Fish Tank

[summer_jackel]

I love my fishies. They are just so cute to watch, and the way they swim, and their little eyes...!

I'm a touch nonplussed, though. My tank was getting rather underfished so I added new ones. last week, I obtained two silver dollars and a 3-spotted gourami. Yesterday, I added the remaining two (not wanting to add too many new fish at once lest it cause a nitrate spike, even in my large tank), a golden and pearled gourami the same size as the first one. They all came out of the same tank at the pet store, originally. But the 3-spot seems somewhat agressive, chasing the 2 newcomers around a fair amount, although I haven't seen any fin nipping. I hope they settle down. I don't think I can return any of the fish in the event that they can't manage to co-exist socially.

For the curious, the other denizens of the tank are a mini rainbow, a black skirt tetra (I think), a simensis, a cory cat and a frikkin' huge pleco cat. It's either an 80 or 100 gallon tank, and with the exception of gourami bitchery, everyone gets on well. I originally had 3 rainbows, but over the course of 6 months or so, 2 of em died. Sad.

Comments

[shoka.livejournal.com]

'A cory cat'? Cory cats are social guys and usually much happier in a school of at least three. I've got 5 green cory cats romping around the bottom of my larger tank. They really seem to enjoy each others company, especially when my pleco startles them.

This drive by commenting brought to you by martes' friends page.

cory cats

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks! I'm always thrilled to learn new stuff, especially about topics like fishkeeping where I know just enough about it not to kill my fish (mostly) but where there is an incredibly huge body of knowledge out there that I just...don't...have.

Maybe I'll add a couple more lil corys in a few weeks, after (hopefully) the gouramis settle down. I think that I have room for them and don't want my guy to be lonely. Do you think a tank which is either an 80 or 100 gallon, and presently contains 3 gouramis, 2 silver dollars, a black skirt tetra, a simensis, a mini rainbow, a cory and a honkin' big pleco can support 2 more corys? It is very well filtered and aerated, but I don't want to add too many and then have everyone die.

Thanks, and drive-by whenever
fishily,
Jackel

Re: cory cats

[shoka.livejournal.com]

Depends a lot on the existing fish and their sizes. There are many species of gouramis, from the various dwarf ones (which grow to a max of about 2 1/4 inches) to pearl gouramis (about 4 inches max) to blues (which can reach 6 inches). How big are yours now and how large do you expect them to get?

How big is the 'honking big' pleco? Honking big to me means at least 18 inches *chuckle*

What's a simensis? A google search turned up canids not tropical fish.

The rough rule is 1 gallon of water to one inch of fish, though that can vary depending on how planted your tank is (if you have live plants), the quality of the water (check the levels of your ammonia, o2, co2, nitrates and nitrites), etc.

Re: cory cats

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

oops, it's siamensis.

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/gallery/cyprinid/siamensis.html

He's a cute little fishy. I've had him 3 years now; he's about an inch and a half.
My pleco is about 9"...*18"*?!?! plecos get 18"?! eeeeeee----! 0_0
he grew fast for the first couple of years, but has slowed down recently.

I've got no plants, just some rocks for them to hide around.

the gouramis and silver dollars are all very small, less than an inch because I just got them. But we'll assume for the sake of argument that they achieve 4" each. That's ultimately 33 inches of fishy in my minimum 80 gallon tank. So I think I won't risk disaster by adding a couple inches more of corys. Maybe 2 or 3; i like watching to socialization. Maybe in a month or so. I just don't want things to get too crowded.

I appreciate your help. :)

Re: cory cats

[shoka.livejournal.com]

Plecos can get to be 2 feet long, depending on the species. I have a 9 incher who doesn't seem to be growing much anymore (in a 150 gallon tank), but my husband's pleco is 18 inches or so (in a 135 gallon tank).

Glad to help, *smile*

Re: cory cats

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the heads-up. yesterday, I got 3 new little corys. The biggest and my original one started schooling right away. =D More info in my latest, silly LJ post.

[dustmeat.livejournal.com]

After 10 years of saltwater, I am switching back. You give me ideas.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

ooh, saltwater. I've always wanted to and never tried, although I'm hesitant to because most of the saltwater fish are wild-caught and most of the freshies are captive bred, (I could be wrong about that, but it seems to be the case.)

Glad meh lil fishies can inspire. let me know what you get when you switch!