Is it possible to humanely place two dwarf gourami in a 10 gallon planted tank?

fishorama said:
Yeah, "softwood" is not the best. It's difficult to get it to sink, as you've seen. I had a pine(?) driftwood piece attached to slate but it wanted to be a bit buoyant even after years of off & on use.

I had granite native rock in MA & they used wells in winter. My water was very soft whether from snow melt or wells, 2-4gdh, both KH & GH, & not much iron as I recall.

Everywhere has different water. It's easiest to keep fish happy in your tap water. Many common fish are commercially bred & may not need the same water parameters of their wild progenitors. (FLA has limestone I think, source of many US commercial fish farms). You may need to use RO or rainwater for some more picky species especially if you want to breed them.

What fish do you want to keep?
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Yes I had one heck of a time keeping that wood on the bottom! It's out now. I hope to clear out the yellow tannin.

I had initially wanted dwarf gourami but I realize now, thanks to your advice, that that is off the table with only a 10 gallon tank. I wanted to have a couple fish that would be relaxing to watch. Perhaps a betta? I have always loved the veiltail or fan tailed goldfish. I realize they put out a lot more waste and require more water volume.

I am self employed and do quite a bit of gardening in the summer-fall seasons. Gathering rain water is more work than I want to take on for one 10 gallon fish tank. I have access to excellent bottled spring water from the Dollar Store @ $1.00 per gallon. In summer months a 900 ft deep artesian well runs in all but the coldest months just south of the town where I work.

I think I have come to a decision. I had my heart set on gourami. Does one male dwarf gourami get lonely? That is probably a silly question. If you think he would not be happy, I would just as soon look for a beautiful fantail goldfish. He could have the 10 gallons all to himself.

One more question I would like to ask. Back 20 years ago when I had both a 55 gallon and 29 gallon in my office I was fond of the filters with the bio-wheel. Now I am hearing about the "AquaClear" . I am really curious as to what you think about these two products. I had always been impressed with the technology of the Penguin Bio-wheel.
 
the loach said:
You could keep 1 dwarf gourami.... by all means do not get a goldfish. Please read this:

injaf.org

What Size Tank for Goldfish? - INJAF

What size tank for goldfish is a question that often arises on fishkeeping forums and usually results in a wide variety of opinions and suggestions
injaf.org injaf.org
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I read the entire article. (I would have been at work today but there is a major blizzard outside and all of us are hunkered down in this part of the north woods.) It broke my heart to see how these fish suffer. Thank you for passing the article along.

Now, my favorite tank ever was a 55 gallon tall kept in my clinic with goldfish. There were about 4-5 in it. It was beautifully planted and they were growing, swimming around and truly appeared to be thriving. And I loved those Penguin bio-wheels! If fish could look happy I think they did. I found good homes when I needed to cut the number. I am glad for the fishes' sake that I have a degree in biology and chemistry which puts me in a better position to comprehend the science of stocking aquaria. BUT there is a lot I don't recall and a lot I don't know, like about the needs of dwarf gourami which fishorama explained to me.

I resent seeing the bizarre anatomy of goldfish bred to satisfy the fancy of human fascination while hindering normal body function of the fish. I prefer fantails with more normal body shapes. After that article though, I will only get a goldfish if I am willing to gradually invest in large tanks again. That will be hard given my well water situation. So I guess it is back to tropicals. Do you really think one dwarf gourami in a 10 gallon will be okay alone? If so, then I will go that route with perhaps a handful of neon tetras. Could I add a couple corey catfish without over planting?

Thanks again for your suggestions and the shared information is much appreciated.
 
Goldfish are great for ponds. If you don't want a heated tank you could have an unheated subtropical tank. There are many small subtropical fish available like white cloud mountain minnows, danio's and barbs and your dwarf gourami could be a paradise fish. Paleatus cories are subtropical as well. They even have fantailed rosy barbs... look just like goldfish but don't get big.
 
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If you want a pair of gouramis, a honey gourami pair might work. They're a bit smaller than DGs. In a 10g you could also have a small group of dwarf cories OR neons (I prefer cardinal tetras. That'd be about it whether you want a betta, DG, OR honey gourami(s). Be careful about either tetras & bettas. Back in the day, we had a betta & would buy very small neons. Some would get eaten until they got too big for the betta...but then it did seem they nipped his fins a bit & we moved them. This went on went on for a wile until we could no longer get tiny 6/$1 neons. (lol, how old am I?)

If you like corys, dwarf are the way to go. Pygmies are pretty much midwater swimmers, habrosus bottom fish...but pick just 1 species (say 6) to go with any of the labyrinth fish.



Clearing out tannins isn't hard, that's what carbon &/or water changes are for.
 
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fishorama said:
A 10g is too way too small for 2 males & probably a M & F pair too. Males want to build a bubble nest, entice a female to breed & drive her away. There isn't enough room for her to get out of his territory in a 10g.

If your heart is set a DG, you might keep a group of dwarf corydoras OR small tetras OR small rasboras with 1 DG.

Can you go with a 20g instead of a 10? That may give you a few more options, but not many. Still, just 1 DG...
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Hello again. I am looking at getting a 20 gallon tank. Probably will. But no larger. My question at this point is: I would like to get the long version in 20g with dimensions 30" x 12" x 12". Is that too shallow for dwarf gourami? I would just get one male and female powder blue dwarfs then. I could have a nice little school of cardinal tetras, if I can find a place to buy them.

Three major aquarium suppliers have gone out of business where I live. I can't believe it. PETCO has dealt poorly with the Drs. Foster & Smith company which they bought. PETCO fired 289 employees from Rhinelander, WI and now dwarf gourami are only shipped from California!!! Stock is way down. I just learned of this tonight. I wondered why I had trouble locating info on Drs. F&S. So sad. I have relied on Drs F&S for years for numerous pet needs.

https://www.wjfw.com/storydetails/2...al_groups_mobilize_to_provide_support_options

There is a nice and responsible hobbyist and supplier in Green Bay, Wi. Guess that is where I will try to get stuff now.
 
fishorama said:
That's kind of a big "if" on finding female dwarf gouramis. I haven't seen any in many years.
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fishorama said:
Yeah, "softwood" is not the best. It's difficult to get it to sink, as you've seen. I had a pine(?) driftwood piece attached to slate but it wanted to be a bit buoyant even after years of off & on use.

I had granite native rock in MA & they used wells in winter. My water was very soft whether from snow melt or wells, 2-4gdh, both KH & GH, & not much iron as I recall.

Everywhere has different water. It's easiest to keep fish happy in your tap water. Many common fish are commercially bred & may not need the same water parameters of their wild progenitors. (FLA has limestone I think, source of many US commercial fish farms). You may need to use RO or rainwater for some more picky species especially if you want to breed them.

What fish do you want to keep?
Click to expand...
Well I have a 20g long tank now (in the car). I will not have time to set that up for a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, the 10g is in a mighty ammonia spike -- no fish. I was wondering about how long it will take for a fish-less cycling of the 10g. Is it usually a matter of weeks or months? Should I be doing water changes even though there are no fish in it yet? Will adding more live plants (besides the hornwort) make a difference in timing. Thanks again for your advice.
 
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