# New Tank Setiup (Ideas Needed)



## herefishyfishyfishy (Nov 28, 2015)

Hello all! I'm new to the hobby & recently purchased a 36 gallon glass Bowfront aquarium (15"L x 30"W x 23.75"H). I don't have it cycled yet, but plan to get started in the next week or so. I'm looking for suggestions of what type of fish would be compatible with each other & that size tank. I've done a little research, but I still get confused as to how many fish a tank can home. 

I'm really interested in dwarf gouramis. They're probably my favorite. How many can I fit in a tank? If anyone knows of any good gourami sites/forums, please steer me to that as well! Before I started reading up, I imagined I'd have 1 or 2 of every color! I know now that's not really feasible  lol

What goes well with gouramis? I'm very much into colorful fish, but I want to steer clear of any unnatural or dyed fish, like the fruit tetras. 

I also always assumed I'd get a pleco, but now learning that they grow much too large. Are their any pleco-type alternatives that would aide in keeping the algae under control? 

A few other fish I like visually: congo tetra, boeseman rainbow & discus (although too expensive right now), german blue ram, cichlids (I know these are a little difficult), clown loach. But I haven't done much reading into what goes well together, or how many. 

All of your suggestions are welcome since I'm so new to this!


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

herefishyfishyfishy said:


> Hello all! I'm new to the hobby & recently purchased a 36 gallon glass Bowfront aquarium (15"L x 30"W x 23.75"H). I don't have it cycled yet, but plan to get started in the next week or so. I'm looking for suggestions of what type of fish would be compatible with each other & that size tank. I've done a little research, but I still get confused as to how many fish a tank can home.
> 
> I'm really interested in dwarf gouramis. They're probably my favorite. How many can I fit in a tank? If anyone knows of any good gourami sites/forums, please steer me to that as well! Before I started reading up, I imagined I'd have 1 or 2 of every color! I know now that's not really feasible  lol
> 
> ...


"I'm really interested in dwarf gouramis. They're probably my favorite. How many can I fit in a tank? If anyone knows of any good gourami sites/forums, please steer me to that as well! Before I started reading up, I imagined I'd have 1 or 2 of every color! I know now that's not really feasible  lol" 

Dwarf gouramis have a disease called dwarf gouramis disease that has wiped out a lot of them and most of the ones you buy in a petstore like petco will ahve that disease or be really weak and die soon/easily. I think you might wanna look at some alternative gouramis. The blue gourami or gold gourami are nice. They grow to about 5/6 inches. Or you could get a group of honey gouramis.

"What goes well with gouramis? I'm very much into colorful fish, but I want to steer clear of any unnatural or dyed fish, like the fruit tetras. " 

A lot of other fish go well with other gouramis, but not other gouramis or bettas or paradise fish. I mentioned above, a group of honey gourami. The honey gourami is one of the few, if not the only, gourami that will enjoy company of its own kind. The other gouramis won't get along with other gouramis. I am glad you don't want dyed fish, they have to go through a very painful injection and most of them die .

"I also always assumed I'd get a pleco, but now learning that they grow much too large. Are their any pleco-type alternatives that would aide in keeping the algae under control? 

Most of them stay on the small side. There are a few that get big but most of them stay on the smaller side. The most common small pleco is the bristlenose pleco. The males ahve bristles thus the name bristlenose. They only grow to 6 inches and eat algae. If you would like a small alternative, look into ottos cats. They are hard to keep alive when you first get them most of the time, but once they live past the first few weeks, it is almost guaranteed you won't have any more problems with them. They like to be in groups and 6 is the smallest number for any schooling fish. Or you could do some snails like neitrites( wrong spelling) snails, they eat algae like crazy and they won't breed in freshwater so they won't over run your tank with snails. But I find that there is not really a need for algae eaters, if there is algae then there is a problem. If there is a problem then you should find out what that problem is and fix it. Fix it by changing the thing that was wrong, not just get something that can get rid of the problem for a while and it comes back and then the cycle starts over again.

"I'm really interested in dwarf gouramis. They're probably my favorite." 
If they are really your favorite fish, then you could possible get them without them having the disease I mentioned earlier or being weak/sick. You would ahve to find a really good local fish store that is reputable, and order through them. I however don't like to go this way if it's for sensitive fish like the dwarf gourami. I prefer to find a reputable person online who breeds them and is an aquarist and is well known. The main reason is 1 if he sells bad fish then his reputation would go down and that would be bad for him, 2 if they breed them then you know that they have a very good chance of not having the disease and are almost guaranteed to be strong and healthy, 3 if they are an aquarist then it is HIGHLY likely that they care for the fish they don't just see dollar signs.

Sorry this is so long . I prefer to tell people the facts at the beginning so they don't get misled later one and waste time and money.


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## herefishyfishyfishy (Nov 28, 2015)

No, thank you for such a thorough response! If I went with Honey Gouramis, how many would be suitable for a 36 gal tank? I definitely don't want to overstock. Since they grow to 6in, are there any other smaller fish that get along well with them?

Would starting with 2 gouramis, a small pleco, and a smaller species of schooling fish be appropriate? Like I said, how many of each fish is something that confuses me.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

Oh oops, I forgot to mention that honey gouramis grow to 2 inches. My bad . You could do 6 honey gouramis, 1 bristlenose pleco and 6 schooling fish. I am pretty sure that you can do a good bit more then that but I'm not the best at stocking tanks. Here is a link to a site that you can put in your tank size, your filters, and your fish and it tells you helpful info. AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor IT IS NOT PERFECT, IT IS JUST A GUIDE. Some people treat it like it is never wrong. I have to put that so people know to not treat it like it is a fact.
For any fish that schools, I think that 6 is the bare minimum you can go. The more you can get is the better.


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## FancyFish (Jul 22, 2015)

Be aware, Bristlenose plecos do not solely eat algae when full grown


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

I knew I was forgetting something. Thanks Fancy .
Oto cats eat algae for all of their life, so if you want an algae destroyer, go with otos. But I think that algae eaters are not needed. They are perfectly ok if you like to look at them, but I think it's best to find out what's causing the algae in the first place, then deal with that.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

Do you know about cycling a tank? If not, you REALLY need to read it before going any further.


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## herefishyfishyfishy (Nov 28, 2015)

Yes, I have been reading up on it. A little confusing which is why I'm not rushing into it.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

I think I can tell it to you in a less confusing way. In a fish tank there are little animals called bacteria, they eat fish food, fish poop, and other things. A single bacteria won't eat very much. If you don't ahve enough bacteria then the food,poop, and other things will turn into ammonia which can hurt or even kill the fish. You want enough bacteria to eat all of the stuff that is made/put in the fish tank. So, you want to give them a food source before you put in any fish. Pure ammonia is a good food source for these bacteria. You can go buy some for cheap( I think) and put in a few drops until the ammonia level is 4. Test the ammonia levels daily until the ammonia level is at 0, then add another few drops so that the ammonia level is at 4. Keep on doing this until all 4 of the ammonia is gone with in a day, you are now ready for fish. 

I am by no means an expert on the subject of cycling a fish tank. I would ask someone to confirm what I have said. Susankat,Majerah1, and Summer would know a lot more about the subject of cycling then I do. Why not shoot them a quick pm asking if they can check out your thread and give some input. Or look in the chatroom, Most of the times, you can find Summer or Majerah1 in there.


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## vreugy (May 1, 2013)

Brian, are you sure you're only 14??? You have such knowledge stored in your head. Wish I was half as smart as you. Bless you sweetheart and thanks for being on our forum. You are a valuable asset.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

vreugy said:


> Brian, are you sure you're only 14??? You have such knowledge stored in your head. Wish I was half as smart as you. Bless you sweetheart and thanks for being on our forum. You are a valuable asset.


*thanks Yep, I was born on May 20, 2001. Thank you for the kind words . I'm happy to be on the forum. I think the reason I'm so smart in the concept of fish is because I have a good reason to want to learn. I have aquariumforum, the best place there is. There are kind people, and some of them are the serious type, some of them can just make you laugh, this forum is just like a home. I consider this forum my internet home.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

I think herefishyfishyfishy will be surprised to find out I'm only 14. I bet she was expecting a 33 or a 45 year old to be answering her :hahaha:


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## herefishyfishyfishy (Nov 28, 2015)

Thank you big b! That was really helpful & you're so knowledgeable for 14!! I am curious though, where does the original bacteria come from when you first set up your tank? Is it in the water already? Sorry if that sounded dumb. I finally got my stand built, so my next step is to start buying substrate & decorations. I'm either going with white gravel or sand. I had thought about some nerite snails before you mentioned them, but how would they do with sand? Do they need gravel? I was also considering loaches, but I read they may eat snails. If true, I'll have to decide between the 2. 

Does anyone know of a good resource/website where you can find what fish are compatible with each other?


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

That's not a dumb question at all. Don't be afraid to ask questions . I asked some VERY dumb questions when I was new. Knowledge is gained by asking questions. 
The bacteria is already in the water. I am pretty sure about that. Most loaches eat snails but there one (if not a few more) loaches that won't eat snails. The most common loach that won't eat snails is the kuhli loach. If you would like kuhli loaches then it would be best to go with sand because it is very gentle on them.
I know of 1 site that is "ok" with fish compatibility, AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor is good with compatibility of fishes. They'll point out some things about compatibility but I would come back here and ask a question about the fish you are wondering about being compatible to double check it and possibly learn something they didn't post.


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## FancyFish (Jul 22, 2015)

You develop/establish the bacteria through the cycling of the aquarium.

Kuhli loaches have been known to be snails eaters


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

They have? Well I haven't seen my kuhli loaches eat any of my snails. I think they only eat baby snails.


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## herefishyfishyfishy (Nov 28, 2015)

Well I took the next step & purchased some aquarium sand tonight. I got 40 lbs for my 36 gal tank. I'll clean it tomorrow & then start collecting decorations. Getting excited!


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## herefishyfishyfishy (Nov 28, 2015)

big b said:


> They have? Well I haven't seen my kuhli loaches eat any of my snails. I think they only eat baby snails.



What about angelicus loaches?
Here's a pic of the tank. I still need to fix the door on the stand.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

herefishyfishyfishy said:


> What about angelicus loaches?
> Here's a pic of the tank. I still need to fix the door on the stand.


I think angelicus loaches will eat snails. There are only about a dozen that won't eat snails I think.


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## herefishyfishyfishy (Nov 28, 2015)

So I guess I need to decide which I want more. I really like the look of the angelicus loaches & the hillstream loach. How does anyone decide on just a few?! There's so many awesome ones.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

I think you have the potential to become one of us, the crazy fish people. 
We started out just like you, so many awesome fish yet something was wrong. One of the fish wouldn't get along with another fish so we got a new tank. Something else went wrong like before so we got more tanks and more.
Why not THINK about get another tank and making if for the loaches?


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## herefishyfishyfishy (Nov 28, 2015)

I can definitely see myself becoming a crazy fish person too! I've always loved them. I haven't made much progress this past week, I've been so busy at work. But over the holidays I plan on getting my substrate cleaned & then start decorating, then start cycling! Fun times ahead!!


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

If you do come one of us, then we will expect a 10 page report on how much you love fish every hour on the hour for a year. I'm joking of course. But we will expect a few pictures .
Cool, keep us updated.


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## herefishyfishyfishy (Nov 28, 2015)

Here's some updates!! I like it so far. Suggestions/opinions? I plan of getting some driftwood for the middle.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

I like it. Too bad you aren't closer, or I would give you some driftwood I have. I ahve a bunch of driftwood in all shapes and sizes that I don't like anymore.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

COUGHplantsCOUGH

I'll convert you yet!


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## herefishyfishyfishy (Nov 28, 2015)

Aw thanks big b! I'll probably pick some up from petsmart. That's the only place I've seen it around here.


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## herefishyfishyfishy (Nov 28, 2015)

Summer said:


> COUGHplantsCOUGH
> 
> I'll convert you yet!


Hahahahaa maybe one day


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

You should come to chat with us some time


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

Yeah, you should join us in chat. You might be able to find out my nickname and how I got it .


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

Are you still here fishy? I want an update


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