60 Gallon Tank Will CPD's work in this build?

[Osse]

60 long, heavily planted.

Several dwarf gourami (open to suggestions of how many)
12(more?) Celestial Pearl Danios
12+ Rummynose
12 Corydoras

I've never kept CPD's, I hear they can be quite skittish- will they be comfortable with 1-several DG's? This is a planned build so I can make sure to add a lot of low-mid level hiding spaces.

Please critique the plan, I don't want to put CPD's in a space that doesn't work for their behavior.

 

[Fishfur]

60 long, heavily planted.

Several dwarf gourami (open to suggestions of how many)
12(more?) Celestial Pearl Danios
12+ Rummynose
12 Corydoras

I've never kept CPD's, I hear they can be quite skittish- will they be comfortable with 1-several DG's? This is a planned build so I can make sure to add a lot of low-mid level hiding spaces.

Please critique the plan, I don't want to put CPD's in a space that doesn't work for their behavior.

I wouldn’t keep them with any fish much larger than they are. They are quite shy and will be outcompeted for food and spend their time hiding with tank mates the size of DGs or rummynoses for that matter.

They do best in densely planted setups with lots of broken sight lines and in as large a group as possible - think 18-24.

Males spar with each other routinely in the daytime but you don’t see much of them if they’re too scared to come out.

Mixed sex groups are much better than all male groups - a few females per male assuming there are any females at all.

And just fyi, male DGs are territorial and will beat each other up if there isn’t sufficient room for each to set up its own territory. Several females per male is gone but multiple males must not work out. They may look serenely mellow but they can be really nasty much as bettas are when it comes to territorial disputes.

 

[Osse]

I wouldn’t keep them with any fish much larger than they are. They are quite shy and will be outcompeted for food and spend their time hiding with tank mates the size of DGs or rummynoses for that matter.

They do best in densely planted setups with lots of broken sight lines and in as large a group as possible - think 18-24.

Males spar with each other routinely in the daytime but you don’t see much of them if they’re too scared to come out.

Mixed sex groups are much better than all male groups - a few females per male assuming there are any females at all.

And just fyi, male DGs are territorial and will beat each other up if there isn’t sufficient room for each to set up its own territory. Several females per male is gone but multiple males must not work out. They may look serenely mellow but they can be really nasty much as bettas are when it comes to territorial disputes.

Thanks, sounds like they really wouldn't do well with many other fish species.

 

[Fishfur]

Thanks, sounds like they really wouldn't do well with many other fish species.

Basically, your choices with these little guys are other little guys of very similar size.

There definitely are choices among those other little guys especially if you enjoy micro size fish in big groups, which I very much do, since most of them are social & need groups.

But if you want something like the DGs, then they’re not the right choice.

 

[Mudminnow]

I agree with Fishfur. CPDs probably wouldn't work out well with dwarf gourami or rummy-nose tetras. Dwarf gouramis can get too aggressive, and rummy-nose may out compete them for food.

If you omit the CPD's, I think you're stocking plan could work.

If you want to keep the CPD's, you'd probably need to choose different tank mates. I've personally kept them with sparkling gourami and kuhli loaches.