Dwarf Gourami Tankmates

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PlecoCan

New Fish
#1
Sep 21, 2010
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#1
Hey I have had a dwarf powdered gourami, 2 guppies, and a plecos in a 10 gallon freshwater tank for a couple months now. I am moving the guppies into another tank my friend gave me it is also 10 gallons. I just got the plecos a month ago so now I have a dwarf gourami and a pleco in a 10 gallon.

I was just wondering what new tank mates I could get for my gourami. I would like to know what the fish would need anything extra and just to let you know my gourami is friendly.

Thanks
 

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littletankbigworld

Superstar Fish
#2
Aug 16, 2009
1,318
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SW Pennsylvania
#2
Common plecos require a minimum of 55 gallons. Your tank will be massively overstocked until you get rid of the pleco. Once you re-home the pleco or take it back to the pet store, you can add fish to your tank. Do not add any more gouramis to your tank unless you have a male/female pair. Even with a male/female pair, you will likely need a larger tank and a lot of plants. Dwarf gouramis of the same gender will fight to the death, especially in such a small tank. Gouramis are comparable to Siamese Fighting Fish. You could add a shoal of 3-4 of small cories, such as peppered, panda or pygmy corydoras.
Use aqadvisor.com/ for more stocking suggestions.

Did you cycle the new 10 gallon tank? Do you own a liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite?
 

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PlecoCan

New Fish
#3
Sep 21, 2010
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#3
Ok the salesperson told me the pleco is fine idk how long it would get.

Yes i have cycled the water the ammonia is zero, nitrate is zero, and nitrite is almost down to zero, it is like .11
 

achase

achase

Large Fish
#4
Feb 1, 2010
765
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British Columbia, Canada
#4
Ok the salesperson told me the pleco is fine idk how long it would get.
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Salesperson are often misinformed about fish keeping or just don't care because they want to make a sale (although there are good ones occasionally). Some pleco's can get really large like up to 20inchs. Otos would be a much better choice for your size of tank.
 

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littletankbigworld

Superstar Fish
#5
Aug 16, 2009
1,318
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SW Pennsylvania
#5
Plecos grow to be at least a foot long. Salespeople will lie to you because they want you to buy the wrong type of fish so that when your fish are killed or die because they are too small for the tank you have, you come running back to the store for another fish. Thus, the fish store makes more money and the innocent, unknowledgeable customers continue to mistreat their fish.

Nitrate should not be 0. A reading of 0 nitrate means your tank is not cycled. 0 ammonia is a good sign but .11 nitrite is not a good sign. Your readings should be 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and over 0 nitrate. I suggest you read about cycling as it is apparent that you misunderstood cycling, which is a common beginners mistake.

Do daily water changes until you get rid of your pleco. While otos can live in your tank, it is not a good idea to add any until your tank is cycled.
 

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PlecoCan

New Fish
#7
Sep 21, 2010
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#7
oops yeah i tested bout a week ago it was 11 nitrate.

about the plecos how long will it take to reach a foot. I can maybe get a bigger tank for it. will like a 30 gallon be fine?
 

achase

achase

Large Fish
#9
Feb 1, 2010
765
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British Columbia, Canada
#9
Like littletankbigworld said a pleco would need 55 gallons minimum.

I would test your water again today when cycling your tank its helpful to test your water everyday so you can monitor it's progress (it took me about a month to cycle my tank). What are your current readings (today)?
 

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OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#10
Feb 27, 2009
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#10
PlecoCan said:
oops yeah i tested bout a week ago it was 11 nitrate.
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What test kit do you use? I've never seen a reading of 11.

PlecoCan said:
about the plecos how long will it take to reach a foot. I can maybe get a bigger tank for it. will like a 30 gallon be fine?
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Keeping a fish in a too-small tank will stunt it, shortening its life significantly. If it's a common pleco, they can grow too large for a 55 gallon.
 

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littletankbigworld

Superstar Fish
#11
Aug 16, 2009
1,318
0
0
SW Pennsylvania
#11
Like OC said, you'd probably end up re-homing the fellow when it outgrows even a 55 gallon tank, so I'd say that 75 to 100 gallons is better. OC is more experienced than I am with plecos. Sorry, but it's better to re-home the fish instead of giving it a cramped life in a tiny tank and watching it die of organ failure due to stunted growth. Think of it this way...You wouldn't buy a chihuahua-sized dog house for a labrador retriever puppy. Eventually that puppy will grow up, whether you want it to or not, and cramming it in a small place is not ideal.
 

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PlecoCan

New Fish
#12
Sep 21, 2010
8
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#12
ok thanks everyone who helped. i will maybe see if i can give the pleco away but i still havent found any good fish for my gourami. i am looking at some cherry barbs and zebra danio, but im not sure if they will work well together
 

bassbonediva

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
#15
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#15
aakaakaak said:
How would 3xAmerican Flagfish work?
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Flagfish reach ~3". With the dwarf gourami in there, there isn't enough space (swimming-wise or bio-load-wise) for three fish that size (you'd have a total of 9" of fish in the tank, so that's pretty much all you could have in there if you're going by the "one-inch-per-gallon" rule, which really only applies to small fish like tetras).
 

bassbonediva

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
#17
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#17
AqAdvisor is an imperfect system. It's a good tool as far as it goes. However, picture four fish, each 3" in length, in a 10 gallon tank. There might be room for them, but you might end up with territory issues (remember that DGs are territorial and a 10 gallon tank REALLY isn't that big). There's also the issue of swimming space. DGs are fairly active fish. I don't know about AFFs, but just by the fact that they're killifish, I'd say they're pretty active as well.
 

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littletankbigworld

Superstar Fish
#19
Aug 16, 2009
1,318
0
0
SW Pennsylvania
#19
aakaakaak said:
I really don't know much about the AFF's. I do know that if you dropped in 3xguppies instead of AFF's it would trigger for filtration.
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What do you mean "it would trigger for filtration"?
Forget the AFFs. I'd add a school of small, peaceful schooling fish as bass suggested. Don't add any fish until your pleco is out of the tank.
 

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