Oblivion

^topic

I'm kinda thinking about getting some gouramis...a dwarf flame, blue neon, and/or dwarf because I think they are just beautiful. I'm also thinking about some tetras but I don't want to get the common neon tetra, but maybe I will. A pleco and some bamboo shrimp are also on my agenda...any other fishies I can get that will get along with those? And are these good choices? Thanks!

Into Oblivion

atmmachine816

hmm sounds good so far. For the dwarf gouramis you want one male to two females ratio. The dwarfs have a better tempermant so I would stick with the dwarf gouramis. You could add a nice size school of neon tetras 8-10 if you'd like, or cardinal tetras. Cardinal tetras are slightly larger, similar in color, and hardier than neons. You could also add any small pleco, there are quite a bit but a common small pleco is a bristle nose pleco, they are good cleaners and fun to watch, but not the most pretty fish. You do not want a common pleco since they can get over a foot large. You can go to planetcatfish.com to look at a bunch of plecos. Bamboo shrimp also would be fine, 3-4. They are filter feeders so provide a hiding place by intake of a filter or a bubblewand so they can use the current to filter out food in the water. So maybe a stock like this:
1xmale dwarf gourami
2xfemale dwarf gourami
8xneon/cardinal tetras
1xsmall pleco (not common)
3xbamboo shrimp

jack11

I agree with all of the advice that atmmachine has given you. The bristlenose is a great options cause they are readily available and are very hardy and only get to 5". however you could get 4 or 5 cories instead. I think with your dwarf gourami get a flame male and then two regular females because these will contrast really well. for the tetras maybe blue/red tetras - they are a little bigger and are hardier than the neons.

Jack

atmmachine816

Ya cories are good too, just research the type like pleco some get 4" each and others barely 2", you wouldn't want the large ones.

Oblivion

Sounds good, so no more than 3 gouramis? And a school of tetras, any kind would be fine? I think the black ones look cool, but the neon would stay in theme with the gouramis. and what is this about the bubble wand thing?

jack11

no you can get as many gourami as u want but its best to stick to two females per males to avoid fighting. yes tetras would be fine but make sure you get a reasonably large school to avoid fin nipping.

Jack

COBettaCouple

welcome to Fishlore & good luck with the gourami - they're beautiful fish!

Oblivion

thanks guys! u r a great help; thanks cobetta

Oblivion

what is a bubblewand and what does it do? and can u just use decor for them to hide in?

jsalemi

A bubblewand is one of the many types of airstones that are available for tanks. You need an airpump of the appropriate size for you tank, some airline tubing, and a control valve of some type to regulate the airflow.

COBettaCouple

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113405 - we buy these bubble wands and love them. since they're flexible, it really gives you more freedom in arranging the tank.

Oblivion

oh thanks! im sure those pump so serious aeration

COBettaCouple

yea, they're a lot of fun for the fish!

jsalemi

I got an 18" one for my 56g -- it looks nice having a curtin of thin bubbles waifting up through the tank.

COBettaCouple

yea, i think we'll eventually replace the airstones in any tank big enough for one of the flexible bubble wands. the fish seem to love them and like you said it looks nice.

Oblivion

another quick question; which cycling is better? with fish food or with fish? cuz the fish way sounds alot harder so is using fish food for the ammonia good?

Oblivion

ive also read that pouring bio-spira the same time u add fish will work, cuz i want fast cycling

jack11

yes it could but it would also greatly increase the chance of the fish dying because the bio-spira causes really high levels of ammonia and thus makes your tank cycle faster.

Jack

Oblivion

hm...interesting; it didnt mention that ammonia part

jack11

sorry my mistake - ammonium. i'm studying for exams and chemistry has overheated my brain and turned it to mush rofl.

Jack

COBettaCouple

ammonium is pretty much harmless to fish.

Oblivion

so bio-spira is pretty much safe? right now i just added some fish food in my tank so it decays...

COBettaCouple

yea, BioSpira is safe.

Oblivion

poop, i couldve done that instead of fish food...oh well, fish food cycle it is

Oblivion

could i just change the waters about 75%, add new water with declorinator then use bio-spira and fish? cuz i got some fish food floating around waiting to be decayed

COBettaCouple

if you want to go with BioSpira, you could: 1) fill a container with treated tap water and move your substrata to it. 2) empty the tank. 3) put the substrata back in the tank, cleaning it off in the container. 4) refill the tank. 5) add the biospira.

really, you could even just clean the substrata with water and then treat the whole tank with de-chlorinator after it's filled with water.

Oblivion

k, i think imma do it

COBettaCouple

cool.. best of luck with it.. be sure the BioSpira isn't expired (some stores sell it expired) and follow the directions on the pouch.

Oblivion

thanks very much dude! y'all are of great help