so, my tank is cycled and bacteria colonies are established, and i'm ready to put fish in tomorrow. here's a few pictures of the tanks itself, the one live plant is an anubias in the front right corner.

29g tank - Imgur

now, what fish to put in. i am SET on having a tropical community, with some gouramis as the centerpiece. any tips for these guys? how many, what other kinds of fish to put in? i was think maybe one or two other small species, and some snails, as well as a catfish or a loach (golden dojos are at the local petsmart right now, oh boy!). what do you guys think?

p.s. don't let the lack of a light alarm you, that's getting bought tomorrow most likely.

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29g planted, Eheim 2215 canister, Top Fin 150w heater.

Albino Cory x 4, Guppy x 8, Oto x 3, Bolivian Ram x 2

I really like the tank set up. I am not really sure what is best to put in with gouramis, but good luck. I did read that if you have two male gourmais to keep an eye out because they can get aggressive and territorial.

EDIT: Found this blog that provides some basic information on gouramis. Gourami: A Favorite Freshwater Fish

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My 29g has a school of Cherries and Cardinals along with a solitary Honey Fire Gourami and a Bristlenose Plec and I've never had any problems with it, the fish all get along fine and I'm looking to get the Gourami a couple of buddies here shortly (worried about overstocking but I have solid filtration and do water changes religiously so I'm not too concerned). If you are getting Gouramis I would suggest getting a handful of the same species, but they're fairly large fish so you wouldn't want too much aside from that. Maybe 5-7 Gouramis, and 7-8 of a smaller species. For a smaller species I'd go with a fish that's not extremely energetic, as Gouramis are pretty laid back fish that don't want a ton of action going on; Tetras/Barbs/small livebearers would seem good (I'm not taking into account aquarium parameters, but almost all tropical fish are fine at 80 degrees and relatively neutral pH, etc, so you generally don't have to worry here). If you decide on loaches get a handful since they like groups. Most catfish like groups too but things like plecos (get a bristlenose or some other species that won't grow past a few inches) like to be alone.

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30G planted aquarium with Aquaclear 50 and two Aquaclear 20s. 7 Cherry Barbs, 12 Cardinal Tetras, 1 Albino Bristlenose Pleco, 1 Golden Honey Gourami, and a handful of Ghost Shrimp.

@jbrown yes, i read that males can get territorial. how would i go about preventing this, buying fish from a place like petsmart? also, thanks for the great link!

@rohkey thanks for all the great info! and my ph is between 6.5 and 7.5, but the water is pretty hard. is that okay for tropicals? i assume so.

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29g planted, Eheim 2215 canister, Top Fin 150w heater.

Albino Cory x 4, Guppy x 8, Oto x 3, Bolivian Ram x 2

Hey my pleasure to help anyway I can. As far as preventing territorial fish, it is really up to the fish. If they are territorial they will be territorial. This is of course just from what I have read. Someone else may be better able to answer that question. I briefly did some research and the younger you introduce them into the tank with other fish the less likely they are to become territorial, like I said though I am no expert it is just some information I read on the internet.

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