New 10gal tank

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gouramilove

New Fish
#1
Jul 3, 2007
7
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#1
I have posted before about my gold gourami and getting a 10 gallon tank. I am limited to a 10 gallon by the rules of the dorm that I'm moving into in a few weeks. I have had a gold gourami in a 5 gallon tank in my room since the beginning of May. He is happy and healthy and I can't wait to get him into the 10 gallon because I know he'll love to have a little more swimming room. But I also want to add a small school of fish when I move him into the 10 gallon...more for looks than anything. The gold gourami, his name is Barnaby, is a little feisty, but I don't feel like he would bother small schooling fish. He is irritated by fish of similar size, but if I get a school of 6 or 7 fish that are much smaller than he is I don't feel like he'd bother them. And from what I've read different people have different experiences with housing gourami with other gourami and with other fish as well in tanks of similar size to my 10 gallon. So I just want to know what other people's opinions are on this.

Thanks!
 

C

Conrad

New Fish
#2
Jul 29, 2007
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#2
Yeah I hate dorms, I have 10 gallons with some cardinal tetras.
Never had gourami but I think, you should be fine if you add a school of five small fish, rather than maximazing the capacity of the tank. Well just make sure the 10 gallon tank is good (acclimated) before adding anything, it shouldn't be that hard (assuming that you will use your current filter and other equipment to acclimate)
 

Last edited:
MissFishy

MissFishy

Superstar Fish
#3
Aug 10, 2006
2,237
5
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Michigan
#3
You want to make sure the tank is "cycled" before adding anything to it, not "acclimated." If your 5 gallon is indeed cycled by now, you can do this by adding your old filter media, gravel, and decorations to the new tank when you move. Make sure not to let the old stuff dry out or touch untreated tank water as that will kill off any beneficial bacteria. If you aren't clear on what cycling a tank means, please check out the link in my signature.

As far as stocking, your 5 gallon is much too small for your gourami, so it is a good thing you will be moving it. Some may say the 10g is also too small for a gourami as well. A good guideline to go by when stocking tanks is the inch per gallon rule. I say this because I know in a dorm it will be difficult to maintain the tank with regular water changes, drunk people feeding the fish, etc. So please no one go saying you can push the limits, push the limits. The "rule" states that you can have one inch of adult fish per gallon of water. Since you already have a gourami that will max out at around 3.5-4 inches, you have around 6 inches of fish left to stock the tank with. So a school of 6 tiny fish may be a possibility. Look at harlequin rasboras, they are fast and stay small. You could also consider adding some "critters" instead of fish. Look at mystery snails and varieties of shrimp or frogs. All are very interesting.
 

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gouramilove

New Fish
#4
Jul 3, 2007
7
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#4
MissFishy said:
You want to make sure the tank is "cycled" before adding anything to it, not "acclimated." If your 5 gallon is indeed cycled by now, you can do this by adding your old filter media, gravel, and decorations to the new tank when you move.

As far as stocking, your 5 gallon is much too small for your gourami, so it is a good thing you will be moving it. Some may say the 10g is also too small for a gourami as well.
Click to expand...

I read your website a while ago and it has some helpful information on it. My 5 gallon tank is cycled, I've had it since January. I was planning on just moving the gravel from my 5 gallon tank into the 10 gallon and placing the filter cartridge that I have in the 5 gallon filter right now into the 10 gallon filter once I get it all set up, they appear to use the same size cartridges. I think a 10 gallon would be alright for a gourami if it is the only gourami or fish of its size in the tank. Thank you so much for the advice!
 

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