Tank setup help

[Sbender]

I posted under “what is this fish” but now that I know what it is (there was a mixup at the store) it lead me to more questions so I’m posting here/again. I have 2 ten gallon tanks. One is my sons and the other is new. Long story short, can I put two gouramis together even if one is larger (older) than the other? They would live with a smallish plecco (I know not ideal but my son is very attached and we’ve had this plecco for awhile.) would that max out the tank or is there anything else that can be added? I don’t want to over populate the tank but I don’t want it to be too empty either. The plecco is very aggressive (which is why I moved him to the new tank) but he seems to do okay with the gourami.

[goatnad]

What type of gouramis are they? If it is a blue, gold or opaline then I wouldn't recommend it.they get up to 6 inches and can be very territorial.Also a 10 gallon would be to small for even one of them. Dwarf gouramis you would have better luck and could get away with 2.

[landon_garcia]

I agree with the above. While the gourami and the pleco are small now, they will grow out of the tank at some point. With proper water changes you can keep them in that tank for a little bit.

I would recommend you get some quality food that helps with clear water to reduce the number of water changes needed.

A new company "Sea Diamond" makes a quality clear water formula food to assist with that. You cant beat the price for how long it lasts. A bottle lasts me forever. Here is a link to it: https://www.ebay.com/i/264088773561?chn=ps

All my fish love it including the pleco because it is an omnivorous diet for all tropical fish.

In the future you should definitely look to get a bigger tank, but for the short term get this food to lower the amount of water changes.

[Sbender]

Thanks for the advice, they are dwarfs and I maintenance the tanks every weekend. I guess I can try it and put him back if they don’t get along. We’ll probably end up getting a larger tank at some point.
So just to clarify in 10 gallons I shouldn’t add anything else other than the two dwarfs? The tank looks really big for two fish.... but I do want them healthy.

[goatnad]

Originally Posted by Sbender

Thanks for the advice, they are dwarfs and I maintenance the tanks every weekend. I guess I can try it and put him back if they don’t get along. We’ll probably end up getting a larger tank at some point.
So just to clarify in 10 gallons I shouldn’t add anything else other than the two dwarfs? The tank looks really big for two fish.... but I do want them healthy.

I wouldn't but if I did it would be something small with a small bioload. But with that said I prefer to give fish more space then what is usually said to be recommended. If I were you I would go with 1 gourami and something small like neon or cardinal tetras. 6 of them. I've also kept dwarf gouramis with white cloud minnows at a max temp of 75 degrees and everyone did great. The minnows should actually be kept a bit lower at 72(max) but all are still alive and were kept at that temp for almost a year. Pleco is an absolute no from me. Common plecos can get to insane sizes.

[earhtmother]

Second that - the handsome 4" pleco I bought for my 30g is now a 15" whale in my 125g. Still handsome though