How Many Dwarf Gouramies Can I Keep In 10 Gallons Tank

[gourami5]

Hi,

I am a newbie and I just started a 10 gallons tank two weeks ago, currently I have four dwarf gouramies in the tank (neon, power blue, rainbow and flame red all males) and a cory catfish to clean the food that might drop to the bottom. Even though I read they might be aggressive toward each other, all of them seem very peaceful except during the feeding time, when they sometimes chase each other.(so that they can get more food, i guess). So right now 10 inches of fishes in my 10 gallons tank. (4*2inches gourami + 2 inches cory(right now the cory is about 1 inch)).

My question is can I add one more dwarf gourami to my tank or is it too much? I am thinking about adding blue coral dwarf gourami(to complete all colors varieties) and I do not want to change to a bigger tank. Thanks in advance.

Joe

 

[rdd1952]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

If you've only had the tank for 2 weeks, you definitely shouldn't add anymore fish now. Have you checked your water parameters? Unless you used some filter media from an established tank, you probably have elevated levels of ammonia and nitrite which are toxic to fish. If you don't have any test kits (a master kit that tests ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH is best), you need to get some soon as you will need to do tests at least once a day until the tank cycles. Get liquid tests as strips are terribly inaccurate and more expensive in the long run.

I don't have any gouramis so I don't know how hardy they are but corys need an established, cycled tank. Also, they are schooling fish and you need at lest 3 of them. I would suggest taking the one cory back and maybe getting some ghost shrimp to handle the left over food. I'm just not sure how they would fare with the gouramis though.

Also, I see your group is "Validating". You will have to go to the email that you received when you registered and click the link to validate your membership. Until then, you will only be able to post in the Newbie and Beginners sections.

 

[gourami5]

Thanks rdd. I haven't test the amonia and nitrate level yet. I will go buy the kit today. And I am not planning to add a new fish right away. I am planning to add it a couple of weeks later. Could you explain to me about what are the disadvantages of possibly overloading the tank(with 5 dwarf gouramies)? Is that Amonia and nitrate problem only or is there other reason? Thanks.

Joe

 

[Tal]

Hi,

I am a newbie and I just started a 10 gallons tank two weeks ago, currently I have four dwarf gouramies in the tank (neon, power blue, rainbow and flame red all males) and a cory catfish to clean the food that might drop to the bottom. Even though I read they might be aggressive toward each other, all of them seem very peaceful except during the feeding time, when they sometimes chase each other.(so that they can get more food, i guess). So right now 10 inches of fishes in my 10 gallons tank. (4*2inches gourami + 2 inches cory(right now the cory is about 1 inch)).

My question is can I add one more dwarf gourami to my tank or is it too much? I am thinking about adding blue coral dwarf gourami(to complete all colors varieties) and I do not want to change to a bigger tank. Thanks in advance.

Joe

HEY im a newbee too!! im 16 years old with a 10 gallon and a 50 gallon tank
at the moment im working in petco (fish)
in my 50 i have 6 oscars and in the 10 i have dwarf gouramies and some neon tetras
and a cory albino sooo cute!

answer: i wouldnt recomend you to add more fish at the moment
the inch for gallon chart thingy is right on the edge of being wrong
and about the agressiveness
it will usualy pass my gouramies also started fighting the first few months i had them
they will make up dont worrrie

 

[rdd1952]

Thanks rdd. I haven't test the amonia and nitrate level yet. I will go buy the kit today. And I am not planning to add a new fish right away. I am planning to add it a couple of weeks later. Could you explain to me about what are the disadvantages of possibly overloading the tank(with 5 dwarf gouramies)? Is that Amonia and nitrate problem only or is there other reason? Thanks.

Joe

Overstocking creates several problems. The more fish you have, the more waste you have. Waste is ammonia which becomes nitrite and eventually nitrate. Ammonia and nitrite are toxic to fish and there should never be any in the tank. That's what the beneficial bacteria is for (in a cycled tank). In a cycled tank, the bacteria process the ammonia and nitrite fast enough that you will not get a positive reading for them. So the more fish you have, the more nitrate you will eventually end up with meaning more frequent water changes as nitrate can only be removed by water changes.

A filter can only process so much water though so if you overstock, you need to be over filtered to accomodate. The general minimum filtration is processing the water 5 times per hour. If your tank is 30 gallons, you need a filter rated at least 150 gallon per hour. The more times you process the water, the more possible it is to overstock some and be ok.

Lastly, overstocking can cramp some fish, especially aggressive ones that need their territory. So research the fish you have and see how much room they need and how aggressive they are.

 

[gourami5]

Thanks for your posts, guys. I will just be content with 4 gouramies for now and may be changed to bigger tank after a while.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi gourami5

Welcome to the forum!

I'm moving your thread to the Beginners forum where you will continue to get advice. Please click on the link in the email we sent you to validate your membership. You will then be able to post everywhere.

 

[gourami5]

For some reason, I did not receive any email from the forum. Is there any place on the forum I can check to make sure that I enter the right email address?

Also please help!!! my ammonia level in the tank is very high and I do water change everyday and also add some Amquel+ to reduce ammonia level, but I started seeing red spot near the gills of some fishes and I think it is ammonia poisoning. What can I do to save these fishes!!! any advice would be really helpful! thanks.

 

[diademhill]

For some reason, I did not receive any email from the forum. Is there any place on the forum I can check to make sure that I enter the right email address?

Also please help!!! my ammonia level in the tank is very high and I do water change everyday and also add some Amquel+ to reduce ammonia level, but I started seeing red spot near the gills of some fishes and I think it is ammonia poisoning. What can I do to save these fishes!!! any advice would be really helpful! thanks.

Your tank is cycling & DG are not very tolerant of ammonia & even less tolerant of nitrite so you are going to have a busy few weeks ahead.
Do a 10-15% water change immediately and prepare a second bucket of water with conditioner. You will probably have to do water changes twice daily to save your fish. A bucketful at each change. Match the temperature.
What test kits are you using - some give strange readings when amminia modifying chemicals are used but I never use them so I'm not sure which work with which - I think you need a two bottles kit.

Ammonia is to be expected- it is a shame you were sold these fish without the process being explained to you.
They are not a good combination even in a cycled tank though as the males get territorial and some will get picked on in a small tank.

Is Biospira available in your location? Or do you know anyone with a healthy tank? A boost of filter bacteria would help.

 

[sylvia]

Everyone seems to have covered the cycling part but you need to be aware that 4 dwarf gouramies (and all sound like they are male) will not work in the long term. You'll eventualy have to return 3 or, alternatively, buy a larger tank. Also, cories should not be kept alone as they are very social. If I were you, I'd return 3 of the gouramies now. It'll also speed up your cycling if you reduce the number of fish. Once the tank is cycled, you can add another cory and perhaps a couple of small, non-schooling fish such as platies, endler's or guppies but, for the time being, the fewer fish you have the better.

 

[platyfreek]

get bio-spira! if its available that is. bio-spira is live beneficial bacteria that will help your cycling process go a lot faster. but make sure its been kept refrigerated or its useless because the bacteria will have died.

 

[gourami5]

Thanks guy. I wish i got these info before i bought the fishes. I just add bio-spira and keeping my fingers crossed that my fishes will survive.