Stocking question

[nightfish]

So, i currently have a male blue gourami, a rainbow shark (not a red tail shark) an albino cory, 3 neons, and 3 black phantoms in a 29g. Im getting a 36g soon, and was considering adding more fish, but i want something thats easy, and fun to watch. So i thought of guppies. The only thing is that last time i tried guppies, the gourami and RS completly destroyed them, by chasing them, and nipping. So i dont know what to do, i really dont want to get rid of any fish because to me it doesnt seem right to buy an animal and return an animal, i could if i had to, but i would just prefer not to. So, any sugestions would be greatly appriciated!

[Pleco380]

More albino cories would be nice. The single cory is probably lonely. A school of cories is fun to watch.

[jaysee]

So, i currently have a male blue gourami, a rainbow shark (not a red tail shark) an albino cory, 3 neons, and 3 black phantoms in a 29g. Im getting a 36g soon, and was considering adding more fish, but i want something thats easy, and fun to watch. So i thought of guppies. The only thing is that last time i tried guppies, the gourami and RS completly destroyed them, by chasing them, and nipping. So i dont know what to do, i really dont want to get rid of any fish because to me it doesnt seem right to buy an animal and return an animal, i could if i had to, but i would just prefer not to. So, any sugestions would be greatly appriciated!

Even the 36 won't be big enough for the shark. IMO the best thing you can do is get rid of the shark. It's very likely to not tollerate any other bottom feeders, including the corys, when it is grown. ESPECIALLY in a tank that's too small.

I know it may not seem right to give up a an animal you brought home. But, it's also not right to keep an animal that you cannot provide for. In the end, you'll have to decide which is worse. Keeping the shark is going to do nothing but cause problems for your tank and fish, and it's not fair to put your other fish through the stress of living with a cranky, cramped rainbow just because you don't want to return it. Your stocking options will open up considderably without the shark in the tank.

I couldn't in good conscience suggest you add anything to the tank until the shark is gone.

[rich311k]

I am with Jaysee nothing is going work well with that shark. If you find him a new home, more tetras and corys would be a good idea.

[gm72]

Just another agreement that the shark in that size tank is not a good idea.

[nightfish]

Thats true about returning him, i cant completely take care of him, so i will have to return him. Now! with the shark out of the picture, is there any shark i could put in that would meet my tank conditions? i like the look of the sharks so, just wondering. But what i would like to do is add a male dwarf gourami, possibly a female dwarf, 3 male and 6 female guppies, a few more corys, and some cool fish i saw, it looks like a catfish, and it has long wiskers, they are silver i think, and they were like 2-3 inchs long when i saw them.

[Brhino]

The "sharks" in general all have a pretty similar attitude. If you don't have a setup that works for a rainbow shark I wouldn't try any of the others.

Dwarf gouramis may be dicey - your blue gourami may attack them. Likewise, if the gourami attacked guppies before, there's no reason to think he won't do it again.

The fish you saw that looked like a catfish was a catfish. For the record, so is your shark and your cory. You'll want to confirm the exact species of it so you can understand its requirements. I can think of several possibilities of what you may have seen, some of which would work in a 36 gallon tank, and some of which would not.

[nightfish]

I would remove my blue gourami, and just have the 2 dwarfs because i understand they are suitable with guppies

[nightfish]

Oh and by the way brhino, i remember the catfish i saw were called sharks, if that helps with the name.

[Brhino]

I would remove my blue gourami, and just have the 2 dwarfs because i understand they are suitable with guppies

that should work then. Blue gouramis (or any of the other color variations of that species) have a reputation for meanness, you're likely to have better luck with dwarves.

If you're removing the shark and the blue gourami, I would add more corys and both species of tetras so you have at least five of each. That will make those schools happier and less likely to cause any trouble with the guppies. You should still have room for a few more fish beyond that.

Oh and by the way brhino, i remember the catfish i saw were called sharks, if that helps with the name.

Huh. I've never seen any of the long-whiskered catfish referred to as sharks. Either it's one I'm not thinking of, or someone's being very liberal with the usage of the word "shark". With that said, common names can vary, a lot of times the people selling them give them different names to make them sound more attractive to the buyer. A scientific name or a photo so we can ID it would be a good idea.

Also, correction from previous post: the rainbow shark, and a lot of the other freshwater "sharks" are cyprinids (minnows, barbs, danios, etc), not catfish.