Small tank stocking quesstions

[New2Aquaria]

Hi all:

I just finished cycling a small 7 gal tank and I can't decide what to put in (currently it has 4 feeder platties). Water pH is around 7.6. Here's what I thought so far:

1) 1 Dwarf gourami with 1 kuhlie loach.
2) 3 panda cories with 1 Blue Ram
3) 3 panda cories with 1 Dwarf Gourami.

And now my questions:
Which of the above setups will be better for a newbie?
The tank has medium sized gravel. Will that be OK for the loach and the cories?
Also, there's a lot of brown algae in the tank now. Could I add an Otto, or I will be overstocking the tank?
What other fish would you suggest? I'd prefer fish from the same geographical region (so choices 1 and 2 above are preferable to 3).

Thanks in advance,

[ROLLIN]

Hi, I would pick choice number 1 (with a few fish added), you could have a pair of dwarf gouramis (1 male and 1 female, or 2 females, but not 2 males) and 2 or 3 kuhli loaches (its best to keep more than one, they like friends) if you keep up on your water changes. I know 7 gallons isnt much, but kuhli loaches dont produce much waste. What type of filter are you using?

[Heady]

I don't know, that seems really small for the number of fish you want to have. You will really want to keep up with your water changes... weekly if at all possible.

I have never heard of a fish that will eat brown algae. Your best bet is to just clean it off the glass with a scraper.

I suspect you may have an Eclipse or similar system. If so the tank is acrylic and you should only use special scrubbers designed not to damage acrylic tanks. Otherwise you will scratch the sides of the tank making it hard to see your fish. Also it would be a good idea to avoid apple snails and plecostomus for the same reason.

[ChilDawg]

Brown algae is a sign that your aquarim isn't getting enough light. This is a dangerous road to hoe--too much light is going to cause different algae in the tank. I think that I've read that Otos eat brown algae, but I cannot find my source for that as of right now. Hopefully this problem resolves itself, but, if not, I guess that there are some other ways to kill the brown algae. Good luck,

Matthew

[New2Aquaria]

Hi:

Thanks for your replies. The tank is an 7gal all-glass bowfront with an aquaclear mini (two foam and one carbon insert). I do 40% water changes at least once a week. So, will one Gourami with 2 loaches be fine?

Thanks again,

[OrionGirl]

Yep, though 3-4 kuhli's would make an even better group. If you plant the tank, and provide them with something they can hide under (chunk of wood, stacked rocks, etc), they'll be thrilled. I have a very similar set up at work. Have to go buy a lightbulb for it at lunch today, even...

;)