# Sparkling Gouramis



## NanoJames (31 Mar 2013)

Hello again!
I was wondering how sparkling gouramis would get on in a pretty much neglected tank. I have a small bowl, about 12 litres, which is unheated and unfiltered. I just measured the temp and it is 19 degrees. It is fully planted and I saw on Seriously fish that they can live in very small tanks. Would a couple be suitable? I amn't too bothered but I quite like them so it would be good to know!
EDIT: I can do daily water changes too!
Cheers


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## Henry (1 Apr 2013)

For all that Sparkling Gouramis are of diminutive size, they'd probably appreciate a home a bit larger than a 12 litre bowl. You refer to 'Seriously Fish', an excellent website; they state that this fish needs to be kept in water 25-28 degrees, which will not be achieved without heating.

If you want a virtually neglectable tank, I'd recommend trying the Walstad method with a species such as Dario Dario, or similar.


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## NanoJames (1 Apr 2013)

Thank you!  I admit that I maybe didn't read up quite enough. It's just as well I didn't impulse buy!  I will have a look into the Walstad method. Thanks very much!


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## BigTom (1 Apr 2013)

Male sparkling gourami can get pretty aggressive when defending a bubble nest, I doubt a female would be able to hide in a tank that small. 19 degrees is getting a bit low as well, although I have had them breed for me at 22 degrees so I don't believe the need to keep them too warm.


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## NanoJames (1 Apr 2013)

OK, thanks Tom. I will have a really good read about them and see what that turns up. Looks like I may have to stick to shrimp!


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## NanoJames (9 Apr 2013)

Hi guys
Today I was at my LFS and I asked one of the employees if he could get _Dario Dario_, or Scarlet Badis, in the shop. He said they rarely get them because they don't sell very well and are fairly hard to keep. Although, while looking around the shop I found some really nice_  Aphyosemion Australe _or Orange Killifish. They were really bright orange! What about these? I have live food although the worker, who I am qute friendly with, said that they would quite happily take dried foods. What are your thoughts on these fish?
Cheers


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## Henry (10 Apr 2013)

They're excellent fish, and aren't particularly demanding. The only worry would be male/female, male/male aggression. The can also get a bit large for a 12l. Would they be able to get Epiplatys annulatus? They're much smaller and equally as beautiful.
I have a pair of dwarf puffers in a 12l (ish) tank. Its very heavily planted, kept at 24 degrees, and they rarely need feeding since they happily munch all the ramshorn snails in there. Happy little blighters. Keep some duckweed in there and they'll be happy as owt!


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## NanoJames (10 Apr 2013)

Henry said:


> They're excellent fish, and aren't particularly demanding. The only worry would be male/female, male/male aggression. The can also get a bit large for a 12l. Would they be able to get Epiplatys annulatus? They're much smaller and equally as beautiful. I have a pair of dwarf puffers in a 12l (ish) tank. Its very heavily planted, kept at 24 degrees, and they rarely need feeding since they happily munch all the ramshorn snails in there. Happy little blighters. Keep some duckweed in there and they'll be happy as owt!


 Thanks very much Henry! That's a shame as I really liked the killifish. I do like the dwarf puffers, but I don't know about heating the tank. Plus, am I right in thinking that they are a pretty messy fish? That would mean a filter and heater in one really small tank. And I wanted to keep this tank very low tech as I don't have lots of money to spend and elecricity bills have gone up with my existing two tanks! Looks like I might just get some nice shrimp!


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## Henry (10 Apr 2013)

The tank I keep the puffers in has an Azoo Palm hang on filter and thats it. If you have a thick covering of duckweed and clear half of it once a week, you won't have any problems with nitrates (along with reasonable growth from your other plants). You will need a heater, though. I use one of these, and it is excellent. It's also absolutely tiny; very slim and short enough to fit in almost any tank.

Have a look at the Epiplatys annulatus, they're very nice little killifish.


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## NanoJames (10 Apr 2013)

I will definitely ask about the clown killifish next time I am in my LFS as they do look really nice. They also had another type of killifish that were not labelled but were quite nice. I think they were too dark to be clowns but they were about 5-9 cm long and were quite dark. I will see if I can find a small heater and will also look into the filter you mentioned. I just don't want it getting too expensive..


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## Henry (10 Apr 2013)

To be honest, as long as you have good coverage of floating plants and keep up with water changes, a filter isn't really necessary.

I keep a group of 8 Aphoysemion striatum in a 35l tank with no filtration, but plenty of submersed, emersed, and floating plants. They're breeding and are very happy 












Epiplatys annulatus are equally as happy in that sort of environment.


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## NanoJames (10 Apr 2013)

Wow, those are lovely fish! Did you raise them from eggs? All of this fish talk makes me want to flood my tank! I think I might fill it tomorrow... I do quite fancy killies but the fact that they are tropical makes me nervous! I don't know if I have enough plant matter yet to keep fish without a filter though.


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## Henry (10 Apr 2013)

They're non-annuals, so they were just bought from the fish shop. Killifish tend to prefer a temperature of about 22 degrees, so a small heater like the one I linked would be absolutely fine. With enough floating plants, you won't have to worry much about the amount of submersed growth (as long as it gets going eventually). A pair of clown killis are going to have a pretty low bioload.


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## NanoJames (10 Apr 2013)

Ah, very nice anyway! Where did you put the link? I can't seem to find it... I will put up pictures of the tank as it is now in 10 mins but I do have plenty (too much!) Duckweed in another tank.


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## Henry (10 Apr 2013)

Sorry, must have got distracted! This is the heater: Newattino Plus 10W Aquarium Heater-Stat - Surrey Pet Supplies


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## NanoJames (10 Apr 2013)

Sorry, it only let me upload 1 photo because the others were too big! Anyway, you kind of get an idea. What about the classic, boring betta?! I also have loads of Staurogyne clippings that I just got from my nano that I could put in and some Riccia Fluitans too. If I can fit them in!


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## Henry (10 Apr 2013)

I reckon you'd get away with a pair of Clown killis in there. I'd always give a betta at least twice as much room as that, despite their slow movement, but I suppose this may not reflect the opinion of others. If you do go for killis, just make sure the tank is established for a week or so with the floating plants.


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## NanoJames (10 Apr 2013)

That's good, I'll fill it tomorrow! It'll be well over a week until I'll get any fish anyway as I just made quite a few aquatic purchases! I forgot to mention that there is also a nice Amazon sword that I can put at the back. Thanks for all of your help Henry, not that this thread will go down the drain....


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## NanoJames (10 Apr 2013)

Before I finish, are you sure that Lyretail Killies are out of it? I do really like them and the care doesn't seem too different...   Epiplatys annulatus (Clown Killifish) — Seriously Fish and   Aphyosemion australe (Lyretail Killi) — Seriously Fish.


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## Henry (10 Apr 2013)

From my experience, I can tell you A. australe will get about the same size as my A. striatum, which would be too big for your tank. They've very active swimmers when they want to be, so its best to give them some space. E. annulatus only reach about half the size of the other two.

No worries mate, its nice to see someone new getting into killifish


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## NanoJames (11 Apr 2013)

I will definitely ask about the clown killies next time I am in my LFS. Are they expensive?


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## dw1305 (11 Apr 2013)

Hi all,


NanoJames said:


> Are they expensive?


 About £4 - £5, but they are quite difficult to keep. They are really nice fish but you want a source of live food like "Vestigial winged Fruit flies" and mosquito larvae to keep them long term.

How about Norman's Lamp-eye? _Poropanchax normanii _or_ Oryzias spp. _they are fine cooler.

cheers Darrel


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## NanoJames (11 Apr 2013)

Thanks Darrel
I have just got a culture of daphnia and cyclops going a couple of days ago, would they be alright? I think I saw lamp-eyes in a local Dobbies a while ago. I don't know if they were the type you mention but they were definitely lamp-eyes! Would they fit in my tank fine?
Cheers


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## dw1305 (11 Apr 2013)

Hi all,


NanoJames said:


> I have just got a culture of daphnia and cyclops going a couple of days ago, would they be alright?


Yes perfect, you may find you have trouble keeping the Cyclops going.


NanoJames said:


> I think I saw lamp-eyes in a local Dobbies a while ago. I don't know if they were the type you mention but they were definitely lamp-eyes!


They are in quite a few shops at the moment, I've only seen "Norman's", and they should be fine in a small tank.

cheers Darrel


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## NanoJames (11 Apr 2013)

OK, that's good to hear! Is it feeding cyclops that is tricky? I don't know if the shop still has the lamp-eyes but I will have to get myself down there soon!


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## Henry (11 Apr 2013)

I've never had a problem feeding them on flake. I use New Life Spectrum flakes crushed up, and they've bred on a diet of that alone. It is very easy to keep wingless fruit fly cultures though, and is definitely worth the hassle for best colouration.


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## NanoJames (13 Apr 2013)

OK, I'm back again guys! I was raking through some plastic bags today and found a really small internal so I'm going to see how that gets on. I am yet to get permission from my dad for another heater, I'm already running 150 watts of heaters! Would killifish have a go at shrimps? Also, are there any killifish that are small enough for my tank that I could buy in egg form?
Cheers


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## Henry (14 Apr 2013)

Killifish will only have a go at very small shrimp, but in small aquaria, this  will be a rare occurrence. Most killifish you could buy in egg form will be annuals.


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## NanoJames (14 Apr 2013)

Henry said:


> Killifish will only have a go at very small shrimp, but in small aquaria, this will be a rare occurrence. Most killifish you could buy in egg form will be annuals.


 Cheers Henry. Are there any annuals that could be bought in egg form that are OK for my tank? The flow is fairly high.


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## Henry (14 Apr 2013)

I don't know about the eggs.
Most killifish have a strong dislike for high current.


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## NanoJames (14 Apr 2013)

I don't think I'll be able to filter the tank then as I don't really want to spend much money on this tank and the filter I'm running is absolutely TINY! I think I may just get some nice shrimp, but will see how it goes!


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