I need to know how compatible Gourami's and Ciclids are normally? My ph is between 7.8-8.0 currently and I don't have any fish in my 48 gallon tank (yet!). I would like to do both ideally, but I want others experience first.
I can't speak for the cichlids, but the gold and pearls will both get to about 4.5 inches, and spend most of their time in the upper area of the tank. If they are locally purchased, they should be acclimated to the high pH without problems. As long as the cichlids aren't known for being nippy, they may just ignore the gouramies--but once more, I'm not familiar with the cichlids and can't guess if that is the case or not. I do know that a few people keep gouramies with cichlids successfully, but typically in large setups where everyone has lots of room.
These will not mix. The cichlids you want are African and are mean and need hard and high PH water. The gouramis are soft water and low PH. So no--will not mix.
You can try smaller South American Cichlids. That will work.