Dwarf Gourami pair in 12g?

[sixstringphil]

Thanks to much help from this forum, my tank has finally cycled. I lost a few fish in the process, but the remaining fish seem to be doing very well. Here's what I have now...6 Neon Tetras and 2 Otto Catfish. What I would like to do is add 1 more otto and then a pair of dwarf gouramis. What are your thoughts on that? Another option I'm considering is adding a female betta that I have in another tank and maybe getting a couple more to go with her. However, she was VERY aggressive towards a male betta (yeah, yeah, I know. I'm still learning!) so I've always been nervous about putting her back into a community tank.

With this stock, could I also add a few shrimp to clean up the leftovers, or would I already be maxed out?

Here are my specs...
12 gallon freshwater tank
6 Neon Tetras, 2 Otto Catfish
Very light planting (java fern, needle-leaf, anubias nana)
temp: 78-80
pH: 7.8
ammonia: 0
nitrites: 0
nitrates: 5-10

Thanks!!

 

[Hooked Newbie]

I'd suggest only adding one DG. That will unfortunately not pair well with shrimp.

 

[DAVIDFBT]

I have a DG with about 20 ghost shrimp, 2 amanos, and a bamboo shrimp and they do just fine.

 

[calivivarium1]

I'm gonna buy some ghost shrimp and see how those go over with my gouramis. If all goes well i am gonna snag some Indian Caridina species..

 

[jpappy789]

Stick with one DG.

 

[msjinkzd]

i have honey gourami with my cherries, they seem to do well and I have LOTS of shrimp in the tank. That being said, I do have a very thick "afro" of moss on a piece of driftwood where the juvie shrimp hide out.

 

[DAVIDFBT]

Just get the shrimp, he won't hurt them.

 

[sixstringphil]

Ok. Thanks everybody. I'm going to get some shrimp first and let them get going while I decide on the Gourami.

 

[msjinkzd]

That sounds good, it will give your shrimp time to grow out and your plants to get fuller as well.

 

[lilim10]

Getting the gouramis is a fine decision, I would leave out the third otto catfish though, many tanks do not have enough algae growth to support a larger population of ottos unless supplemented with blanched veggies (such as zucchini and cucumber) or algae tablets.