Is my tank too small?

[aussiegirl]

I have a 40gallon tank given to me with 8 guppies (4 female, 4 male) 5 neon's, 2 goldern algea eaters.
I really would love to add 2 angel, 2 dwarf gourmai and 3 clown loachs. What do you think? ( I can pass the neons and algea eaters onto a friend if need be) I get different advice from 3 LFS and books as to what fish I can put with what I have. I am very confused.
Thanks in advance, or TIA ( I'm learning the internet talk) LOL, aussiegirl.

 

[dextroze]

Hi there,

I'll have a shot at this

An initial consideration, tank size apart, is this: part of an Angel's natural diet is Neon Tetras.

The Golden Algae Eaters (aka Chinese Algae Eaters/CAE) can become true terrors as they mature, and their best role as far as I'm concerned is as a tank cleaner/cycler when young. As they get older and larger and start showing aggression they can usually be passed on to a LFS however (I'd be reluctant to curse a friend with them myself at that stage).

The Clowns would probably get a little too large and cramped, and there is no way round that really, as yes, you would need a few.

The only other teeny bit of advise I could give is re: the Guppies; generally they do better with a higher female to male ratio (2-3 females for each male).

Beyond that, you might be pushing it a bit stocking wise, especially when the Angels got to be adults...

For the sake of health and a sustainable level of maintenance I'd say:
- 8 Guppies : 2 males, 6 females (even if that means a bit of shuffling with what you currently have)
- 5 Neons (you could get away with adding a couple more to "flesh out" the school even)
- 2 Dwarf Gouramis (a pair )
- Maybe a Bristlenose or some Corys to cover the bottom feeder gap left by the CAEs/Loaches

I'm sure others will have their own views on this too

From my own experience, that would be a nice, peaceful community, with plenty of interest and so long as you have appropriate filtration, the maintenance schedule wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary.

You'd have your schooling covered with the Neons, plenty of action with the Guppies, personality on the bottom from the cat(s) and the added bonus of the possibility to see the Gouramis go through their nest building etc

Good luck with it all,
Dex

 

[Blinky]

I wouln't get clown loaches - they get too large for a 40g tank.

Angels are usually best in odd numbers, so you might be better off getting just one (or 3 if you don't have many other fish and don't mind twice weekly water changes). Keep in mind that angels can get to be 9" or more vertically from fin tip to fin tip - they get quite large and it doesn't take them long to go from having a body the size of a nickle to one the size of a drink coaster!

Angels and gouramis are territorial, and may fight - not a great mix.

Angels will eat neons (sometimes people manage to keep them together, but my angel will eat _anything_ that fits into its mouth). They will also hunt down and eat baby guppies - my angel does a beautiful job of controlling the livebearer population in my 45g.

This might work:
- a pair of dwarf gouramis
- the guppies you have already
- the neons you've got plus some more (they will look great in a larger group and feel more comfortable)
- some other tetras/rasboras/barbs in a small school
- a group of small bottom dwellers - otocinclus catfish or small loaches (dwarf, kuhli or other small species)

or if you _really_ want angels:
- 1 or 3 angels (two will often fight)
- a small group of taller bodied tetras (the shape prevents them from becoming angel snacks)
- the guppies (be prepared, the angel/s may eat them and will certainly eat any babies they have)
- a couple smaller bottom dwellers
- give away the neons and algae eaters to your friend.

Just some ideas, HTH a bit and doesn't add to the confusion!

 

[aussiegirl]

Thanks

Thanks for the help. I see I will have to give up the idea of clown loach, I think they are so cute. I'll have to get a big tank one day. Public Holiday here today ( Australia) so I am off to have a browse around a couple of LFS, which are open public holidays. - aussiegirl

 

[dextroze]

:O dang, I didn't realize LFS were open here today, otherwise I would have roped my buddy into doing the rounds with me *grumbles* oh well- is always next weekend