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Hello all,

First aquarium and new to the site. Incredible amount of information!

I have a 40 gallon hex aquarium (22in tall). I was thinking about some stocking with:

- a couple of pearl gouramis
- dwarf gourami
- a couple of Angelfish

Now wondering what school fish I should mix in with this for the middle and then some bottom dweller school fish possibly. Open to any suggestions, as well as suggestions on the gouramis and angelfish. Also, what kind of plants and rock decor would you suggest.

Thanks, this site rocks!

Hex tanks have a pretty small footprint, you'll have to take care not to overstock. What kind of filtration are you using?

I love pearl gouramis! They are one of my favorite fish, definitely worth while. While a dwarf gourami should be a peaceful community fish, I have found that they pick on my timid pearls. No damage, but it is disconcerting. I honestly don't know how gourami/angelfish combos would work. Pearls are not aggressive, not sure on angels. I haven't seen a tank with both but they are both beautiful enough fish to be a great centerpiece for the aquarium. Maybe just pick one? My humble opinion only, of course. Also, be sure your schooling fish are big enough to not become snack food for an adult angel. A troop of cories would be cool for a bottom feeder, maybe one of the smallish plecos.

Your tank is really tall so pick hardscape to match. Tall, thin, twisty driftwood would be cool. Something like that. You'll have to pick plants that can get real tall too. Giant hygro, water sprite, wisteria... It depends on your lighting/fertilizing plans as to what species you can keep and how big they'll get. If you are not going to go high light stay away from demanding low growing species.


Welcome to fish profiles!! Keep us updated!

Welcome to the site .

I agree with lioness . I had a hex back home in the states, was only 5 gallons so I was limited in that, but since it was a hex it made it even harder to stock! It had a betta in it for awhile. Then some driftwood and snails that had decided to stick around, never got anything else for it .

You at least have a few more gallons to work with What's the surface area of the tank? That's really the most important issue when stocking after the volume of the tank. The two go hand in hand. The surface is where all the gas exchange happens. You could have a 100 gallon tank, but if it only had the same surface area as a 10 gallon you'd want to seriously rethink the stocking .

Angelfish like tall tanks, so they may work, but I've also noticed they do like their swimming space. If you're looking to schooling fish, stick with ones that stay under an inch.

Plants, what type of lighting is in the tank? That'll determine real or fake (for one). Again, agree with lioness on the tall plants. A nice twisting piece of driftwood I'm thinking something like an antelope horn (that one is actually wood not horn) would look good, especially aquascaped with some corkscrew vals.

^_^

Thanks for the input, that is great! I have heard different things about Angels and Gouramis together, but mostly good. It sounds like I would be better to stick with one Angel right now. I also heard they liked tall tanks. The surface area is around 344 square inches. I have an eheim power filter. Just planning on fake plants right now, not ready to move that quick. I'll take your advice on tall plants and hardscape. I think I am going with:

2 Pearl Gouramis
1 Dwarf Gourami
1 Angelfish
6 Lemon Tetras
6 of some kind of Corie

Does that sound overstocked?

Thanks for all your help, good to be on here.

-B

It seems alright with me, I'm not sure on the gourami and angelfish since I've never kept them.

With the tetras, I'd make sure they and the corys are in before adding an angel. Also stick with the 2" adult sized or smaller corys (although pandas do tend to be rather delicate)

^_^

Great, thanks for your input. I'll let you know how everything works out. Hopefully I'll be getting fish in a week or so.

So, I got my 6 lemon tetras early last week, and went to the LFS yesterday to get 6 cories. I was thinking pygmy cory, but they didn't have any. I told her I was looking for a smaller cory (1-2" and she suggested the Green Cory.

So, I got them and they are really cool fish. But, now I see they get to be 2.5" -3" in size. Should I cut down on some the other fish I was planning on now? Maybe just an Angel or two possibly?

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks

green cory = small . LFS's scare me usually.

How many corys did you get? I worry that they'll have enough space to wiggle around in. Corys tend to be adventurous, and while I've never seen any aggression in them, I'd still want them to have enough room.

For filling out the stocking I'd wait a few weeks before getting the angel fish, and then give it a month or two before considering adding anyone else.

^_^

Yeah, unfortunately I got 6. Don't they still like to be in a school of 6? I could sell some back or give some away to another aquarium. They are active little guys and after reading they could get to be 3" that made me really nervous.

Always have to learn the hard way, don't believe those people!

I'd say keep them for now. You never know, a tank with a larger footprint may be in your future.


The way I see it, you're informed, other people may not be. If you know a fishkeeper you trust with a proper sized tank that's one thing, but I wouldn't take the m back to the store where they'd 1). Go through the stress of moving again 2). be in a store tank again where they could get introduced to who knows what after another stressful move 3). end up in some brats 3 gallon tank.

If down the road you find a good home for them then you might consider switching them out for a smaller cory, but for now, just make sure you keep up on regular weekly water changes, making sure that the gravel is cleaned well as they spend most of their time sticking their noses in it.

^_^

Thanks for all your input Babelfish, it is great. My lesson learned is get what I think I should get and not what the LFS suggests because they don't have the particular fish I was looking for.

I do have a trustworthy friend with a 4 foot 55 gallon they may work in. I think I'll keep them for now, wait until they grow and see what happens. I'll just limit myself to an Angelfish in a couple of weeks and see how things work out.

You have been very helpful!