New Dwarf gourami setup

[Rüdiger]

Hi David,

good to hear from you again, especially with your tank obviously going the right way. I should think it’s time to intriduce some life to that bucket. 🙂 Just change about 10 – 15 liters of water first and check Nitrite for two days. Any of the dwarf rasboras (Borars spp.) is a good choice to go with the sparkling gouramies and on 40 liters you could add about 10 to 15 of them to make a nice shoal. The good thing is that even with their color they don’t distract from T. pumila at all, quite the opposite, they draw them out and you’ll see a lot more of them.

I’d be very intersted to be kept up to date when you start on your air lift experiment since I am working on some “improvements” too. Admittedly I always get sidetracked on some other stuff. 😎

As a closing word: Beware of Lemna minor, that stuff is a pest!!! You’ll see what I mean. 🙂

Regards

R.

 

[Saxodave]

Thank you luffy for your snails comment, especially as I have already noticed a couple of small snails in the tank. I will leave them for the gouramis to attend to assuming they don’t grow too quickly!

 

Rudiger, I forgot to say that I have in fact already done two water changes before receiving the test results I posted last night so I am even more hopeful that conditions are now right. I will source Boraras maculatus from my LFS and place an order for the gouramis.

 

We will have to compare our efforts reagarding improved airlifts!

 

It’s a shame you can’t cook and eat L.minor because, as you say, it is quite prolific. At least just a few scoops with the net keeps it in check.

 

Regards,

 

David

[Rüdiger]

Hi David,

all sounds great. I just hope you’ve got your camera ready and charged. Let’s have some pics when they move in!:D

Regards

R.

[Saxodave]

Was only able to get two dwarf rasboras (Boraras maculatus) at my LFS and have had to order more as no-one round here seems to keep them in stock. They now like frozen bloodworm and tropical mini pellets after a couple of days of not seeming to eat anything, although perhaps there are already colonies of microbes forming on the sunken beech leaves I added a while back.

 

[Rüdiger]

Hi David,

I sure hope you can get more of them soon as they really don’t do well if not in a decent sized group. They do look very young still and I’m amazed they go for bloodworms already, mine took about 6 months to have a go at those. And you are right, they certainly love to examin every last bit of “interior” for anything edible and do survive quite some time without feeding in a mature tank. 🙂

I had to find that out once after I moved the stock of B. maculatus from one tank to another. I left the “empty” tank as was and when I got to work on it after 4 weeks I discovered 12 almost subadults healthy and sparkling! 

How about those sparklin gouramies, can you get some?

Regards

R.

[Saxodave]

Hello Rüdiger

For a small fish B. maculatus seems to be very self-sufficient and resourceful.

I think there has been a longer delay in fish deliveries because of the New Year. I thought I was only going to have to wait a couple of days or so before getting some companions for my two tiny inhabitants. It might be wise to pre-order the sparkling gouramis now in case there is a long wait for them also. Again, no shop near me, out of six, stocks these on a regular basis.

Would it be a bit of an overload if I ended up adding five rasboras and four/five gouramis all at the same time if I had to?

 

Kind regards,

 

David

[Rüdiger]

@Saxodave said:
………….Would it be a bit of an overload if I ended up adding five rasboras and four/five gouramis all at the same time if I had to?

 

 

No David I don’t think so. Your tank is running for quite some time now and it should be entirely ok to add the fish. If you are concerned, you could test the water a bit more frequently for the firs two weeks and react with small waterchanges if necessary but it really shouldn’t be.

Another option is to do a waterchange just before adding the fish and add a water conditioner with a fair share of vitamin B, which supposedly reduces stress symptoms. I have never done that myself but quite a few of my acquaintances swear by it.

It is strange sometimes which species are available and which not. I’ve got the same problem with different species. Of T.pumila and T. vittata I could buy hundreds but what I’m looking for, even though there are no real exotics involved, isn’t available, not even on order.:?

Keep the updates coming! 🙂

Regards

R.

[Saxodave]

Finally I have managed to buy another eight Boraras maculatus to accompany the two I bought just before Christmas! There is still no sign of any LFS stocking the sparkling gouramis I want and I am not paying £18.50 carriage for unseen fish by post from the one supplier. Someone suggested these fish are ‘seasonal’ and I may have more luck in the spring/summer. My name is still down on two LFS lists for when stocks eventually do come in. At least the tank is maturing nicely though.

[Matt]

Hi Dave, just moved your thread to this new forum as it seemed more appropriate, trust it’s ok.

The tank looks very good and sure by the time you do find your gouramis the plant growth will be perfect for them. Already looks pleasingly ‘wild’!

[Saxodave]

Thanks Matt. That’s fine. I like the new-look forum; it makes sense the way you have rearranged it.

 

I’m really pleased with my tank, just a little frustrated that it is taking so long to get the final part of the puzzle! I will post more pics when my sparkling gouramis take up residence.  

[Matt]

Good to know, cheers, and please do keep the pics coming.:smile:

[Saxodave]

After a four and a half month wait I have finally got my hands on some sparkling gouramis (Trichopsis pumila). I suppose the good thing is that the tank has had time to mature!

[Rüdiger]

Hi Dave,

I already thought you’d given up on the little buggers!

Now you’re going to have lots of fun observing them, they do have a certain “clown potential”! 

I hope you’ll hear plenty of croaking from that tank soon and as Matt said, keep the pics coming. 

Regards

R.

[Saxodave]

Just to prove I actually have got some gouramis! I’m guessing this is a male? Trichopsis pumila Sparkling gourami.

[Rüdiger]

Pretty feller! How many of them did you manage to get Dave?

[Author]

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