Best way to keep my new 90gal aquarium cycled?

[esoxlucius]

If your heart is set on gourami, then get gourami. Then rehome them when you get your flowerhorn. As to how many gourami to get? The BB will adjust their numbers accordingly depending on the bio load, you can't just say for example, how many gourami = a baby flowerhorn. Get a group of gourami, your BB will adjust to the bio load of said gourami and then when you net your gourami out and put in your flowerhorn the BB will adjust to the bio load of the flowerhorn.

The only thing to watch out for is if your gourami only have a very small bio load. Because then, if you put your flowerhorn in and it has a bio load greater than the gourami the BB would need to catch up which is where spikes in parameters can occur. I'd over egg it on the gourami, then when you put your flowerhorn in the BB numbers will be more than enough to deal with a baby flowerhorns and will simply decrease in numbers rather than need to increase drastically, which is when spikes can occur.

 

[ZRoTheHero]

Thank you you for your reply! Flowerhorns are supposed to be quite messy so you are probably right about over egging it. I always suspected that the BB will adjust itself. I am happy to have that confirmed.

 

[Galantspeedz]

Might as well leave the gourami in for the flowerhorn

 

[duanes]

I agree with Jexnell on a shoal of tetras, mollies or swordtails would be fine. (and there are plenty of tetras that do well in high pH water) Buenos Aires tetras, Astyanax, any from Central America.
I keep Roeboides tetras in my Andinoacara tank (pH 8-8.4) that were caught here in Panama in 8+ pH water.
If you choose live bearers within a few months they should have dropped plenty of fry for the cichlid to eat once it arrives, and also serve to make it feel secure by acting as dither fish.

The gourami would also work, but if it were me, I'd get at least 3.

 

[tlindsey]

Hello!
My apologies if this has been asked before but I have not been successful in finding my situation.
This is my first post but I have been impressed with the knowledge that this community boasts.
I am newly back into the hobby after a 10 year hiatus and have purchased a 90gal aquarium for our home. I am currently performing a fishless cycle and the tank will ultimately house a lone flowerhorn. I will be ordering the flowerhorn online after the tank has finished cycling and when a specimen I am interested in becomes available from my chosen seller. My concern is that I am unsure how to keep the aquarium cycled while I wait for flowerhorn to become available? I am leaning towards temporarily housing some other fish (probably gourami due to similar parameter requirements) and then returning them to the fish store or giving them to my local fishkeeper community. Any ideas as to how many fish will be needed to sustain the beneficial bacteria in a fully cycled 90gal aquarium?
Thank you for any help!

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