community fin nips

[renagade]

hi all. i'm just having a little trouble with my community of cichlids, dwalf guramis, angels and clown loaches. my angels and gurami's fins keep getting nipped by the other fish, mainly the loaches are doing the damage. it's a 200L (50g) well planted tank. what would anyone suggest to inhibbit the amount of fin nipping going on? i would say i've over populated, but a have about 18 fish in there and i feed them twice a day and a variety of foods fit for a king. am i not feeding them enough? should i separate? any input will be appreciated.
cheers
ren

[Siamese Fighter 1]

how many gouramis hav u got?i had two gouramis and they killed each other.
are clown loaches bigger than the angel and gourami that might be the prob lem.i did not know that clown loach are that aggresive

[renagade]

i didn't think they were aggressive either, but i have whitnessed them in action. i have two dwalf guramis... that are looking a little haggard at the moment. the clown loaches are fairly small, maybe 4 - 5cm long.

[Siamese Fighter 1]

Tank Mates: Gouramis, goldfish, and larger barbs make good tank mates. You can also mix your clown loaches with equal-sized non-violent American cichlids. If you mix them with territorial cichlids, expect lots of fights. Clown loaches tend to win those fights. The switchblade knives help.

how many loaches have u got and hav u got caves and hiding places for them if u dont that might be the reason why they are atacking your fish. because they fell unsecure so they atack your fish

[renagade]

only got 3 loaches. i do have quite a few hiding possies, but they don't seem to own any of them. i might put some smaller ones in for them. if they make home, i'll monitor fin nipping. thanks alot for the help.

[Siamese Fighter 1]

i consider getting another loach they will feel safe in a bigger group clown loaches are schooling fish .i dont know if it will work but its worth a try.:thumb:

[renagade]

cool. that might work. i'll try getting a few more little hides and see how that goes first. i'm probably going to try for some shrubby plants so there is lower foliage to hide in too.

[Kaga's Kritters]

dwarf gourami's are not aggressive enough to live with cichlids and angels. also the cichlids may end up attaking everyone too, most of them are very aggressive. i would rethink your stocking.

[gm72]

I agree with Kaga here. I don't think that stocking will work over the long haul. Your angels will cause problems eventually. I'd get another tank for the angels.

Saimese, a goldfish is not a good tankmate for the fish. Goldfish are coldwater fish, the others are tropical.

[Lady Hobbs]

I had angels with my loaches with no problem. The loaches pay no attention to anything but grubbing around in the gravel and wood. However, angels are not fast enough to be in with other cichlids. Altho they are cichlids, they do best as a community setting or alone in pairs.

[renagade]

ok thanks guys. i will be putting the angels elseware. i have a friend with an ideal set up for them. also they are growing fairly rapidly, and really bob around in the tank compared to everything else. since my last post, i have put in a great new hide. yet to see results as i'm working.... yes i can get away with sitting on the internet sometimes at work. it rocks.:c5: