Opaline Gourami and Cichlid

[Brandonsarrett]

I have a 3 inch opaline gourami and a neon swordtail. The gourami did not like the Tetra or gold algae eater I had before. I wanted to add a ram cichlid to my tank because it feels empty with only two fish but the ones at the store had ick. Thoughts on how to make my gourami and a peacock cichlid compatible?
Do I need to create a hiding place or territory for new peacock?

 

[Amazoniantanklvr]

Peacocks and gouramis require different water. The peacock is too aggrerssive to be housed with gouramis or swordtails. Bolivian rams would be a good companion though.

 

[dudley]

What are the dimensions of your tank?

Are you looking for colorful fish or just more of a community tank set up?

Can you provide more details of how your tank is decorated now? Plants, substrate, etc..

 

[FreshyFresh]

As dudley suggested, we need more info on your setup, decor, etc. To me, water chemistry with respect to pH doesn't matter much with captive bread, store bought fish. It absolutely can if you're keeping native fish or are after a breeding project.

Gourami can be total jerks regardless of the situation. From what I've experienced, they'll generally tolerate smaller tetras, danios, etc, but anything in similar size, they may not.

I keep a weird pair in my 29 that you could call a cichlid and a gourami. It's an older angel fish and a kissing gourami. It's only this pair in a planted 29g. They've been together for a year or so. Obviously things can and likely will change as time goes on. That's the nature of the hobby.

 

[Sprinkle]

Depending on what size your tank is, you could put in there a pair of bolivian rams. 20 long or 30 long would be perfect for them as when they breed they get agressive.

 

[CichlidFins]

Hi, if your opaline gourami can't tolerate teras I would think its more of a space problem, and anyways personally I don't think that a cichlid would be the best companion to a 3 spot, why not add more 3 spots if you have the space?

 

[Brandonsarrett]

Hey guys, so I actually did end up getting a peacock Cichlid and they have all (Opaline Gourami, Neon Swordtail, and Albino Cichlid) been getting along fine. The way I keep the peace is by giving the Cichlid a place he can kind of claim as his own like a cave or a bridge. The only thing that is annoying is that they eat different types of food, but the Cichlid seems to gravitate toward the tropical flakes instead of his shrimp crumbles. This is in a 10 Gallon.

 

[Lalo J.]

Very small tank for your fish, you definitely have incompatibilities here. You may observe them well, but the cichlid is aggressive by nature, and the fish are not in the right space.

 

[CichlidFins]

Hi there,

I would really recommend returning the peacock as it grows with age it will grow to 5-7 inches and will become aggressive.

Also consider returning all your fish. The tank is too small.

 

[Brandonsarrett]

Very small tank for your fish, you definitely have incompatibilities here. You may observe them well, but the cichlid is aggressive by nature, and the fish are not in the right space.

I know there is an incompatibility by definition but they get along totally fine! They swim around all day and don’t fight at all. And I will definitely upgrade my tank size soon before the Cichlid gets too big.