What should i do

[Hardy85]

I am in a bit of a decision making situation...
currently I have
1 dwarf gourami
10 zebra danio
14 Platy (4 adult, 10 juev/fry)
9 cherry barb ($1 at PS)

I've wanted a small school of cherrys since I started the tank, but didn't want to pay $3 per fish. I had settled on the platys as ok (was given all in two separate groups free). I want to add a school of dwarf cory and maybe oto. And was hoping come spring to look for a pair of dwarf cichlids....

So question is, do i sell all, some, or none of the platys?
And would my current stock list coincide well together?

[KevinVA]

You'll be fine adding any of the species you're opting for. They're all generally peaceful. The only squabbling I could see with this stock list is the Gourami and the Dwarf Cichlids, as they're both territorial. They'll probably size each other up and strut their stuff for a day or so, but eventually establish separate territories. Your tank is big enough, so long as there's enough visual separation throughout - plants/caves/etc.

Your danios and barbs are both pretty small fish, so they're not a big impact on waste production and they're not going to take up a whole lot of real estate. You should be fine with keeping the platys if you want to keep them, but that wouldn't leave much room for anything else. You could get away with a school on the bottom or the dwarf cichlids. I'm not too experienced with platys, though, so I'm not sure how much waste they'd produce.

Not sure if you've ever had Otos, but they also don't take up much room. They'll mostly stick to the sides for most of the day. Corys will probably be all over the tank along the substrate. You would probably be fine with a small school of each, so long as your filtration is adequate.

Edit: On second thought... I might get rid of 5-6 Platys and then you could probably keep everything else you want, so long as they're in small schools and you only have 1 pair of dwarf cichlids.

[steeler1]

+ 1 what kevin says about the platies they produce alot of waste.

Cherry barbs are great little fish and would be a great addition to the tank.

[Hardy85]

Yea I had only planned on 1 pair of dwarf cichlids and kinda figured the gourami would store stuff up at first. I like the barbs but my gf like the colors of the platy more lol. Have a few ppl interested in buying them. So they may go