Advice on tropical tank.. should i get rid of this fish?

Question

Hey guys im looking for some advice on my tropcical tank as to what fish to get and should i get rid of two fish who tend to be bullies.Details of my tank below.Basically i have had these fish for a number of years now and i want to add new fish.the last two times i have added new fish they have been harassed and eventually killed by that three spot gourami and the krib.the most recent fish i got was a Pleco Plecostomus sucker fish. a problem . it barely lasted a day as the krib constantly nipped at it until it eventually died.

Here is the details of my tank,
3 x Neon Tetra
1 x Yellow three spot gourami
3 x Serpae tetra
1 x Krib (Pelvicachromis pulcher)

Hagen Tropiquarium 88
Aquarium: 85 cm x 37 cm x 48.5 cm
Capacity: 130 L (34.33 U.S. gal)
Flourescent lights timed 5 hours a day
Water:
Temp ~26 celsius
ph: ~6 ,soft
Filter:
Internal Fluval 4 plus on low flow

Basically i would like some advice on my tank as i would like new fish as my tank is a bit empty.. Thanks!

With Regards to plant life - I have 2 living plants, one long one which reaches the surface and one small one in the bottom of the tank, up until now i also had a large population of floating plant but i removed most of it because it was blocking the light.. with regards to hiding places i have a kind of hollowed out rock head where the krib usually hides and i have a large stone effect bridge..
If i wanted to add more fish what would be a good recomendation? or should i just remove the gourami and the krib and get more peaceful fish?

Also I just checked and i have 10-11 inches of fish so i can definetly afford to add some more but the question is what?
also thanks for the help so far

Answer 1

It seems as though your problem is with the two species most likely to be territorial. Things have been working well up to now because everybody knows their place. You introduce any "new" fish and it immediately becomes "the intruder".

The best advice I can give you for introducing a new fish to your is to take the others out (temporarily) and keep them in a bucket/spare tank with water from their aquarium. While they're out, rearrange all the plants, decorations, filter position (if possible), so the "old" territories no longer exist. Add the new fish to the tank and let him look around for a while before adding the other fish back - and add the troublemakers last! This gives the other fish a chance to get acquainted with the new set-up and find places where they can retreat if the other two decide to act like bullies. This can be done in conjucntion with a water change, so the moving water out and disturbing the gravel is less of an inconvenience.

If you decide to get another pleco, make sure he has places to hide and feed (algae wafers) just before the lights go out for the night - these have a problem with starvation if the other fish get to his food too early in the day as they are nocturnal.

I'd also add a few more of each of the tetras - these are schooling fish and do best in groups of 5-6+.

Answer 2

First, remember that gouramis are nippy, nasty fish. Anything you put in there needs to be able to handle it. Serpae tetras are also semi-aggressive, while neons are about as passive as you can get. Your gourami will eventually be big enough to eat the neons. If anything, you should add more tetras. 3 neon tetras are unlikely to be very happy - a good rule of thumb is no less than 6 tetras of any species. If you add another 3 neons and another 3 serpaes, your tank will look a lot more lively. Tetras are fast enough to stay away from the aggressive fish. A word of caution - plecos are not suitable for that small a tank. A common pleco needs a minimum of 55 gallons. If you do want a pleco, get a clown or bristlenose, as they stay small enough to be happy in your tank.

Answer 3

You have an aggressive tank. When you are putting your tank together, you have to decide which type of tank it will be aggressive, passive, or right in between which will be a hit or miss with some of the fish. Plus the grown size of the fish as to not over fill your tank. Good rule of thumb is 1gal. of water per inch of fish. Meaning that you have 34gal tank. If you were to take out and measure the total length of fish it would not exceed 34 inches. If you have living plat life in the tank that would need accounted for as well. What kind of hiding places do you have? Bubbles are good. The fish do better if they have places to hide and plant life to move in and out of. That is just some of the bare basics. Good luck.