which fish to choose

i am confused at moment about what fish species to choose for my 330l tropical tank. cichlids or gourami. is my tank to small for cichlids.eg if I put 10 malawis in tank would it be enough volume to allow growth and not be suitable for my filtration system.i am running an tetratec 1200 and powerhead trickle filter with bioballs.

is gouramis a better choice if i plan a school tank with alot of hiding place and greens?

opinions

 

Both Malawi's and Gourami's fight (Only male gourami fight i think)

Malawi would be the better option if you can raise your PH a bit above neutral (around 8),you will need to overstock slightly,have good filtration,frequent maintenance and waterchanges and plenty of hiding spaces.They will be pretty aggressive at the start but it will die down in a few months when they get used to each other.

Oh yeah,they don't like plants.Most Gourami are fine with plants but you can't really stock too many of them.

 

Yeha and malawis come to greet you when you come to the tank very inquisitive fish and they always look hungry (dnt overfeed).Id recomend malawis bt thats just my opionion

 

i was told by a friend that i should go for malawis as they are a hardy fish and if u give enough hiding places and overstock a little they will sort out each other quick and make awesome tanks..if they get to big i can rather sell or exchange them for juviniles.

 

You shouldn't have a problem with them getting too big if you go for the smaller kinds,they grow pretty slow.Just be sure to check the ones you get at LPS,they are usually in pretty bad shape.

The problem with exchanging larger ones for juveniles is that they won't be able to hold their own,even if they are hardy they still get stressed.

 

I have 10 4cm hornet cichlid malawis im keeping for someone in a two foot tank with minimal decor and they doing fine.as long as they more or less the same size u should be fine.Blue dolphin mooris are also nice

 

Everyone likes Cichlids (I only like Angels :unsure: ) but a school of Honey Gouramis looks nice, or a male and two female Blue Gouramis of different colour morphs

 

my issue is the sexing of the gouramis.most lfs dont sex their livestock.i have had a tank of only females but to my shock had a nippy male sneak past and almost lost my whole tank. but honey and pearl gouramis in a high clarity tank is awesome.

 

I like cichlids simply because in my humble opinion they are a more hands on type of fish to keep. they are always excited to see you mainly cos it means food! they don't shy away when you put your hand in the water , you just need good filtration and regular water changes , I would go for the malawis or angels

 

get one big bad ass central american cichlid

 

Yeah one big cichlid!!!