Is it really that bad to mix semi aggressive and docile fish? I'm looking to start my tank with some red fire dwarf gourami's but I also want at some angel fish. how bad of an idea is mixing these breeds? 54g corner.
Angelfish are usually pretty good tank mates. The horror stories i've heard usually derive from when they start breeding.
One of my good friends, who keeps 2 pairs in his 55 gallon with neons, rummy noses, and cories says that it is best that you get the fish small (about dime/nickel size) and raise them with the other fish. This helped him with curbing aggression once they started pairing up and laying eggs.
I wouldn't consider the gourami to be docile. I've had by far more aggression issues stemming from dwarf gouramis than I have angels or even bettas in my community tanks - to the point that my big community tanks all have angels and bettas now but all of my dwarf gouramis have found new homes.
Depends on the gourami...Trichopodus, Trichogaster, and Macropodus gourami, among others, can cause problems in community tanks. Keep an eye on them if you try to add them to communities or add something to their tanks.
I decided to start with 1 vail angel, 1 angel, 1 dwarf gourami, 1 powder blue dwarf gourami and 1 rainbow shark. Day 2 and everyone's still alive so that's a good thing obviously. In fact everyone seems very shy, they're all just hanging out behind the swords and jungle Val.
My normally docile gourami became very aggressive over time after stocking the tank so much that he went back to the lfs
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