I got the powder blue gourami!

You don't need 2 float it for an hour. Only 30 mins. They should get along fine.

Here's a little info.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=991

No quarrantine tank?

Roan

guppygal said:

No - I only have 3 guppies in my tank, so I have not set up a Quar. tank.

Wow - you have a lot of tanks!!

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A few

Keep an eye on everything then, eh? Most diseases are brought in with new fish and they don't show up until everyone is stressed -- like when you add a new one. Good luck!

Roan

guppygal said:

I feel guilty about no live plants ... will it make a difference?

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live or fake doesn't really make a difference to your fish. as long as they have something to hide behind or hang out by, they're happy.

the difference with live plants is that they're softer (a consideration if you have bettas or other long-finned fish that might get torn on hard plastic), and that they remove fish waste products naturally. for example, they absorb CO2 that fish breathe out and ammonia and nitrate that is the byproduct of their digestion. however, they only absorb CO2 and produce O2 during the day, or whenever there is enough light to photosynthesize. at night, they actually absorb O2 because they have to respire, too, to keep their cells alive.

so plants act as an additional biological filter, but can be tricky to keep alive. if the plants die due to poor light or whatever, they will rot and pollute the water even worse than if they weren't there. make sense?

please feel free to direct any plant questions to the Aquatic Plants section

congratz on the new fish... powder blues are really cool and make excellent centerpeice and fish in general :thm:

guppygal said:

I thought I would be biting off more than I can chew by adding live plants. Thats is why I stuck with the fake ones (for now).

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good thinking! i think people who try to do it all (learning fish and plants) at the same time end up with a mess of rotting plants and an uncycled tank to boot!

you're a wise newbie
but when you're ready for the challenge, read the Aquatic Plants section and feel free to post! There are quite a few threads in there about "beginner" or easy-to-care-for plants.

Once you get the hang of taking care of live plants, you'll never go back, I guarantee it! They're almost as rewarding as keeping fish and shrimps happy and thriving. I love nothing better than seeing my healthy, green, balanced tank.

good luck, guppygal!