red honey gourami

[metsrangersfan15]

hey guys, im new to this site, i have 4 tanks, but the one that i need help with, ironically, is my ten gallon tank.

I recently purchased one red honey gourami and am housing it my ten g with 3 otos. it has been swimming non-stop with its reflection and i have 3 options.

1. get a few more of these gouramis, since they stay small, and have only a gourami+bottom feeder tank.

2. get 2 female gouramis of any dwarf type.

3. leave the gourami as the only of its kind and get a platy or 2 along with some tetras.

thanks!

 

[Mumma.of.two]

hey guys, im new to this site, i have 4 tanks, but the one that i need help with, ironically, is my ten gallon tank.

I recently purchased one red honey gourami and am housing it my ten g with 3 otos. it has been swimming non-stop with its reflection and i have 3 options.

1. get a few more of these gouramis, since they stay small, and have only a gourami+bottom feeder tank.

2. get 2 female gouramis of any dwarf type.

3. leave the gourami as the only of its kind and get a platy or 2 along with some tetras.

thanks!

Hi and welcome!
I wouldn't add another gourami of any type to the tank. It's a cramped space so it might cause some problems. IMO you could get 2 platys OR a small school of nano fish (like ember tetras). Then you would be fully stocked.

 

[absolutangel04]

IMO, your tank is not really big enough for more gouramis, even though they stay small. It gets complicated to add in more of them because they tend to get a bit territorial with their own kind. Honeys are more mild than some other gourami species, but I would still not risk putting more than 1 in a tank that size. If you do want to try it, I recommend planting the tank and putting up decor to break up the line of sight.
You can put some other fish in there too and maybe that would help with the pacing. Be careful not to overstock it though or you may bring out territorial behavior form the gourami.
Personally, I wouldn't even keep one honey gourami in a 10g tank, but some people do. To each his own. Like I said, just make sure not to over-stock the tankmates. Welcome ot the site and good luck with your fish.

 

[metsrangersfan15]

thank you both for your advice. im going to refrain from purchasing more. when i started the tank, gouramis werent even considered. however, these stay at a decent size so i figured why not. then i felt bad because the LFS had a bunch in its tank and it kept swimming with its reflection. either way, ill probably grab a school of tetras or 2 platys and call it quits, after the corys, of course.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

thank you both for your advice. im going to refrain from purchasing more. when i started the tank, gouramis werent even considered. however, these stay at a decent size so i figured why not. then i felt bad because the LFS had a bunch in its tank and it kept swimming with its reflection. either way, ill probably grab a school of tetras or 2 platys and call it quits, after the corys, of course.

Cories? The only cories that can go in a ten are pygmy cories. If you get them (including the Ottos and gourami) I wouldn't get anymore than a small school (6) of nano fish and skip the platys.

 

[metsrangersfan15]

Cories? The only cories that can go in a ten are pygmy cories. If you get them (including the Ottos and gourami) I wouldn't get anymore than a small school (6) of nano fish and skip the platys.

let me explain what i meant in that post. im deciding to get either the platys OR the tetras, not both.
as for the cories, i've never seen the pygmy variety at my LFS, but i'll look. i was actually thinking about getting 3 or 4 panda cories, which stay small.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Panda cories get too active for a ten gallon unfortunately. I would say 20 G is a good place to start with them.

 

[absolutangel04]

I have not personally kept panda cories before, so I am just repeating info here, but the people I know who have kept them typically suggest a larger tank for them. They are a bit shyer than some of the larger species and seem to do better in larger groups which a 10g cannot support well. I agree about pygmy cories being a better choice.
As for tetras, most of the commonly available tetras do not belong in a 10g tank either due to adult size and activity level. But, there are lots of really great little fish that can thrive in a tank that size. Ember tetras, least killifish, neons, green neons, micro rasbora or chili rasbora would do do well IMO. If you put the larger tetras in a 10g (like rummy-nose or cardinals), they tend to have problems in the long-run.