what Petsmart told me about guppies and gouramis

[Mariah]

ok today i went to petsmart to buy a few fish and plants for my aquarium. i had decided on 2 platies, 2 guppies, and a dwarf gourami. i thought it would work since they're all community fish, but when i asked for a gourami, the person getting the fish out said that gouramis would kill guppies. i skimmed through an article earlier that said dwarf gouramis are very peaceful, so why would they attack my guppies? i understand bettas or other fancy semi-aggressive fish might, but a gourami? is this true?

and if so, what other "community" fish should i not put in the tank with the guppies? or the platies for that matter?


thanks!
Mariah

[Zoe]

Gouramis can be aggressive, but the dwarves are pretty placid most of the time. The odd one will be aggressive, but it's mainly the large blues and golds that are known to be aggressive.
A dwarf gourami is very unlikely to hurt your other fish.

What size is your tank?

[Mariah]

it's a ten-gallon and all i have in it are 2 platies 2 guppies a very small plecostomus and 2 or 3 (i can't ever find all of them) otocinclus. plus 2 plants.

[Zoe]

Well, you don't really have room for the pleco. It's small now, but they can grow to 24" - some are smaller, but the ones listed as plain old "plecostomous" at the petstore are usually regular plecos, and they are biiig fish that will soon outgrow a 10g.

You could definitely get a dwarf gourami if you want one... or a handful of small tetras like neons, or harlequin rasboras.

[Mariah]

thanks! wow.... it's been a long time since someone's told me.. "you could definitely get more"... u know? but that was when i had quite a few more fishes (i won't do the overcrowding thing again) which, unfortunately, are mostly gone now.

that pleco wasn't just labeled plecostomus... (i cant remember what it's called though) i asked if they had any plecos that wouldnt get very big and the guy told me that one shouldnt get more than about 5 inches. ive had him like a year and a half now and he almost always hides under the "toys" so he's about 3-4 inches. but it's not a regular one it's even different in color... more vivid spots and a light brown color rather than the usual black/grey.

again, thanks for your help.
Mariah

[Mariah]

oh i have a question. i just got the fish today (Aug 3), but when do you think would be an ok time to put more fish in there? i'm taking some wild guppies to the pet store on Tuesday. would that be too soon?

[TheOldSalt]

Two fish every 10 days is a hard to follow guideline, but one which works very well for avoiding problems. Something in that ballpark should make things work well for you.

[Mariah]

ok thanks. hmm i guess Tuesday probably is too early then.... there was only one other fish i want to get.... the dwarf gourami- for now anyway. but i guess i can wait. i want to get my plants working anyways. i think i need to plant them in sand because they work their way out of the rocks.

[Mariah]

in case i dont get to go back to the pet store for awhile, would it be ok to go ahead and buy the gourami Tuesday and leave him in a tank by himself for a few days before he goes into the 10-gallon? i have a one-gallon would he be ok in there by himself for a few days?

[Zoe]

No, don't get the gourami and leave him in an uncycled, too small tank for a few days. Wait until your tank is ready. I know it can be hard to wait an extra few days, but there will still be dwarf gouramis when your tank is ready.

I still think you need to get rid of your pleco. Even the smaller types such as bristlenose and rubberlips have no business in 10 gallon tanks.... they are just such a high bioload compared to other fishes.

[Mariah]

i will probably take the pleco back. i hardly ever see it anyways. and i think i should wait to get more fish anyway because i just thought of this but since i'm going other places after the pet store they'll be sitting in the heat that long so... well i'll let you know when i get them!

again, thanks soooo much for all your help.
Mariah