qty of fish in 38g high tank

Question
Sir, i am interested in keeping the right qty of fish in my 38g tank.  it has been up and running for 5 weeks and all appears well.  ammonia is abit high still but i think its coming down slowly as my young children needed fish early on in the tanks life.  anyway now after 5 weeks i have 4 marble kissing gouramies, 2 gold gouramies, 7 small painted tiger barbs, 4 small cherry barbs, and 2 tinfoil barbs.  I am looking for something for the bottom level for color and gravel maintenance.  i was thinking 3-5 clown loaches or 3-5 red tail blue botia. what is your opinion.
Thanks
Carl

Answer
Hi Carl

I'm surprised your ammonia level isn't through the roof. Your tank is severely overstocked my friend.

Unfortunately, you don't have room for any more fish in your tank. The Kissing Gouramis will be 8-12" each and the Tinfoil Barbs will be 10"-14" as adults. So with just those fish, you are twice the capacity for your tank and that is without the Tigers, Cherry Barbs and other 2 Gouramis...which together add another 42 gallons worth of fish.

I know they appear small now, but they will all grow very quickly. For the type of tank you are wanting, you'll need at least a 125 gallon tank. You will need to buy a much larger tank, or a separate tank to put half of your fish in. As they grow and the tank gets more crowded, they will get sick and some will die.

Hope this helps although it isn't what you were hoping to hear :-( Good luck!

Richard