Different Stories From Different Shops! Stocking...

[TofuSushi]

I'm a newbie to fishkeeping! I've been to three shops, and the advice I've gotten on stocking has been amazingly different!

I purchased this tank: http/www.amazon.com/Eclipse-System-6-by/dp/B0002DIIBI
put the gravel and a few big rocks in and let it cycle for three days, per the instructions of the "expert" at the first shop.

Then I went, and per his recommendation, took home two lovely dwarf gouramis. For the first day, they were terrific ... curious, eating, darting around. Then things went sour; apparently I had two males. The bullying got so bad, we took one back -- the sunburst dwarf. We asked what other fish could be kept with the one less aggressive gourami (his name is Bobby), and a different shop owner recommended no more fish in that tank.

This is Bobby!

We went to another shop to look for a log, since Bobby seemed to want to hide behind the plants all the time.
We started talking to this shop owner, and he said we really should have let the tank cycle for two weeks. And he recommended putting in three rasboras and some kind of catfish he had to go along wtih the gourami! That seems like way too much since the rasboras could each be an inch long! And I can't remember the catfish type (it wasn't a cory I don't think, he was black, 2 inches long, really neat!), but while the shop guy said he would stay two inches long, I can't find any type when I search the internet that stays that small and is not a schooling one.

A third shop we went to (finally found a cute statue that helps Bobby hide) had an amazing array of fish; it was a chain store, and we didn't really bother talking to anyone, we just got our statue and went.

Bobby seems pretty bored (just staring at the back of the tank all day). So after a lot of reading, my husband and I thought three or four tiny guppies would provide some company for Bobby, but not be too crowded.
We plan to go next weekend (at which point the tank will have been going for three weeks) to get some guppies. They had some that were a creamy white color with a black and red dot on the side, very lovely and cute.
Are there any other really tiny fish (besides neon tetras.... sorry, but I'm not crazy about them)? There were some very tiny, and absolutely cute, puffers at this big shop, but i know nothing about them.

Thoughts? Am I doing the right thing?

TIA!

 

[sparklefuzz]

Guppies grow to around 2.5 inches. You already have 3" of fish in a 10g tank, so the most you could have is 3, at a push. You could do with something that only grows between 1 and 2 inches ideally, then you could have maybe 4, depending on size. Harlequins are pretty and they only grow to 1.75", ideally you'd keep 6, but 4 would probably be ok... someone else will tell you! Glowlight Tetras grow to just over an inch, so you could get 5 or 6 of those, although they are schooling fish, so 6 would be best. Theres a few choices out there. Hope you find something to keep Bobby happy!

 

[TofuSushi]

Yeah, it sounds like tetras might be the way to go.

I also meant to ask, what about a female dwarf gourami? I'm not convinced, though, that any of these shops could for sure know which of their fish are females! grr!

 

[djloach]

Gourami's are semi-aggressive towards each other. You can house more than one in a tank but not a tank that small. I have 3 gouramis (2m, 1f) in a 90g and though they fight at times (especially the dominant male with the female) the tank is big enough that they can each have their own territory and als enough room to excape the dominant one.

As for cycling, yes, you should wait for your tank to cycle. That was good advice. The bad advice was then advising you to take home more fish before cycling the tank. I'd have left the gourami in by himself for a few weeks before adding more fish as you will probably get ammonia or nitrite buildup and the fish won't like that (it may actually be contributing to his hiding).

 

[BigIan]

do you own a t4est kit of not then get one.

you need to monitor your water conditions before you consider adding more fish

 

[TofuSushi]

yes, plan to get one soon so we can see how the water is coming along.

 

[voo]

I wouldnt go for any puffer, they're aggressive and would soon eat any guppy that you put in the same tank with it.

 

[wodesorel]

Have you thought about an African Dwarf frog or maybe some shrimp? (Though the gourami might just see the shrimp as a tasty snack, come to think of it.) Both are primarily bottom dwellers, so they won't be in the same area as the gourami - the frog just needs to come up for air now and again.

 

[Boxermom]

I would add a puffer only if you want fin-less fish.

 

[TofuSushi]

Yes, considering frogs. They're so homely though!

 

[sparklefuzz]

I find your poll a little confusing. Firstly, you have a 10g tank, not 6... and you said you didn't want neons. LOL.

Anyways, I think the advice you've been given is good advice, check your water levels before deciding what comes next

 

[TofuSushi]

No, I do believe its a six gallon tank.

Not crazy about tetras, but better than nothin!

 

[sparklefuzz]

No, I do believe its a six gallon tank.

Not crazy about tetras, but better than nothin!

Oh, I do apologise. I must have worked it out wrong by the measurements.

 

[Neal]

If it is a 6 gallon tank, I recommend you getting some amano shrimp, i've kept a dwarf gourami and amano shrimp with them before and they didn't even touch them. Also african dwarf frogs are really cute, and i'd get some if I had the space. I don't think you should get any schooling fish as they like to be in big groups. If it's a 10 gallon you could get 2 female gouramis (these aren't as pretty), and then aggression will be spread between the two females, and you may even get some babies! Some advice you have been given has been ok, but you have certainly done the right thing by not buying lots of fish.

Neal