is always getting harassed, she has black too, now I know it's probably due to the harassment. I have a mating pair so may revoke the rest

Where do you live? I could maybe swap for platties if you want some red in your tank!?

 

[OldMan47]

I know this is not what you want to hear but I think your tank is already fully stocked.