JVzer0

Hi all,

I am starting my first aquarium (10 Gal) and I am planning on stocking it with 2 Dwarf Gouramis (1 male and 1 female) and 4 kuhlii loaches (I am aware this may be a bit overstocked but I am willing to do the extra maintenance this might require).

I have read that Dwarf Gouramis can be aggressive towards each other, but some places I read this only say that males are aggressive towards each other while most others just say that Dwarf Gouramis shouldn't be together in a small tank. I really would like to have the two gouramis and I was wondering if one male and one female in such a small tank would be a definite no-no?

Thanks for your help,

~JVzer0

Kiwwi

Kuhlii can get up to 4 inches and dwarf gouramis can get up to 3 inches bringing it to a grand total of a 18" = 18 gallons.

Maybe you can consider a other species other then kuhlii?

JVzer0

I know that Kuhliis get long but I've heard that because they are so thin their biological impact is closer to that of a 1.5" fish.

Anyway, my question was really about the dwarf gouramis. Does anyone have any experience with 1 male and 1 female dwarf gourami in a small tank?

lilsoccakid

ive had both in a 20, and the male chases the female everywhere. i wouldnt reccomend it, especially in a smaller tank. id stick with just one male

Barbrella

Agree. If the female isn't ready to breed and the male is, he can really hurt her. In a tank that small, she can't get away at all.

JVzer0

Thanks for the input. I think that I'll just get one male dwarf gourami in that case. I would like to stick with the kuhliis, but it seems like this would leave the middle and top of my tank pretty bare with only the gourami up there. Is there any other small community fish that would do well as a one-of in my tank?

angelfish220

How would a trio of elders work in there? Ive never kept them but they are supposed to be pretty comunity oriented

JVzer0

what's an elder?

angelfish220

kinda like a guppy but smaller and more colorful. Look up a picture online, there really cool, though harder to find.

lilsoccakid

when i had the male and female gourami in my old 20 gallon, the male was always trying to breed with her. they did have some successful spawns, but she was still getting roughed up

COBettaCouple

It might or might not work putting 2 Gourami in a tank, their personalities would have a lot to do with it and the less crowded they felt in the tank, the better the chances of them getting along.

I think Endlers would be likely to get eaten with Gourami or at the least stressed or harassed, they're so much smaller. A pair of Corys might work for bottom dwellers.

Blub

angelfish220

I wouldnt do kuhlis and bettas. Bettas would feel more threatend because they come up from the bottom and kuhlis arent as protected as a catfish would be.

Blub

Cherrry123

Also if you are getting kuhlis (I cant spell) you need to make sure your gravel is small. I got two kuhlis when my snails got way to populated, and they died. They were scratched from the gravel. So I would highly recomend small gravel.

angelfish220

You could get honey gourami or sparkling gourami. These stay smaller and arnt nearly as territorial. you could put in a honey and sparkling and keep your khulis

JVzer0

That's true, the only thing is that I've never seen either of these fish in a pet store. There's one LFS I haven't been to yet, I'll check when I go.

FishPerson

so having one honey/sparkling gourami in the tank with 3 kuhlis wouldn;t overstock the tank?

COBettaCouple

I think it might be a bit overstocked, but you could do water changes twice a week and keep a close eye on water chemistry.