anah_go_karts

i have a dwaft gourami and a rosy barb since the tank cycled algea started to grow so i got a cory cat and a Plecostomus pleco they were fine for weeks yesterday the dwaft gourami and the rosy barb stated biting the Plecostomus pleco this morning the pleco was dead was he sick or are they going to bite all my fish there are other fish with them now and has been with no prob 55 gal with 1 rosy barb 1 cory cat 1 dwarft gourami 2 starburst glo fish none over 21/2 to 3 inches

Gunnie

The gouramis and barbs can both be quite aggressive. How big is your tank? Barbs need to be in groups of preferably 6 or more, and the gouramis don't usually do well with other gouramis in the tank, except for the pearl gouramis. If your tank is small, it might be partly a territory issue, and your tank might not be big enough to add any more barbs.

anah_go_karts

55 gal with 1 rosy barb 1 cory cat 1 dwarft gourami 2 starburst glo fish none over 21/2 to 3 inches

jsalemi

You have more than enough room to bring the barbs up to a school of 6 -- that'll certainly help with their aggression.

anah_go_karts

if i remove the barb would i be ok pet store will take him back

Tazmiche

i agree, you need to have at least 6 rosy barbs so that they school. I have seen them fully grown and they were 2 and a half inches each so keep this in mind when stocking your tank. I really love barbs but keep a thought at the back of your mind that they can be bullies if their group is too small

jsalemi

Well, maybe -- the gourami may still be agressive. You'd want to add another one of the opposite sex so they bother each other instead of the rest of the fish.

Oh, and corys are shoaling fish -- they like to be kept in groups of 3 or more. And when you have a shoal, they turn into the tank clowns.

anah_go_karts

i was told gourami's would fight if i had two by some guy at petco

COBettaCouple

Usually, the advice that you get at Petco is wrong. A male & female pair of gourami should be fine. You probably have a male now, they have more color than the females.

You have room to have 3 or even 6 cory cats in there and i think 6 would suit your tank well and as Joe said, they're funny & playful when you have a group of them. 1 by itself is lonely.

You could return the Barb, or get 5 buddies for him. Once they have a group of 6, you should get better behavior out of them and they are beautiful fish to watch.

Do you have a testing kit? What do you treat your water with?

lili70

Well, I have 3 gourami girls (dwarf) in a 20g and they couldn't care less about the other fish. They chase eachother but nothing else.
From my pov your tank is big. Make a school, don't return anything and you should be fine. If you want it, you can return the gourami if it's is a male.
Things will get better when you'll find a balance.
L

darkwolf29a

55 gallons is plenty of room for a few of each fish you have now. I'd just buy a few more fish and call it even.

anah_go_karts

would like to get a couple angels givin the barb away getting more corys and female dwaft and another pleco