Could I have an apisto pair?

[laurenrocksth]

I have a planted 36g with a pearl gourami, soon to be 6 rainbows, 4 cories, and an upside down cat that I never see. I just lost my last bolivian ram. Could i add and apisto pair or would I be overstocked? I can never find any cool ones where I'm at but Twofishguyz.com sells pairs. My params are ammo 0, nitrite 0, nitrate way less than 20, ph 6.4. My water is soft but I don't remember the exact value. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

[krytan]

I can't see why not, your tank doesn't sound over stocked.

[Hooked Newbie]

I think you have plenty of rrom for a pair.

[Squawkbert]

PGs get to be about 5" long and Rainbows (unless they're the Celebese type) get longer. I suspect that you're already overstocked, so I'd stay away from Apistos & Rams unless you rehome some of the other fish you currently have.

[nguyendetecting]

well you said soon to be 6 rainbows, how about skip those and instead get a smaller tetra/barb type fish. yes the pearl gourami will get big, but it really depends on the individual gourami, how big is he now? you have plenty of room for a pair, but again I'd skip the rainbows. But depending on their size they should be fine till they get bigger.

[laurenrocksth]

I already have 2 banded rainbows in the tank and 4 new ones in QT so I'd rather not get rid of them. The pearl gourami is about 3 inches right now and hasn't grown any in the last several months. Is there any other fish that I could ahve besides apistos if there's not room for them?

[jpappy789]

Banded rainbowfish as in Melanotaenia trifasciata?

Those reach 4-5" long, not nearly enough room in your tank for 6...I would worry about your stock now before getting new fish...

And your pearl will grow. Three inches is not the adult size.

[SchizotypalVamp]

The reason you never see your upside down cat is they need a school, or they will be overly shy and stressed.

[laurenrocksth]

OK. New plan... How about I move my stock to an empty 55g that I have in my garage within the next few weeks after I get it planted and get a light. Will I still be overstocked at that point? I really like the mix of fish that I have now. If I added a few more upsidedown cats, would that be ok to make the one that I already have happier? I would love to have a pair of apistos but not at the detriment of my current fish.

[nguyendetecting]

put the pair of apistos in the 36 gallon with the cories, gourami, and get a school of tetra/barbs. Then put the rest of those fish in the 55, the rainbows since you have them already will be better in there with those added upside down catfish.

[laurenrocksth]

I would love to do that... Unfortunately, in order to get the 125g that I have running, I had to break down the 55. In order to avoid domestic warfare, I can only have either the 36 OR the 55 running. Do I need to get rid of any fish if I move everyone to the 55?

[nguyendetecting]

No if you moved them all to the 55 the stock would be fine and you could still add the pair. I don't know much about the upside down catfish though, but grow to 4inches. I wouldn't add more than 3. Goodluck