30g tank with opaline gourami&angelfish-which fish to add next? b/c gourami is aggressive?

Question

Hi-the gourami was the first fish and when we added the angelfish (about same size) -gourami nipped angel's tail,followed him everywhere at first and then stopped. Now they are fine together and best buds.

We tried adding 3 harlequin rasboras (small ones) and gourami immediately started chasing them all. He made short work of 1 and he is now dead.

Thinking now that we need to add bigger fish so he won't bully them and different fish.

We were thinking some barbs might show gourami whose boss but all sources say they aren't good with angels.

My son likes danios,bleeding heart tetras,black-finned tetras,penguin tetras. However, my older son has kept danios before and they can be chasers/aggressive/fin nippers with other fish.

Any idea aquarium experts out here?
TIA

Answer 1

Gouramis and Angelfish should really not be kept together long term. As they mature and begin to compete for tank space, you will again see the aggression growing. Danios can be a bit hyper and nippy, and could even be eaten by the Angel. I would stick with the Rasboras for a while and get them a real school of about 7 Harlequins. Also, you may want 4-5 Cories for the bottom (they will not be bothered by the Gourami as they occupy different levels of the tank). Email me if you have any questions.

Soop Nazi

Answer 2

It sounds to me that you (your son?) would rather have a community tank, and would actually be better off removing the gourami from the equation altogether to open up the options of what you can do with the tank. Territorial fish are neat in their own way, but they do set limitations.