I love the look of some livebearers like Swordtails and especially Dwarf Gouramis, but I can't seem to keep them alive in my tank. I first tried to keep a couple of Male Gouramis (stupid idea, I know - but they seemed to get along just fine without fighting or even coming near each other) and they died of suspicious circumstances that I'll detail later. A month afterwards, the rest of the fish were fine and growing like weeds so I got a male Swordtail and two females. After another month, the male and one of the females had died. That last female continued to live on for another month, but she was skittish and hid at the slightest movement from outside the tank.

I can't seem to figure it out. My other fish have lived on and even grown fat. The fish in my tank at the moment are:
4 zebra danios
8 neon tetras
5 adult cory-cats and 1 baby cory
2 chinese algae eaters
1 golden algae eater
All in a 30 gallon tank cleaned up with a large penguin power filter.

it may bepossible that the algea eaters are killing them, because all 3 of yours (2 chinese and a gold) are the same species and will often feed on the other fish's slime coats. I think it may be a dominance thing because they only tend to do is to new and subordinate fish in the tank.... btw they dont eat algea; common misconception.

__________________
~Daniel

the grass was greener on the other side, but when your a fish.... not good.....
Spanish words of the day!

1. HERPES - Me and my fren ordered pizza. I got mine piece and she got herpes.
2. WHEELCHAIR - We only have one enchalada left, but don't worry, wheelchair.
3. BRIEF - Maria fart in my car and it stinkie so bad I could not brief.

(this is just a joke, no offense intended! enjoy)

Eh, a sowrd or male gourami wouldn't put up with that from a CAE. They would fight them off fairly easily.
First of all, gouramis aren't livebearers, they build bubble nests. I myself have had trouble keeping any type of gouramis but opalines.
Swordtails, take a lot of patience to get just right. They are very touchy, and unless their water quality is very good, and they get a lot of food, you will probably lose them. Swords are my favorite fish, and it took me a year to finally raise them.
Good Luck!

The swords I couldn't figure out, especially since that one female I had lived on for a long time afterwards. My PH has remained steady for months and I haven't had any high ammonia or nitrate/nitrite levels in a very very long time.

The Gouramis all had a single small sore on their sides that looked like a raised bump right before they died. It was strange and it scared me. Fortunately, none of my other fish got sick, so it wasn't a parasite or a fungus.

I had the suspicion then that it was a bite, but I never saw the gouramis going at it nor did I see any other fish attacking them.

I'm not sure what it is, but that bump seemed to occur on all the dwarf gouramis we had before they died. It is very strange and doesn't make sense.