stillnzcookie

One of our harlequin Rasboras has been off-colour for the last couple of weeks. Its scales are all sticking out but, apart from that, it seemed fine until a day or so ago - it was still schooling and eating fine. It is now hanging around in the corner of the tank during the day and only joining the other fish after the lights go off. I wondered whether it was being bullied, as there is a bit of jostling going on, but there are no marks on it, just the bristly scales. All the other fish in the tank seem perfectly healthy. We have a basic 60L planted tank setup with 6 harlequins and 3 panda cories. Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate are all fine. The Ph is about 7.6 which is a lot higher than it used to be (last year we had problems with low Ph, this year it seems to be too high - soft tap water is a nuisance), but it has changed very gradually and all the other fish seem to have adapted. We have had a bit of an algae problem, but nothing too major, and as the weather gets colder, the temperature in the tank is fluctuating a bit between day/night but is set at 26 and reads at 24/25. Is there anything we can do to save our fish?

Thanks for your advice. Our current plan is to get a small school of harlequins (assuming lfs still has them) and let them settle in before we decide what else to get. The options we're considering are: 5 panda cories (have 3 already) 1 brown apple snail 7 harlequin rasboras plus pair of dwarf gouramis OR Male betta OR small school of neons OR a few more harlequins Hubby is keen on harlequins and neons, but I'm worried it would overload the tank to get a small school of each? I do agree with him that it would look great, but I'd appreciate advice on how many we could safely have. It sounds like the betta wouldn't be the best choice if the other fish are likely to nip him, but then the gouramis may also be a problem if they get a bit aggro. I guess it would depend on the individual fish? Are there any other options we haven't thought about? We're not interested in a bristlenose at this stage, as we don't have a big algae problem, plus that would definitely overload the tank. Are there other small gouramis that are not aggressive? I have heard of thick-lipped gouramis, but do they grow a lot bigger? Our lfs also has what they call honey dwarf gouramis, but I'm not sure they are, as they don't look like the pictures I've seen! They are quite colourless, with a horizontal dark stripe from gill to tail - they told me the females have a lighter stripe. Thanks again!

Thanks, lmsmith and Caryl for the advice. I didn't know dwarf gouramis were fin-nippers - all the info I have found so far said they are peaceful except towards other male gouramis. Guess that answers the question of whether we could have both gouramis and bettas! I think we're tending towards the dwarf gouramis anyway...If they're not ok with tetras, would they be alright with the harlequins? All the info I can find says harlequins prefer slightly acidic conditions? I have also read that the one thing neons and cardinals can't cope with is changes in Ph, which is a bit of an issue for us as our water is so soft, so we struggle to keep the Ph consistent. Is there anything we could add to the filter to help keep the Ph steady? Lime chips? We will definitely get a couple more pandas at some stage (assuming we don't get any babies). I've been surprised at how active they are - will they keep swimming all over the tank once we add more fish or are they likely to spend more time at the bottom? Thanks again! Ps just previewed this and saw your post, newfisher - thanks! Did you have several male gouramis in your 60l tank? Do you think one male and a couple of females might be ok?

Hi! We have a 60L tank, planted with Cabomba and Java Fern and bogwood. We currently have 3 panda cories and a brown apple snail. Tank has been set up about 6 months, so we need more fish! Would appreciate advice on good fish to get and stocking levels. Our tapwater is variable but low Ph, so would prefer fish that are happy in about Ph 6.6 -7.0. The temperature in the tank fluctuates from about 23-26 degrees. I'd like to get some dwarf gourami but not sure how many? I've heard you should only get one pair, as males will fight, but would it be ok to get one male and 2 or 3 females? My husband would prefer some bettas - thoughts? Comments? I'd also like to get a couple more pandas, as they are such neat little fish (may have more soon anyway as they have just spawned today - what are the chances that any fry will survive?) Our biggest debate is what sort of schooling fish to get. I always said I'd get neons, but have heard they die really easily? My husband wants cardinals - are they more or less hardy than neons? I've become quite keen on harlequin rasboras but have no idea how hardy they are. Any advice about schooling fish would be appreciated - we want something colourful, hardy and non-aggressive. I have been given much conflicting advice on stocking levels - have been told that with 3 cories and 2 gouramis we could have anything from 6 to 30 neons. As we're novices I'd prefer to understock than overstock the tank. Finally, our lfs has dwarf gouramis, but when we went in to get them the tank had been quarantined. Do you think it's safe to buy fish from a tank that had to be quarantined? The fish all looked really healthy and no-one there could tell me what had happened (it was a weekend) but they are phoning me when they are ok to be sold again. Thanks in advance!