Gouramis In 20 Gal Community?

I have a 20gal with 5 harlequin rasboras in, and will soon have 5 zebra danios as well. it’s sort of an “extras” tank so I could give companions to my remaining danios and rasbora without messing up my plans for other tanks.

I’d like a pretty display fish in there as well though. Could I put some small gouramis in? If so, what species and how many?

 

i think up your schools to 6 each then from what i've read that most suggest for stocking gouramis is add a couple honey gourami. Then you may even be able to do a 6 pack of corys depending on your filtration and WC regimine (50% weekly minimum). Is it a 20 long?

 

will definitely add another rasbora this week to make 6, and i'll get the eventual danio school up to six as well. AND a school of cories, you say?! i'm pretty conservative with stocking so i'm surprised you think that's doable. (not remotely upset, just surprised.) maybe i could try a little shoal of pygmies, but I'd have to switch from my gravel to sand.

I typically do 25-30% water changes 2x a week on my larger tanks, and this one will be no exception. I also plan to use low light and fast growing plants for a lot of nutrient export, so I suppose I'm not awfully concerned about water parameters, especially once the water sprite fills in.

Unfortunately, it's a 20 regular. a long would have been so much better, but i was pigeon holed into what i could find on craigslist that day. i'm glad you brought that up though. I may just have to see if I can find one cheaply (less than $1 per gallon lol) before I move any further ahead. really would be better dimensions.

definitely gonna read up on honey gouramis - thank you. This is a weird little side project of a tank so I'm looking forward to having a little bit of fun with it with a new fish!

 

I would do this
8 harlequins
2 or 3 honey gouramis OR 1 dwarf gourami
8 panda cories

 

Sounds like a fun tank! unfortunately this one exists specifically for the rasboras and danios. we had one lonely rasbora and three danios in tanks they couldn't stay in, so they're the priority.

I might do 6-7 each of the rasboras and danios, and one dwarf gourami, if it's not too aggressive. And then stock with amino shrimp to clean up missed food instead of the cories.

 

So I’ve swapped the tank over from a 20 tall to a 20 long. Super weird dimensions! I’m unused to longer tanks.

I’ve been thinking, and the stock I know I’ll have in here are as follows:
6-8 harlequin rasboras
3 zebra danios
3 Amano shrimp

(I’ve had the danios for years, and they’re the last of a bigger school. I’m not interested in getting more. I just want these three to live out the rest of their days in a nicely set up tank.)

I’ve heard that male dwarf gouramis aren’t great for a community tank. Is this true? And would you recommend one male and one female honey gourami, or one make and two females?

 

I'd go with two honey gouramis over one dwarf gourami. Temperament is a consideration but for me the bigger reason is that the dwarf gourami species is ravaged by iridovirus, an incurable disease that often results in death. Honeys are a different species that aren't plagued by DGIV.

I find sunset honey gouramis especially pretty with their red coloration. You could do a mixed pair or two females.

 

I’ve heard of DGIV and completely forgot about its existence. That makes the decision easier! I think I’ll be going with a mixed pair of the sunsets. Thank you!

 

Sat down and looked at the tank and... another question!

Contextual update: I've swapped from a 20 regular to a 20 long. Put a few islands of fluorite in the tank to plant, and will cap/fill in the gaps with play sand. Currently have a smallish piece of driftwood in there with some watersprite that will hopefully overtake the tank. Plan to add java fern and large floating plants as well.

Question: If I stock the following, can I have kuhli loaches? If so, how many?

Mixed pair honey gouramis
3 Zebra danios
6-8 Harlequin rasboras
handful of amano shrimp

 

Nice move switching to the 20g long. I like that size tank.

AQAdvisor (an excellent resource when calculating stocking combinations) puts 2 honeys, 3 zebra danios, 8 harlequins, 6 amanos, and 6 kuhlis at 88% stocked with a suggested 38% weekly water change. It's a heavier bioload than I'd suggest for a beginner but it's not your first tank. You could even increase the # of rasboras or loaches. Just make sure you have good filtration and keep up with water changes.

 

I don't think I've ever stocked a tank that much, but you're right in that I know what I'm doing as far as keeping water clean and healthy - this is tank #6! In your personal opinion, do you think those stocking levels in a heavily planted tank will allow for the fish to be happy? I'm less concerned about water conditions than ensuring that each fish has enough space to live without undue stress.

 

I have an identical pair of 20g long aquariums

One has 6 each Black Neon, Neon & Pristella Tetras, a Pleco, 4 Bronze Cory + 2 of their babies and a Kissing Gourami (one of a pair that had to be split up due to severe anger management issues)

The other has 6 each Von Rio & Glowlight Tetras, 6 Harlequin Rasbora, 1 Gold Algae Eater and the other, grouchy, Kissing Gourami

Everyone is happy, healthy and seriously mischievious

 

Okay then! Sounds like I'll go ahead with kuhli loaches! Thank you, and everyone, for the input. My experience is with bettas (of course) and South American community fish, and I'm learning very quickly how little I know about community fish from the Asian continent!

I'm adding sand and maybe a sixth rasbora today. Then, I think I'll hold off on adding more fish until the plants have really grown in. I want the loaches and gourami to feel comfortable when they're added. Any input on who should be added in when, or are the honey gourami really that peaceful? The danios can/will be added in a few months when they get the boot from my 30 gallon.

 

You can use AQAdvisor to play with the #s until you find a mix you like. The rasboras and loaches will do better in bigger groups, so don't do fewer than 6. However, now that you've decided on loaches you might want to skip the shrimp because I think the loaches will eat them. Perhaps someone who's had loaches can confirm?

I think you could add them in any order as they're all peaceful.

Note that the gouramis need access to surface air as they're labyrinth fish. They also can react a bit differently to some medications like Melafix (meds with oil), so just double check safety warnings if you ever need to treat the tank.

If they were all occupying the same swimming space it could be too crowded but they should be kind of spread out. The honeys will go all over but probably stick to the top and middle. Harlequins top/middle. Danios all over. Loaches bottom.