My new community tank

[fionah]

Hello,

I have been cycling my tank and hope to get a couple of fish this weekend. I have a 65 litre (approx 17 gallons) tank (w50 x h49 x d34 cm) with an underground filter and air pump. There are a few plants and ornaments suitable for hiding.

My favourite tropical fish that I've seen so far are the gouramis (possibly pearl, neon blue dwarf or other brightly coloured ones). However, I have read that they are quite difficult to look after and grow quite large. Would they be suitable for my tank? And what is the maximum number I can buy for this size of tank?

I would prefer males as I do not have the experience or tank space for fry.

Along with the gouramis, it was recommended to me to buy some corys, rainbow fish and neon tetras. I'd also love a betta but was told this isn't suitable to mix with gouramis.

I am generally looking for anything brightly coloured. Any recommendations gratefully appreciated.

Here are some options I have come up with so far:

6 neon tetras
4 cory catfish
the remainder a mixture of dwarf gouramis, rainbow fish or cherry barbs (not sure how many is best, but my favourite out of these is definitely the gouramis)

Thanks!

[MissMTS]

I love gouramis as well. The rainbowfish grow 5-6 inches and are a schooling fish that need lots of room so they are to big for your tank. I would suggest dwarf gouramis with your tank because you are not working with much room. You could mix in some male guppies. That would be a really pretty and colorful display.

[MissMTS]

I just realized that you already have 6 neons and 4 cory cats in the tank. That leaves you with enough room for one dwarf gourami if even that. The corys get to be 3 inches. So you already have 18 inches of fish in your tank.

[fionah]

Originally Posted by newbeefishlover

I love gouramis as well. The rainbowfish grow 5-6 inches and are a schooling fish that need lots of room so they are to big for your tank. I would suggest dwarf gouramis with your tank because you are not working with much room. You could mix in some male guppies. That would be a really pretty and colorful display.

Hi, how many gouramis would you recommend to be the maximum?

I like guppies but I thought they required bracken water. Also, I'm concerned that I will end up with too many fish since they are live bearers.

[fionah]

Originally Posted by newbeefishlover

I just realized that you already have 6 neons and 4 cory cats in the tank. That leaves you with enough room for one dwarf gourami if even that. The corys get to be 3 inches. So you already have 18 inches of fish in your tank.

I don't have any fish in my tank yet. The corys and neons were just what I was thinking of getting. However, if having neons limit the number of gouramis I can have, I'd rather not get the neons.

Also, I didn't think corys could grow so large! Are there smaller catfish I can get?