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I've got a ten gallon with 5 Platys in it, could I add some Pygmy/Sparkling Gourami to the tank?

I've also got an Eclipse System 3, would I be better off putting some in that?

And if so, how many would be good? And what types of plants, live or artificial, should be added? I assume something flat that floats incase breeding occurs?

Thanks!

Don't put them with the Platies... The livebearers are much too active and they require completely different water parameters than the gouramis.

If you are willing to heavily plant the three gallon tank and keep a very strict water changing schedule, I'd say you could keep a couple Pygmy Gouramis in there. I have found that they are not very active fish, and once they have their little territories set up, they usually don't venture too far from them.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Banana lillies seem popular, as does hornwort. They aren't fussy nest-builders.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Pennywort also works great as a floating plant. Mine have spawned twice in it, as long as it isn't moving around the surface of the tank. I would have no problem keeping one or two in a three gallon AS LONG AS the plant matter is dense. They can be shy and in a well planted (VERY well planted) they'll move in and out of the plant, poking and prodding around quite gracefully. But it take a heavily planted area to bring out their best colors and behavior IMO.

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Back in the saddle!

Ohh, and more subtle lighting. Mine looked stunning under an Aquaglo and pretty average under bright white.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Sparkling gouramis do fine with platies and active fish and they do best in a small group of 3-5 fish. They do prefer heavily planted tanks or at least heavily decorated with some floating plants. They can be really shy in open/empty tanks. A 3g might work but is going to be a bit small. Sparkling gouramis rarely bother other fish but they will shred each others fins if cramped and oftentimes a pair ends up with one bullying the other to death. I had good luck with trios in 5g tanks but any smaller or with 1 more fish added they'd shred each others fins. They also love company and I think 1 lonely sparkling gourami in a 3g would be pretty cruel. Eventually I just moved all 6 of mine in my 55g with all my other fish. They don't mind hyper fish like the blue tetras dashing by them and hold their own against the rams and big blue gouramis. They color up much better when kept in groups in tanks of at least 10gallons than just 1 or 2 fish in a tiny tank.

Sparkling gouramis are not real easy to breed and unless you put in some actual effort they usually won't just breed out of chance. You need a tank setup specifically for them with no to very very little current, 2females to 1 male, lots of floating plants, and lots of decorations and plants throughout the tank. They also need soft, hot water to trigger spawning. Mine wouldn't even consider it until I raised the temp up to 82F and softened my water down to 6.2ph and 2dgh.

Thanks for the info, everyone! Perhaps I'll wait until the 10g is freed up before I get some, as I really wanted more than just 2.