I just started a 60 gal tank and currently have 3 black skirt tetras and 4 blood fin tetras in it. I had several more fish in it when I started, to include a dwarf red and a dwarf blue gourami, 4 angels, and a cory cat. Some sort of fungus got into the tank and decimated the fish so the only survivors are the Tetras. I just finished a 5 day regimen of erythromicin that has cleared up the disease. Enough with the sob story!!! I want gouramis in this tank! That being said, I keep reading conflicting information. How many of which can I keep in there?
Gourami advice
- Thread starter BurgosRL
- Start date
Hello and welcome to MFK!
We need to establish what went wrong first. If not, it WILL happen again.
What type and how much filtration do you have? What are your water parameters? What is your water change schedule/frequency?
With the tank size and the few fish you have, gouramis won't be a problem. But, let's get your tank ready for them first
Reply back and I or others will be willing to help.
Good luck!
We need to establish what went wrong first. If not, it WILL happen again.
What type and how much filtration do you have? What are your water parameters? What is your water change schedule/frequency?
With the tank size and the few fish you have, gouramis won't be a problem. But, let's get your tank ready for them first
Reply back and I or others will be willing to help.
Good luck!
I have a Tetra three stage filter and my ph is 7. I also used a bacteria treatment to get things going. About three days after putting the first fish in, my water got cloudy so I did a 10% water change and by the next day it was crystal clear. Before I started the e-mycin treatment, I did a 25% water change. That was 4 days ago. As of two days ago, none of the fish are showing signs of infection. I have one more day to go on the treatment. Bu the way, I am new to this hobby and have been wanting to do this for years!
From personal experience gouramis typically don't do well with other gourami tank mates, when i first started i had my opaline kill a blue gourami, and later on in a bigger tank i tried adding a gold gourami, who immediatly starting going after the opaline, so he ended up back at the store. They seem to be very territorial with fish of their species but pretty calm and just plain curious about everything else, great fish, but i'd go with just one to be safe
How about the dwarfs? When I had the red and blue together (both males), they didn't fight. They did do some sort of cool dance around each other as if they were trying to read each other...
A few things. How long has the tank been running currently? And what is the one gourami that you relly like and want to base your stock around? You can usually do more than one type of gourami if you add them at the same time. Pearl gouramis are also easy to mix if they are the first gourami in the tank.
BurgosRL;4747274; said:
That is what they are doing. Sizing each other up! In a tank like yours dwarfs are a good choice. Theres enough room to defuse disputes.
BurgosRL;4747145; said:
I love your enthusiasm
I am not sure how long you let your tank cycle before adding fish, but I am guessing by your reply that it didn't have time to complete.
There are thousands of posts here on MFK and even more discussions on the Nitrogen Cycle of an aquarium. I will give you the condensed version:
Fish produce waste. Waste produces ammonia. Established bacteria in the tank (mostly in your filters, substrate, etc) will oxidize the harmful ammonia. The bi-product is nitrites, also a toxin. Other established bacteria will convert the nitrites into nitrates. The only (convenient, affordable) way to remove nitrates is to do partial water changes. Your cycle is now complete and will start over.
Again, that is the very basic, condensed version. I beg you to search, read and research more on the Nitrogen Cycle. Understanding it will make you a better and more successful fish keeper
So now, I assume you actually didn't have a fungus. It sounds like the fish introduced into the tank were too much for the bio...or lack of bio actually. Since the bacteria wasn't established yet, ammonia levels built up and your fish died. "Clear" water isn't necessarily healthy water. You need to get a test kit and actually test, primarily, for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. These kits can be expensive...but most fish stores will test your water for you for free.
But, you have to still be careful. If your tank hasn't gone through a complete cycle, you could get good readings simply because you haven't had fish in there generating ammonia. Another case is, even if you have cycled, you don't want to dump a boat load of fish in all at once...your bio won't be built up enough to handle the insurge of waste.
Now, back to your tank. Very few here use chemicals to jump start their tank. For the most part, we've all made similar mistakes, but by our 3rd or 4th tank, we've learned patience
Its best to let your tank cycle naturally.To start with, I suggest you do a 50% water change right away. Make sure you use a de-chlorinator on replacement water ("Prime" is HIGHLY recommended!)...or let the water sit for 24 hours with a bubbler running in your storage tank.
Most keepers here don't use carbon in their filters but opt for the most bio possible. In your case though, I would run some carbon in your filter for two weeks or so to get rid of any leftover medication. After two weeks, remove ONLY the carbon cartridge and replace it with another bio cartridge or mechanical cartridge if bio isn't available. Somewhere along the lines, your ammonia will begin to climb, then drop off. At this point, your nitrites will go up...and drop off. Then watch your nitrates. Once they get to around 20ppm, do a 50% water change and check it again. At this point, you can start adding fish if everything checks out
Sorry for the lengthy reply, but trust me, I didn't even scratch the surface! Once you get the tank cycling, take time to read and research. You'll see what I mean lol
Post back with questions. The people here are extremely knowledgable and helpful. You can get pretty much any question answered here.
Good luck! See you around the forum...
NCStateFisher;4747225; said:
I had almost the exact same experience. 90 gallon 1 dwarf and various other fish, cool. I added a second dwarf and things started getting weird. Lots of chasing then lots if hiding by the subdominant fish and before I could relocate one, I started losing fish. Two to four fish a day till everything but a few cherry barbs were left.
On a side note, farm raised dwarf gouramis sold in lfs's are very unhealthy for the most part. Very high fatality rate, and the bacterial infection they carry can devastate an aquarium quickly. Unfortunately, I'd avoid the dwarf altogether.
Jc1119;4747308; said:
Depends greatly on the lfs and the supplier. For example: The supplier A-pet has a much higher mortality rate than Kentuckiana! Find and honest LFS (local fish store) that will tell you if they have a bad die off. The LFS I go to treats trouble fish like the DG's lightly as well as checking with the supplier to see what kind of condition they are in first before even bringing them into the store. Just do some snooping around and don't just buy the first ones you see and you'll be just fine. Only my opinion though.