Johawk

I have a 30g tank right now with a Red-Tailed Shark and 5 Tiger barbs. Right now the shark is almost 3in and the barbs are only about 1in each. I know that they are going to get bigger, but even when they reach their adult size the tank won't be crowded. I would like 1 or 2 more fish to put in with them. Anyone have any suggestions? I was thinking Dwarf Gouramis because they are so colorfull, but someone said that was a bad idea. HELP

I also have a 10g tank that the shark started out in and is now in need of a few residents. Any suggestions for that?

MissMTS

A pair of blue or gold gouramis might be nice. See if you can get a M&F cause 2 males will fight. I also have 3 swordtails in with my tiger barbs. I wouldn't get anything too small with the redtail shark in the tank.

jack11

if you went with gourami you could have some trouble with the tiger barbs nipping at their fins. you could however get a treo of dwarves in the 10G.

Johawk

If I get a gourami that will be bigger than the barbs adult size, would they still nip? I've heard that gouramis can take care of themselves pretty well.

angelfish220

depends I know a guy that has a tiger barb school in a tank with 2 threespotted gouramis. I think that if you have a proper school of tigers they will stay to themselves and not bug the other fish.

MissMTS

I have 2 blue gouramis and a gold gourami in a tank with 6 tiger barbs. The barbs pretty much keep to themselves and chase eachother around the tank. Its a pretty active tank, so its fun to watch.

Blub

MissMTS

In the 10 gallon, don't put a male betta with a platy. The platy will probably get killed or at least get bullied a lot and be under lots of stress. Platys should be in a school because they are social fish. White Cloud Mountain Minnows are great for a 10 gallon. Also, pygmy corys would be a nice addition.

Cody

i would leave the 30 gallon as is. between the red tail shark and the barbs you have a pretty nice semi-agressive set up

gouramis are very colorful and would do fine in a 10 gallon, but a male and female would be a good idea
alot of fish like to be in groups but some dont need to be, livebears like guppies platys mollies and swordtails wouldnt mind being in a group but could be on there own and still be pretty happy. the advantage to having groups are that they will hang out at times. i have kept guppies platys and swords and they stick together, at times but theres alot of times that there in a whole different world then the others.

good luck, cody

Blub

Bettas don't tend to go for platys in my experience. They don't always get along with guppys though. Since when where platys social fish?

Nice ideas, Cody. I agree - Dwarf or Honey gouramis would do great.

COBettaCouple

Bettas and Platys aren't a good combination. The Platys like to swim all zones and stress the Betta, often resulting in lost Platy fins.

≈ D ≈

A Betta and a couple of Oto's would be nice in a 10g. Or you could swap the Oto's for a couple of Corydoras. Add some nice live plants and you'll have a pretty sweet tank.

Just my

Johawk

Just throwing this out there... Right now the 10g is just sitting empty with the heater and filter still running. I'm not in a hurry at all to put fish in it. How about a male Dwarf Gourami with a male guppy and 2 female guppys? I know that the guppies would breed, but between the Gourami, Tiger Barbs and Shark I think I know what I could do with the fry. The questions being: Would the Gourami and Guppies get along ok in a 10g tank? Would it be better just to put a male and female Dwarf Gourami in there?

Blub

COBettaCouple

Guppies like to nip at those feelers on the Gourami.

Blub

Johawk

The Gouramis would be in the 10 gallon, not the 30 with the barbs and shark. ****, I didn't think that the guppies would be a problem with the Gourami. Back to the think tank for me.

angelfish220

I think with every gourami Ive ever had it was housed with a guppy at some point and I have never had a problem with them.

Johawk

Well, I got a couple more Tiger Barbs to go in the 30g last night. That brings it to 7 Tigers and a Red Tailed Shark. They all seem to be getting along well. Most of the time. At feeding time the Shark gets a little aggressive. But it only lasts a few minutes. Thankfully she doesn't single out any 1 barb in particular.

Still not sure what I want to do with the 10g. So for now it is just sitting there with the filter and heater running so I don't have to go through the cycle again when I decide what to put in it.

≈ D ≈

A different thought on the 10g since you really like the idea of having Gouramis

• 1xMale Dwarf Gourami
• 1xFemale Dwarf Gourami
• 3xJulii Corydoras

All five fish grow to about 2 inches. Dwarf Gouramis should at least be kept in pairs which is why I suggested a male and a female. I have a pair of Honey Dwarf Gouramis (info & picture of a male) going into my 55g soon and they are quite the character.

Just another

Blub

≈ D ≈

Really?! In all my years of keeping Dwarf Gouramis as a pair I have never had a problem with them fighting, even in tanks of 10g.

lilsoccakid

in my old 20 gallon i had a male and a female. Often, the male is ready to breed before the female, and can really hurt her. i wouldnt suggest it, because most of the time it just depends on the temperment of that individual fish.

angelfish220

You could keep a pair of honey gouramis but a pair of dwarf gouramis tend to be very aggressive. I think honey gouramis are funner anyway because they go all over the tank and arent nearly as aggressive and they dont take up as much room.

Blub

Johawk

Well, the 30g that I thought I bought is really a 29g. Oh well. So that one is done with the tiger barbs and red tail shark.

I have decided to put 1 male D. gourami, 1 male Guppy and 2 female guppies in the 10g. That'll happen in a couple weeks when I get my state tax return back. The guppy fry will be a nice protien rich snack for the rest of the fish. Any survivors will be given to my LFS.