10g tank for dwarf gourami

outofwater said:

Moved a portion of duckweed and other small floating plant, and put a bamboo there. And put the other plants on weighed tie ins for now. Still work to do, but he seems to like the changing setup.

As for another fish, we'll see. If his temperament allows, I'd like to pair him with a girl gourami, but I need to finish setting this tank up with more plants (or wait for these to grow) and put driftwood before I attempt that.

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Agree. Only get a female when it is densely planted.

Just came back from a week-long trip. Brought back some beach stuff and decided to add it to Mr blurami's tank. And added a second stalk of lucky bamboo. Tank parameters are excellent, next stop is changing the substrate to sand on this tank too, and perhaps try to add a tank mate. Someone is trying to rehome a lone upside down catfish because their tank spring a leak and they're done with the hobby.

Sorry to say but an upside upside down catfish in a 10G isn't a good idea.

DoubleDutch said:

Sorry to say but an upside upside down catfish in a 10G isn't a good idea.

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Too small? I just want a tank mate for this guy, but also make sure all my fish are in an environment that makes them thrive, not just live by

A fish that has aggressive tendencies is not at all likely to change them. Adding any fish is taking a real risk and frankly would not be humane from what you've told us. The gourami is not lonely and he does not need other fish; the fact that he goes after them tells us this.

As for the upside down catfish, this is shoaling species that needs a small group, but they get too large for a 10g. Also, it sounds as if the care given to this catfish was not at all adequate, so it too may well have problems.

When a fish is under stress from any number of things, it can become chronic and there is no way back when this happens. To be honest, such a fish (that shows the aggression, not saying that "might" without evidence) should be euthanized. I have been in this boat a couple times with the last one, two or three fish of a large group that died off naturally, leaving the lone fish--and they turn very aggressive from the stress. You cannot have aggressive fish terrorizing other fish, they will become harmed and things will get worse.

Byron said:

A fish that has aggressive tendencies is not at all likely to change them. Adding any fish is taking a real risk and frankly would not be humane from what you've told us. The gourami is not lonely and he does not need other fish; the fact that he goes after them tells us this.

As for the upside down catfish, this is shoaling species that needs a small group, but they get too large for a 10g. Also, it sounds as if the care given to this catfish was not at all adequate, so it too may well have problems.

When a fish is under stress from any number of things, it can become chronic and there is no way back when this happens. To be honest, such a fish (that shows the aggression, not saying that "might" without evidence) should be euthanized. I have been in this boat a couple times with the last one, two or three fish of a large group that died off naturally, leaving the lone fish--and they turn very aggressive from the stress. You cannot have aggressive fish terrorizing other fish, they will become harmed and things will get worse.

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I wouldnt say you'd have to euthanize the fishjust cause its aggressive but ijust wouldnt house anything with it...

Thank you all, good input. I'll keep you posted on how things go. I was told this guy (girl, who knows) is just the lone remaining inhabitant, and long on the tooth too, about 10 years, give or take. Unless these people are lying, which I hope is not the case, it's just people trying to find a better home for a fish because besides the loneliness the tank is now leaking and they truly seem to be out of the hobby. Who knows, we'll see. It'll be an interesting experience, hopefully a good one for all involved. Based on your feedback and what I've read, I'll put him on my "main" larger tank.

outofwater said:

Too small? I just want a tank mate for this guy, but also make sure all my fish are in an environment that makes them thrive, not just live by

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Fish need other things to thrive than a tankmate in my opinion.

A tankmate is a human "invention"

DoubleDutch said:

Fish need other things to thrive than a tankmate in my opinion.

A tankmate is a human "invention"

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Fair point. But some fish do prefer to live with others of the same species, right? I'm still thinking about getting another dwarf gourami, a girl, for this nutjob. I'm in the process of putting more plants in this tank first, changing the substrate to sand, and then we'll see.

Picked up the catfish btw, strange looking one, and seems like he got scratched when they caught him. I'll have it separated for a week or so, to make sure it's ok and see if the scratch (?) starts to heal before I let him loose in the 29g tank.

outofwater said:

Fair point. But some fish do prefer to live with others of the same species, right? I'm still thinking about getting another dwarf gourami, a girl, for this nutjob. I'm in the process of putting more plants in this tank first, changing the substrate to sand, and then we'll see.

Picked up the catfish btw, strange looking one, and seems like he got scratched when they caught him. I'll have it separated for a week or so, to make sure it's ok and see if the scratch (?) starts to heal before I let him loose in the 29g tank.

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True but she will need to have places to hide. When he will get in matingmood he might kill her otherwise (a 10G is quite small for that reason)

outofwater said:

But some fish do prefer to live with others of the same species, right?

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This is a misunderstanding of the actual issue. Among freshwater fish species, there are those that must be in a group. Some call them schooling, I think shoaling is a better term, but that doesn't matter. All characins (tetras, pencilfish, hatchetfish, characidium), cyprinids (rasboras, danios, barbs, loaches), rainbowfish, and many substrate fish (corydoras example) are shoaling fish. They live in groups, this is a inherent trait of the species. It is part of their genetic blueprint. The individual fish "expect" to be in a group, and some species have varying ways of showing this like hierarchies. To deny any of these fish a group is inhumane because it is something the fish must have and serious consequences result when it is not provided. It is not a matter of preference, it is a basic need.

Gourami live in very loose aggregates. All males are territorial; the degree to which they exercise this inherent need for "their" space varies with species, and individual fish. But they need the space.

In all of the above, when the basic needs of the species are lacking, trouble follows. Stress can occur over long periods, weeks and even months, without any sign to the aquarist. Some individual fish deal better than others with all this. But stress increases aggression, this is scientific fact. And at some point there is a "snapping point" after which there is no remedy.

To add another gourami in with the aggressive gourami you now have is cruel and inhumane, period. There is no other way to put it, I'm sorry.

Thanks for the input. I'll keep the focus on improving the 10g tank and making sure this old timer is ok to be let loose in the 29g and enjoy whatever time he's got left.

Updated layout, plants properly "planted", and unfortunately that old timer peacefully passed away in the larger tank after a couple of days off quarantine. I don't want to think bad of people, but I have a feeling that the previous owners saw him deteriorate, and/or still had other fish that hurt this one, and just got rid of him. I hope that wasn't the case, but this fish didn't look healthy and those "scratches" on both sides of the body didn't look like they could be just because he was squirming when they caught him to give him to me.

After all the comments and weighing the options I've made up my mind, Mr blurami here will be the sole resident of this tank. I'll add a couple of morimo moss balls, a mystery snail, and postpone the substrate change until those plants grab on to the bases they're on currently. The weights didn't hold as expected, I'll probably superglue them over the weekend on the next water change, and the change to sand will probably happen in the next month, just because now I'm focusing on tweaking the light at the 29g (algae is becoming an issue) and getting another tank (just for plants).

A fuller picture of the tank, added 4 marimo balls just now