Starting a new 55G tank....

[adpierin11]

Hi there! I currently have a 30 gallon tank with 3 dwarf gourami's, 1 pleco, and 1 chinese algae eater.
We are buying a 55 gallon this week, and I was intending to put these in the 55 and get rid of the 30 altogether. But after reading around I have become interested in a german blue ram, german gold ram, a Dbl Full Red****************atoo Cichlid pair, and a ****************atoo Dwarf Cichlid pair. And I have also been looking at some discus.
But I guess one of my questions is in a 55G can I put my gouramis in with some of these fish, or should I leave the gouramis in the 30, and start new in the 55 with my pleco and chinese algae eater? And can some of these fish I named cohabitat with the pleco and chinese algae eater?

Since my 30G is already cycled, could I take some gravel from it and put it in the 55G, and how long would it take to cycle the 55G with the old gravel in it?

And I personally want to put in a sand substrate along with some gravel/rocks, where and what kind of substrate would be the best?

[adpierin11]

sorry for the **** I guess I can't same the name of these particular fish, if you don't know what fish I am talking about, there is also a bird called this....oops!

[FishHead]

If you wanted cichlids, than I would stick with a cichlid only tank. you can get rams to go with the gouramis, but they may fight some. rams do school but also are pretty aggressive.

the discus should be ok with the gouramis. they do get pretty large though, so i am not too sure if a 55 would be adequate. someone else would have to comment on that one.

if you use sand, be careful if you have high filtration with the 55. I helped my GF do her tank with sand from homedepot and she lost 2 filters in the process, due to sand being sucked in the filter. i gave her some of my small gravel sand and it is working much better..

[shade2dope]

i wouldnt recommed putting the cae in there or with any fishas when they get bigger they will start to eat the protecive slim coat on fish .. as to the filter problem i use a powerhead and sponge filter and a hob but i turn it off when ever i do water changes and other stuff that moves the sand around as to the cycle in 55 g i used gravel that was seasoned and filter cartridges that were used in diff tank and it took a liltle under a month

[adpierin11]

so would I be alright then with cichlids and rams if both species are semi-aggressive, and then I plan on leaving the gourami's in the 30....
I mean an all cichlid tank is great, but I guess I like variety.
But I wouldn't mind having the rams and gourami's together, and maybe leaving the cae in the 30 by itself.
Oh I dunno!!!! I have a lot of thinking to do!!

[FishHead]

rams can go fine with gouramis.

[JustOneMore20]

The Apistos (Co-ckatoo Dwarf Cichlids) would be fine with the Gouramis, as would the Rams. Cichlids can be territorial, especially when breeding, but there should be enough space for both the Apistos and the Rams to have a territory. Rams don't school...they can be kept in pairs and may even breed.

CAEs can be aggressive as they get older so I suggest returning it and getting 6 Otos once the tank has been setup for a few months.

I don't recommend keeping Discus in a 55g. They get big and a 75g would be better for the width. They are also skittish and need good water quality. They can't be kept with just any other fish.

Either substrate is fine. If you want to use some of the 30g gravel for the cycle, but would rather use sand in the new tank, you could put the gravel in a nylon stocking or mesh bag and just sit it in the tank for awhile until you are getting "cycled tank readings" from your test kit. Then you could just take it out.

If your pleco is a Common Pleco, it will eventually outgrow the 55g (they can get about 2 feet long) so I'd go ahead and exchange it as well for Otos if you can. If its another type, then just make sure it stays less than about 8 inches long full grown.

[adpierin11]

Well we are now going to go with a 75G, because they are sold out of the 55g. So I have even more thinking to do.
Thanks for the idea of the nylon stocking. I really don't like the gravel anymore in the
30g, so that's great.

Thanks!

[phat fish]

guramias can get nasty ive had 1 in a 20 gal then i got another and they fought all the first 2 days so i had to bring the 2nd one back

[adpierin11]

Originally Posted by phat fish

guramias can get nasty ive had 1 in a 20 gal then i got another and they fought all the first 2 days so i had to bring the 2nd one back

Mine aren't that bad. They occasionally do chase eachother, and do that weird thing gouramis do, but other than that they are fine!

[emc7]

I got 4 kissing gouramis from a friend who moved away, they were fine in 120, but started fighting in a 20g. Alway research the territory size of any fish you think of getting. Don't crowd gouramis.

[adpierin11]

Originally Posted by emc7

I got 4 kissing gouramis from a friend who moved away, they were fine in 120, but started fighting in a 20g. Alway research the territory size of any fish you think of getting. Don't crowd gouramis.

My 3 are dwarf gourami's and are in a 30G which is more than sufficient because they only are suppose to get to 2 in. And the kissing gouramis get up to 8 in. Obviously 4 in a 20g IMO is stretching it.