Male gourami tank mate

[Maisie123]

I’ve recently started up a new tropical tank, upon the recommendation of my local pet shop I chose a male dwarf gourami as a tank mate for a male Betta. Of course they did not get along, I tried moving the tank around and adding a pair of female platties to change the dynamic but he seems to have only gotten more aggressive. I have decided to take the Betta back to the shop, but what would make a good companion for my male dwarf gourami and two female platties? I was considering another of the Gouramis but I am unsure if they will fight since they are territorial. Any advice?

 

[Essjay]

I'm afraid that most shop workers give terrible advice. Bettas and gouramis should not be kept together - and bettas aren't community fish, being best kept alone.

Before we can suggest fish, we need a few details.
How big is the tank, both the volume and the length?
How hard is your water? Look on your water provider's website, we need a number rathert han vague words, and the unit of measurement (as there are several different units)
Did you cycle the tank before getting the fish? If not, what are the levels of ammonia and nitrite in the tank?


The reasons for these questions are:
Tank size - given the poor advice you've already had, we need to check just how big the tank is so we know how many fish it can hold.
Hardness - you already have hard water fish (platies) and soft water fish (gourami, and the now returned betta). Fish should be kept in water with a similar hardness to that in which they evolved. If kept in the 'wrong' hardness, the fish is likely to be stressed and get sick easier.
Cycling - the shop is very unlikely to have mentioned this. It is the process of growing bacteria which 'eat' the waste made by the fish, and takes a few weeks. Fish put in a tank that is not cycled will suffer from the effects of ammonia and nitrite in the water. If the tank was not cycled, getting more fish now is the worst thing to do, you need to wait until enough bacteria have grown to deal with the fish you have now. Your ammonia and nitrite levels should both be zero, and the readings will tell us if you now going through the cycle - and we can help you through it.

 

[Maisie123]

I'm afraid that most shop workers give terrible advice. Bettas and gouramis should not be kept together - and bettas aren't community fish, being best kept alone.

Before we can suggest fish, we need a few details.
How big is the tank, both the volume and the length?
How hard is your water? Look on your water provider's website, we need a number rathert han vague words, and the unit of measurement (as there are several different units)
Did you cycle the tank before getting the fish? If not, what are the levels of ammonia and nitrite in the tank?


The reasons for these questions are:
Tank size - given the poor advice you've already had, we need to check just how big the tank is so we know how many fish it can hold.
Hardness - you already have hard water fish (platies) and soft water fish (gourami, and the now returned betta). Fish should be kept in water with a similar hardness to that in which they evolved. If kept in the 'wrong' hardness, the fish is likely to be stressed and get sick easier.
Cycling - the shop is very unlikely to have mentioned this. It is the process of growing bacteria which 'eat' the waste made by the fish, and takes a few weeks. Fish put in a tank that is not cycled will suffer from the effects of ammonia and nitrite in the water. If the tank was not cycled, getting more fish now is the worst thing to do, you need to wait until enough bacteria have grown to deal with the fish you have now. Your ammonia and nitrite levels should both be zero, and the readings will tell us if you now going through the cycle - and we can help you through it.

Thank you,
The tank is around 10 gallons (40 litres) and I’m not entirely sure of the length- maybe 50cm? I did a fishless cycle for around 3 weeks before adding any fish, and so the water levels are safe according to a water test at a local aquarium (not where I bought the fish). The water in my area is hard (above 201ppm).

 

[Essjay]

The fishless cycle - how did you do it? 3 weeks is a short time for a cycle to complete. When I say fishless cycle, this is what I mean https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/

Hardness of 201 converts to 11.2 dH - but it could be higher as you said "above 201 ppm" Does your water provider's website give a more accurate value? Alternatively, take a sample of tap water to a fish store and ask them to test it for GH - make sure they give you a number.


40 litres is not a very big tank as far as fish are concerned. To be honest, it's a bit small for platies, which need a tank 60 x 30 x 30 cm minimum, though it is OK for a dwarf gourami (but a bit bigger would be better)
We can suggest tank mates if you can pin down the hardness more accurately.