ok set up for a gourami? and neons?

Question

i have a 20 gal standard with 5 corycats and 1 snail but i really want 1 dwarf gourami and 5-7 neons?

Answer 1

Not bad Zoo, but you don't really even have to go that far, just consider your tank depth and length for fish of this nature. I'd say Zoo is right on about the Gourami, Max might be four inches, three is a good safe esitmate, and having only 1 shouldn't be a problem. Neons should be schooled and go for 7 instead of five. There isn't really any issues in populations right now. I have a baby Arowana, five baby clown loaches, 2 three spot Gourami, 1 Oapline Gourmi, 1 female Pearl Gourami, 3 zebra danios, and a Male Betta in my 20, (I moved out my work tank, took up too much space) and noone is dying or having any fights. Of course, this isn't going to be a long term set up, my baby Arowana is still too small to go with the group in my 180 and he will be moved. The clown loaches of course will move when bigger, they are only 1.5 inches now. The Gourami and Betta really don't fight but if aggression sets in, the Gourami go play with the Arowana in the 180 lol. So sometimes you can have overcrowding, but as long as you have proper filtration (Aquaclear 50 for mine), and realize the compatibility, you can do it. In this set up, your fish are not going to really fight, though just keep an eye on that Dwarf with the neons. And you are not going to run out of space. None of these fish are massive waste producers either, so best of luck with them, sounds great!!

You can get better help and service at fishless cycling.com or just use the link on my profile.

JV

Answer 2

It seems fine. The gourami will only grow to be around 3 inches, and the neons are around 1 inch each, leaving about 4 more inches of fish. Do not listen to the 1 inch of fish per 1 gallon rule. An approximate method of guessing how many inches of fish you can have in your tank is multiply the length times the width (of your tank), then divide by 12. With a standard 20 gallon tank, that comes out to 24 inches of fish in your tank. The cory cats are probably around 2 inches, so that takes up 10 inches. The gourami will be 3 inches, so it's 13. Assuming that you get 6 neons, it comes out to 19 inches out of 24 inches.

~ZTM

Answer 3

That would be perfect. In a 20, you could even add another 5 Neons. Be sure to add the Neons first (all at once), then, a week later, add the Gourami.

Nosoop4u

For more fish and stocking info, check out the link in my profile.

Answer 4

Setup sounds pretty good, but there is a chance the Gourami will harass the Neons to death. They are not very resiliant fish and are easily stressed to death by larger more agressive fish

Answer 5

Be careful with the dwarf gouramis, they are very sensitive to even the slightest change in their habitats. They are also prone to forming sores on their mouths which eventually keep them from eating. If you see this happening, do a water change and medicate. I lost 2 dwarfs to this.

Answer 6

Your tank should be fine and you def. want a small school of neons, but I've heard somewhere that gouramis are best in pairs....maybe i'm wrong, I just thought that's what I heard.

Answer 7

Ditto to ZTM That should work just fine

MM