Follow up question re: dwarf gouramis, other Gourami sel.  2/5/09
OK...we put our dwarf Gourami down with advice posted on your website, he went peacefully. Then we bought a 55 gallon tank and it took only a few days to cycle thanks to adding bacteria, a Eco Bio Block and old gravel/media from the new tank. It looks pretty empty because we only have:
two small silver dollars, one vampire shrimp, six Rummynose tetras, one scissortail in our 55 gallon tank. In our old 10 gallon we have put a few red cherry shrimp, mandarin orange shrimp, mystery snails and our latest our new purchases: 3 silver Hatchetfish in quarantine awaiting transfer to the big tank. I think I will keep the old 10 gallon as either a quarantine tank or a shrimp/snail only tank as I love them both.
Anyway, we do miss our dwarf Gourami and are interested in pearl gouramis.
We saw some lovely full grown ones in the store today and wondered how hardy they are. Are they prone to this Iridovirus or other maladies? If so, is there a Gourami which is hardy and appropriate for our community tank?
Thanks,
Melissa
<Hello Melissa. Pearl Gouramis, Trichogaster leeri, are essentially hardy fish and do not contract Dwarf Gourami Iridovirus. The only problem they are prone to is Finrot, if kept with nippy fish that attack their long fins. Otherwise they are easy to keep. Quite a peaceful species, too. One of my favourites, and an excellent choice given your tank and its residents. Other good choices are Thick-lipped Gouramis (Colisa labiosus), Banded Gouramis (Colisa fasciata), and Moonlight Gouramis (Trichogaster microlepis). Though not beautiful in terms of colour, the Snakeskin Gourami (Trichogaster pectoralis) is a wonderful gentle giant and extremely hardy.
The one Gourami species to approach with caution is the Three-spot Gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus). Although females are peaceful, males can be very aggressive. I don't recommend it as a community tank species, despite
being extremely widely sold in lots of colours, including the popular Blue Gourami and Yellow Gourami varieties. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Gouramis (Selection) [RMF, any comments on Marines?] 2/5/09
Hi Neale,
Thanks for answering, it's very kind of you guys to donate time to answer what must be hundreds of e-mails.
<Happy to help. Besides, questions about Gourami selection make a change of pace from sick Bettas in unheated bowls, sick Bettas in unfiltered bowls, and sick Bettas in unheated, unfiltered bowls.>
See, we bought the silver dollar (Silver) and dwarf Gourami in December and put them in a 10 gallon tank together, they bonded from the beginning, swam together, investigated things, ate together, the Gourami defended him from other fish who made the Silver nervous. But when the DG got sick and died, we got him another small SD named Nemo (ok my four year old son "helps" name the fish I know they're not great names but if you've ever had a four year old boy you know how these things go). But Silver and Nemo haven't bonded a whole lot, they both do their own thing.
<It's always dangerous to use human behaviours to interpret animal behaviours. If nothing else, my cats would feel very insulted if I took their behaviours down to the level of hairless apes like me! But joking aside, animals don't work the way we do, because each species operates in its own very different world. Silver Dollars and Dwarf Gouramis are not likely to become "friends" as such, though I admit that innate schooling behaviour may cause different species of fishes to group together where choices from their own species are lacking. Some fish will also learn to follow other fish because they benefit in some way. Angelfish often follow livebearers because they know the pregnant females drop little packages of live food (i.e., babies) every once in a while, and I had a Scat that learned to stay close to an Archerfish during feeding time because the Archer would spit down crickets and other bits of food. So it's always best to stay firmly in what we know. In the case of Silver Dollars, they're schooling but hierarchical fish. In groups of six they generally behave properly, but in smaller groups you can get bullying and other aberrant behaviours, precisely like those you're seeing here. Solution? Add more Silver Dollars.>
After the death of the DG coupled with the move to the large tank Silver has gotten shy and skittish and seems sad. Nemo who is much younger and smaller swims all over the tank and they sometimes hang out but not like the DG and Silver. The personality of the DG seemed to bring Silver out of his shell and get him swimming around so that's why I was thinking of a pearl Gourami.
<I'd get more Silver Dollars first (making sure they're the same species, there are several!). Pearl Gouramis won't bond with Silver Dollars, or at least, I can't think why they would.>
The scissortail schools with the much smaller but similar in looks Rummynose tetras and is LOVING all the room to swim. The rummynoses are bright cherry red and happy all the time, very active and playful. The vampire shrimp has been with us a month now but we don't see him much, he is very shy and nocturnal but absolutely beautiful.
<Vampire Shrimps are Atyopsis gabonensis, right? Agreed, a lovely animal.
But don't forget to feed it. Contrary to what retailers might say, these aren't really scavengers. They do need particulate food of some sort.
Liquid fry food is ideal, but finely powdered flake or even hard boiled egg yolk will do. Make a suspension of food in a small container, and squirt a few drops into its "fans" periodically (ideally, daily) using a pipette.
Algae wafers, fed at night, should also help.>
So, my three questions: given what I've told you is it better to get a pair of pearl gouramis (male/female) or a solo? If solo, is a female or male better?
<I think the question of Gouramis is irrelevant to the Silver Dollar situation. In terms of shopping for Pearl Gouramis, a singleton, a pair, or two females/one male will all work out.>
Second, even though it's only been three days in the quarantine tank, our silver Hatchetfish all look fine. Is a week in quarantine enough? Are they compatible with our other tank inhabitants as well?
<If they're feeding in the quarantine tank, and don't seem stressed, I'd certainly leave them at least another week, but after that move them into
the big tank.>
Third, I'd like our next tank to be saltwater but am nervous about setting it up and inhabitants. I've heard damselfish are quite hardy, are they good "first fish" to have after the initial cycling is complete before adding other marine fish and invertebrates? If not, which are some hardy, easy to care for, colorful and small sized marine fish we can use for a beginner tank (probably a 20-30 gallon)?
<Really a question for Bob F. Would highly recommend buying or borrowing his 'Conscientious Aquarist' book before doing anything else. There is an excellent "cook book" section at the beginning outlining setting up your first tank. Basic marine aquaria (i.e., without corals and the like) are pretty easy to put together and maintain, especially if you understand water quality/chemistry through experience of freshwater fishkeeping. But you absolutely must read up thoroughly before spending a penny on livestock or hardware. In the meantime, have a browse here at WWM; there's a tonne of marine aquarium stuff, perhaps even more than freshwater:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/setup/marsetupindex1.htm>
<<A forty gallon is a much better, size, shape to start with... Marine systems differ in a few ways from freshwater... One profound way is their "stability" physically and chemically... as a function of the size/volume of the seas... Starting with "too-little" tanks can be a great hindrance in keeping the water viable, and too-limiting in reducing stocking possibilities. Please read here at your leisure: http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/setup/marsetupindex1.htm
Bob Fenner>>
Thanks,
Melissa
<Most welcome, Neale.>

Malaysian Trumpet Snails and Male to Female fish ratio 11/04/2008
Hello all, Hope things are going well for you today. Kind of gloomy and rainy here. I am considering adding some Malaysian trumpet snails to a 75 gallon fw aquarium. I have read of all of the benefits they can provide, but do I have to worry about them not getting enough detritus for their food source and dying?
<No risk at all. In fact overfeeding is why people end up with crazy numbers of these snails. In a clean tank you basically get a healthy constant number limited by food availability.>
Also, I have read that if this type of snail dies there is no requirement to remove it as it will not foul the tank. Is that correct?
<Pretty much.>
My other concern is with male to female ratio of certain fish. I am planning on stocking my tank with gouramis for a slow moving fish to occupy the top as well as banded rainbowfish for the middle. Please tell me how many males to females of each of these I need please.
<Rainbowfish are best kept in equal numbers of males and females. The ratio of Gouramis depends on the species. Colisa spp. are often kept in pairs without problems, and the same can be said for Trichogaster leeri and Trichogaster microlepis. Trichogaster trichopterus is a bit more tricky; males are quite short tempered. They're best kept one to a tank, with as many females as you want. In a big tank you could keep multiple males, but make sure there are at least twice as many females.>
Thank you so much for all you do to make aquarium life better for people like me.
James
<Happy to help, Neale.>