Dwarf Gourami + ?

[pandalize]

I have a 10 gallon. I've kind of narrowed my stocking choices to the Dwarf Gourami and either platies, neon tetras, or bumblebee gobies (preferably a combination of all of them!)
Neon tetras would be my 3rd choice, as i've had them before and they kinda lacked personality.
What do you think? how many of each?

[OscarFan]

I would go with one of them. The platies are livebearers andd will soon overpopulate the tank even with the dwarf gourami. Bumblebee gobies are more dificult and some need brackish water which would conflict with the Gourami's needs. The neons seem to be the best choice, but like you said they dont have a lot of personality, but do look nice in a heavily planted tank.
If you want personality I would reccomend looking into cory catfish. They have personality, look good and you could have a proper school of 6 in the 10g
Dont orget to cycle your tank.(read about cycling in the free e-book to the left)

[Z Fish Man]

I have a 10 and have diamond tetras. They don't have too much personality but the paradise fish is pretty cool. You might also consider a honey gourami as i hear they are pretty mellow and don't get very big.

[kaimarkhirst]

Getting back to your original choices, ( although what the others have suggested are excellent choices) Dwarf gouramis ae very beautiful fish as ive got 5 of them and with the right light, they look sensational and are very nice to watch.

In a 10g, itll probably be good for about 2, 3 at the most ( Breeding pair possibly??). just in case if your unsure of their natural surroundings, here is a brief description.

Generally speaking they like places to hide similar to convict cichlids as they are freshwater cave dweller fish and I believe they lay eggs in a similar fashion to angels, or slate or resting rock. They also are quite territorial so id really not want to keep two males in that tank at all. Feeding is generally easy, flakes, bloodworm, but htey do have delicate digestive system as Ive found out as if you feed them too much live food, theyll develop a kind of fish diorreah. Live plants are kindly taen to aswell.

Hope this helps along with what the others have posted.

Kai

[thrakuarium]

A 10 gallon is a pretty tight size so it does tend to limit your options. The one inch fish / gallon general rule gives you 10 inches fully stocked and your gourami will take 2-3 inches of that. I would hesitate on multiple gourami due to the small surface area available to them. As anabantids , a surface breather simular to a betta in that regard, they could get territorial over that part of the tank. A group of the smaller fish that like middle or lower areas of the tank would be nice. Neon tetra, glowlite tetra and harlequin rasbora all hang around the 1.5 inch catagory and would work. All 3 of those should probably go in after your tank is fully cycled though, since they can be sensitive to the initial cycling. Actually if your tank isn't cycled and you have no fish, go ahead and do a fishless cycle first to get it ready. then you could do a gourami, 4-5 of one of the 1.5 fish available and then maybe a mystery snail or 2. Corys would also be an alternative to the 1.5 fish choice.

[robflanker]

Just out of interest, i'm planning on 6 tetras, 6 corys and a dwarf gourami in my 10g

[rich311k]

What kind of tetra and cory? That seems pretty packed to me.

[robflanker]

neon tetra and dwarf corys for the 10g

Recommendations on here were that i could do also do panda corys, with the long term plan of moving them to a 30g I have waiting.

[rich311k]

That would work. Sounds like a nice active tank.

[kaimarkhirst]

thats waaaayyyy overstocked in the tank rob. As an example, ive got a 10G tank, and ive got 2 fish in it and theyre cichlids.....

So I hope the conclusion of this is that your overstocking over 3 fish so be careful what you choose...

On a similar note, dwarf gouramis, if you have them fro ma small size, theyll be fine. Get them from an inch over, youll have problems...

Hope this help.


Kai

[robflanker]

I have a thread entitled 'advice for a greenhorn' in beginner freshwater where i was recommended this stocking by many people...

The stock is found in the first 2-3 pages if you wish to read

[thrakuarium]

If we follow the 1 inch fish/gallon of water rule you have 6 neons x 1.5 (9 inches) + a dwarf gourami (2 inch min) + 6 TRUE dwarf corys x 1 (6 inches) which brings you to 17 inches of fish. There is a difference of opinion on whether the corys should count since they are bottom feeding fish (and I am also guessing a smaller bioload). Even if you don't count them, you are looking at 11 gallons worth of fish in a 10 gallon tank. I wont say it can't be done,I think the neon bioload is also small, but you would need to maintain pristine water/tank conditions for the fish. I would definately be using a filter rated at least double the tank size for the extra filtering ability. Even with that, IMO a gourami is better off in a tank of 20 gallon min size.

[robflanker]

I believe the 1inch of fish per gallon rule is widely been ridiculed on this board. If you follow that logic, you could have 10x 1inch starter goldfish in a 10g and I believe the avid goldfish keepers on here would throw a fit at such a suggestion.

The 1inch rule has been abandoned mainly because it doesn't cross allow for bioloads which you alluded to.

I'm certainly no expert on stocking, and I always ask my questions here but when reliable sources like WT sign off on my stocking plans - thats good enough for me. In fact, WT suggested the numbers as I named some fish I was interested in.

Don't worry I plan on having a 20-30g filter in the 10g - i'd already thought of that! thanks tho

[thrakuarium]

1. Goldfish reach a size of 12 inches that equals 12 gallons to start. The rule is based on adult size, not the size they are when you get them.
2. Goldfish are fat bodied and dont fit into the 1 inch per gallon rule to begin with. They are viewed as 1 inch per 2 gallon fish. So that is 24 gallons and that is why any goldfish should be in a min 30 gallon tank.
3. The rule is a general rule, experienced aquarists can rely on their own ability to gauge how many fish they can properly take care of. Keep in mind you are posting in the beginner part of this forum. If a beginner throws this advice out the window and puts what he pleases into a tank, what chance do his fish have?

Note I did say it could be done with pristine water conditions.... an attribute that experienced keeper can do.

[robflanker]

Thats why there is a compatibility section and the beginner can ask more experienced fish keepers for advice. The first advice I got was to abandon the 1inch rule.

The beginner can ask on here about good stocking options and not have to follow the abandoned 1inch rule.

I don't think it requires an experienced keeper to keep pristine water. Its sort of learning on the job. Most on here look back at their days early on and say they made mistakes. I'm still a newbie but asking on here can set you up with a good stocking.

Plus, the people on here whom I trust wouldn't tell you to start with a very sensitive fish or put a 1inch clown loach in a 10g tank. They'd recommend more hardy and less sensitive fish to begin things.

The OP can do as they please - i was merely stating what I was planning that had been sanctioned and recommended by other experienced members to this newbie.

[terrapin24h]

Thats why there is a compatibility section and the beginner can ask more experienced fish keepers for advice. The first advice I got was to abandon the 1inch rule.


Most here will agree that the 1in/gal rule is not even close to even possibly being considered accurate. I think a good way to look at stocking is to try and figure out how much life you can put in a tank without having to do more than 1 water change of 20-30% per week, and keep nitrate levels below 40. Then, you have to look into physical territory issues; some fish (like gourami) are very territorial, and even though two or three would pass the bioload rule in a 10 gal tank, you wouldn't dare do it. For a really good read on it, check out Fishguy's sticky at the top of the forum:

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=30940

--chris