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Tank requirement for 1 guarami plus few neon tetras

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2018 6:00 pm
by FishyLady
Can I keep one guarami and a few neon tetras in a foot square tank? I want to keep one of each of my favourite guaramis i.e. an opaline which I already have, a gold guarami and a pearl guarami but each in their own separate tank which I would place side by side as I know they cannot/will not live together. Would this work OK, thoughts welcomed.

Re: Tank requirement for 1 guarami plus few neon tetras

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2018 2:37 am
by Bas Pels
Firstly, a few neons is too few, they need to be in a group of at least 6

For such a group, a 27 liters tank (a cubic foot tank is 27 liters) might be a bit over the top, but not much. After all, the tank is not full, the tank will have some sand or something and lastly, the tank is measured from the outside, the inside being smaller. I would not keep 10 in such a tank, better called a glorified bucket

I think that, if you try and fill the gourami with these 6 neons (as a thought experiment, obviously), there is quite a bit of room left. That is, this gourami will need more water than the 6 neons do.

Further the fish will reach 10 cm. A fish, even a quiet one, would need a tenk length of at least 6 times its own length. that is 60 cm or 2 feet.

The names you gave don´t mean much to mee, but I think it is 1 Trichogaster leeri and 2 Trichogaster sumatranus. I think I would take a 3 * 1,5 * 1,5 feet tank, add the 3 gouramis and add a schooling fish.

Neons are from south America, personallyu I would go for a fish from Azia, more precisely Thailand or Sumatra where these gouramis come from.

Re: Tank requirement for 1 guarami plus few neon tetras

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2018 4:04 pm
by FishyLady
Thanks so much for your detailed reply, but I can't put the 3 guaramis together in one tank, they are extremely territorial and it wouldm't be long before war breaks out hence my wanting to keep them separate. The names you put are correct by the way. I thought you could keep neons with practically any peaceful fish and they are nice and small.

Re: Tank requirement for 1 guarami plus few neon tetras

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2018 2:35 am
by Bas Pels
I used to have a 165 * 50 cm footprint (that is 5,5 feet * 1,7 feet) with 5 T leeri, 3 males and 2 females. It was very peacefull

Re: Tank requirement for 1 guarami plus few neon tetras

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2018 2:24 pm
by FishyLady
Bas Pels wrote:
Thu Sep 27, 2018 2:35 am
I used to have a 165 * 50 cm footprint (that is 5,5 feet * 1,7 feet) with 5 T leeri, 3 males and 2 females. It was very peacefull
You were very lucky!! but also that was a nice big tank.

Re: Tank requirement for 1 guarami plus few neon tetras

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2018 2:58 pm
by Bas Pels
It was not luck the tank was quiet.

When I got it, I was living in a studentsroom, of less then 5 * 3 meters. It was the fourth tank there, and the second large one. In my eyes, in any house a 1.5 meter (5 feet) tank will fit

Later I moved, I had to rehouse all 4 of them in 1 day. Luckily I had friends to help me

Re: Tank requirement for 1 guarami plus few neon tetras

Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:46 am
by Diana
You could keep one of the smaller Gouramis such as a dwarf or Honey Gourami in a tank 1' x 1' x 1' (30 cm cube). Add some peaceful fish that thrive in the lower part. Neons could work, but not very many, and, as noted above, they are really a schooling fish. Better if you select a smaller schooling fish.
Also, check the temperature preferences of the fish to be sure they will be comfortable with each other.

Alternate: How about some of the more difficult Licorice or Chocolate Gouramis? A breeding pair would probably work in that tank. Maybe add some of the smallest dwarf Rasboras.