What's Better Off In A 10 Gallon?

[Noahsfish]

My opaline gourami has become more and more agressive....there's plenty of hiding spots and cover, a basically stress free environment. Hes very healthy but over the last couple weeks I sometimes see him chasing one of my sterbais. This morning I found one dead, one of my first that was 4 years old. I almost went to the store to give them the gourami today, but I still really want to keep him, just not if it's costing my other fishes lives. So what would be better off going into a ten, an opaline gourami or 5 sterbais? The tank would be super heavily planted with lots of filtration, I'm thinking the corys?

 

[ncguppy830]

oapline cant go in that small of a tank...not sure about the cories though.

 

[SaltyTheFry]

Was your opaline the first addition to the tank. Gourami Fish are very territorial and don't appreciate newcomers.

 

[Ninjouzata]

I don't think either should have to be downgraded. Maybe you could take that one back and get a different one? Hopefully the other one will have a better personality. Or go for a different fish
The Opaline definitely can not go into the 10 and I don't think it'd be good for the corys to either.

 

[DreamertK]

5 of those cories already overstocks the tank at 13" of fish. With the gourami that's way overstocked. My gourami can be territorial even in a 30g, so really you should switch to pygmy cories and perhaps a dwarf or pygmy gourami.

 

[Noahsfish]

Normally I'd just return the fish but my corys and the gourami were some of my very first fish and I've grown attatched to them both...I actually shut down 2 of my other tanks a couple months ago before a trip and decided to keep these as well as select few...I'd actually have no problem giving the gourami away if I knew he was going to a good home. He's such a gorgeous fish I'm sure he'd be snatched up in an instant just for his colors..and guppy my gouramis 4.5-5 inches and growing so a ten wouldn't be a good option, I don't believe. If I were to attempt the switch over of the corys is ecocomplete fine? It's small sized gravel.

 

[Ninjouzata]

I read that as if they were in a different tank and he was going to move one of them to the 10. Are they in the 10 and you're wondering which to keep? If not what size tank are they in now?

 

[Noahsfish]

I don't use the inch rule, and if I did the opaline would take up 6/10 of a ten gallon which is completely incorrect.. Like I said Im really not just going to give away all my corys that I've had for years just like that..they've all topped out at about 2".

 

[DreamertK]

The opaline doesnt deserve to be held hostage in a bathroom stall.

 

[Ninjouzata]

The opaline doesnt deserve to be held hostage in a bathroom stall.

Agreed

 

[Noahsfish]

I know that's what I was thinking...I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to switch over the corycats temporarily (acclimating right one) and then within the next few weeks try and find someone who can take him. It's really sad having to give my gourami away but it's for the best because the largest tank I have now is a 20 gallon, had to shut down the 30 and 55 permanently as I don't have the time to properly maintain them. I know that if you lay sand over gravel the gravel will come to the surface, but I lay some sand across 1/4 of the ten gallon in the hopes that by the time the gravel starts appearing the corys will be back in their home.