Gouramis and Angel Fish

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computerman0219

AC Members
Aug 26, 2007
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Hello everyone I am new to this site and I am also new to tropical fish. I have recently had goldfish for about 4 months and decided to get the beautiful tropical fish, so I sold my Goldfish to my local pet shop. Last night I went to PetSmart and bought me 1 Male Fancy Guppy, 1 Female Fancy Guppy, 1 sm Angelfish, 1 Blue Gouramis, 1 (I forget the specific name) Catfish, and 1 Glass Catfish. Everything seems to be ok except, the Gouramis is bullying the Angelfish around. According to PetSmart they would be fine together. So I am asking for some advice on what should I do, or will everything work out. Also the angelfish doesnt move that often and when it does it is to get away from the Gouramis.

Thanks
-Caleb:flamed:
 

wataugachicken

The Dancing Banana
Jul 14, 2005
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Hey computerman! Welcome to AC!

While Angels and Gouramis can sometimes get along, they also might fight, as you have seen with your fish. If the behavior continues, you may have to return one of them, especially if there is a size difference between them. It is unlikely that it will work out.

Can you tell us more about your tank? Having as much information as possible allows us to answer questions more easily and accurately.

What size is it?
Do you have a filter and a heater?
Do you have water-testing kits?
Do you do water changes on the tank? How much and how often?

As far as your other fish -

Guppies do better in groups with one male and two or more females. Since male guppies spend almost all of their time chasing females and trying to mate, having several females allows each one some time to relax and not be bothered by the male. If there is only one female, it is easy for her to get stressed by the constant chasing, and possibly get sick and die from never having time to rest or escape.

Could you find out what kind of catfish you have? Petsmart sells a wide variety of catfish, from little Cory cats that only reach 3 inches, to common plecos that can reach 18-24 inches, or Afrcian syno cats, or even Asian catfish which can grow huge! Some of them like to be in groups, like the cories, while others can be fine on their own. A lot of them are only good for larger tanks, though.

Speaking of catfish in groups, the Glass Catfish is one of those. While some people have good luck keeping them individually, most people will say that they really need to be in larger groups. Apparently they act, swim, eat, and overall simply live better when they have others of their own kind.
 

sandsifter

Dr. Death
Jul 29, 2007
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Pine Brook NJ
what size tank
 

Hooked Newbie

Today will be yesterday tomorrow
May 25, 2007
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Len
Welcome to AC! :)

Answers to WC's questions are needed for the folks to give you good advice. The people here are great and readily share their vast experience. My head is still swimming (pun intended) after all that they've taught me in a few months.
 

computerman0219

AC Members
Aug 26, 2007
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Thanks to all of you...epically Thanks to you wataugachicken (by the way I am also from NC :) )you were very helpful. I intend on buying more female guppies, and will probably have to get rid of the Gouramis :(. I will soon get all my tank info. posted.

Great Website by the way!!!
 

KidInTheHall

AC Members
Aug 13, 2006
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Jacksonville, NC
Weird, I have an angel mixed with a dwarf gourami and a betta and they all get along great.
 

kimmisc

is in your closet.
Mar 12, 2007
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Florence, SC
His tank is a 10 gallon, and overstocked, as pointed out in his previous thread here --> http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123962

Unless you're upgrading to a much larger tank, you need to get rid of the angel. I'm pretty sure some others will need to go also.
I know this may not seem like a big deal because when you buy fish, they are juveniles. You can't imagine them being too much for your tank to handle. Angels get 6 inches, they're tall as well as long, and to keep one in a 10g will be abuse. To better understand this, read up on overstocking and stunting. It's important to understand what happens to your fish when you disregard their space requirements.

When asking for help, if you leave out certain details for the sake of only hearing what you want to hear, there's no point in asking. The advice you end up receiving is useless when you're withholding information about your setup.
 
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jm1212

Pterophyllum scalare
Jul 22, 2006
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Jon
blue gouramis and dwarf gouramis are two totally different species. dwarf gouramis can coexsist with angels fine, but blue gouramis are aggressive and will bully the angels.

the guppies will be fine in your tank. can you provide a pic of the catfish?

the angel, gourami, and glass catfish need to go back.
 

computerman0219

AC Members
Aug 26, 2007
186
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I am so glad I found this website yall are really good help...I was just going by what the PetCo and PetSmart labels said, according to there labels the fish would be fine together in a 10 gal. but I sure have learned my lesson, to make sure to do research before hand. I was wondering do you think it will be fine to keep all the fish except the Gourmi in a 20 gal. tank? Because I restricted on what my mom and dad will let me have. Right now as i look at my tank it almost looks as if I have no fish because most all of my fish are small and stay near the bottom like the pleco and the catfish.

I REALLY THANK ALL OF YOU FOR THE ADVICE ITS REALLY HELPFUL!!!


 

computerman0219

AC Members
Aug 26, 2007
186
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can you provide a pic of the catfish?
I will get that for you as soon as I can but it may be a day or two, but hopefully you can tell me what kind of catfish it is. It dont hardly move and it acts like a Pleco. Maybe you can tell me?:flamed:
 
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