Stocking plan- ok, yes?

I think that sounds fine, you could probably go with another guppy or two and another oto. You might want to wait a couple of months after the tank is up and running to add the otos. They can be kind of sensitive and will do better in an established tank and one with a bit of algae waiting for them!

I'm actually not so sure if that's a good idea. I would hesitate to put the guppies in there. The gourami may be aggressive towards the guppies because of their long and colourful fins. Also, putting male guppies without females is a disaster, since they need to have females to keep them happy. They will be very aggressive towards each other. Instead of male guppies, I would recommend a small group of tetras, or a small group of white cloud minnows.

If there are no females around, male guppies will not fight often. Keep them in groups of 3+ to avoid any one fish getting picked on. I have two groups of males seperate from the females and they do not fight.

I think it looks great, dwarf gourami don't, IME, often attack other fish.

Like you said, no one will agree, at least not usually!! I had 2 male guppys together for quite some time and they were rarely without each other and it was a very large tank, they had no reason to hang out together. They actually seemed quite fond of each other!! Also, it is almost impossible for guppys to cause any harm to each other. Get a good amount of plants (real or fake) and a couple of caves or other hiding spots so everyone can flee if they want and they should be fine

I don't often post in "stocking plan" threads, but since I'm on a "precise and accurate writing" kick, I figured I'd hop in and add a useless post to my count .

I avoid the use of the word "happy" or any other personifiers as much as possible. My aquaria aren't Disney movies, and frankly I have no way to tell what my fish are emoting. Keep your fish healthy and with suitable (i.e. compatible) tank mates, that's the best you can do.

I should add (so that it doesn't sound like I'm flaming Winterwind, I'm not) that I understand the basis of Winterwind's post. Fish tend to behave more naturally and be more active with females around (so do people ). However, there is no such requirement to keep the fish healthy and lively, just make sure that there are several males so that one doesn't become the goat and they'll be fine.

Your second stocking list looks appropriate. Yes, Otos will scavenge to some extent, but providing them with a little blanched cucumber or veggies will help them. Take a thin slice of cucumber, place it in a bowl with plenty of water and microwave it for about 5 minutes. I've heard upwards of 10 minutes, but this seems overkill. Perhaps if you were doing several slices for several tanks. Anyway, be very careful because it will be incredibly hot. Let the bowl cool to room temperature and drop in the cucumber. You may opt to do this at the same time as your main feeding so that the gourami and guppies ignore the cucumber. They probably will anyway, but they might hover around it out of curiosity and keep the Otos away. Keep an eye on it and if it starts to mold, take it out. Sometimes it will take a few tries for the Otos to recognise it as food.

happychem said:

I avoid the use of the word "happy" or any other personifiers as much as possible. My aquaria aren't Disney movies, and frankly I have no way to tell what my fish are emoting. Keep your fish healthy and with suitable (i.e. compatible) tank mates, that's the best you can do.

Click to expand...

LMAO!!!
Picture of happy aquarium: