my gouramie

Question
hello again,!
 i have a 10 gallon that has been set up for about 2 months now and i have 5 fish:my dwarf gouamie(chubs),my 2 mickey mouse platys,albino cory,and a fancy guppy.i have a power filter that came with the tank.i change the water every week about 15 percent which is 1.5 gallons . today i went to the fish store and my ammonia levels were a little bit high.i just did a water change on sunday.my ph and nitrates are fine. ok sense you said i need floating plants i will tell u wat things i have in my tank.i have a big lava rock with a hole in the middle of it in the middle of my tank, a pirate head wich my dwarf gouamie like always hides in for some reason now.i have a treasure chest that has good hiding to. NOTE:all my plants are fake.
i have 4 long plants ,1 short one , and some flowers in the front. do i still need some floating plants so my dwarf gouamie can swin up at the top more comfortly?usally my mickey mouse platys and guppy are at the top so are they annoying him? tell me if this is why my dwarf gouamie is hiding so much lately. and 1 more thing: would adding a betta be good for my last fish right now. tell me some suggustins which kinds of fish would be a great addition to my tank. SORRY 1 more thing :could i add a flame gouramie to my tank or would they concer it? thanks for the help!

Answer
Hi Austin;

Your gourami could just be shy, being bullied by the others or he is being irritated by the ammonia. As long as he is able to swim and eat okay and he isn't swollen or anthing he's probably not sick. Just watch to be sure the other fish aren't hurting him.

A betta or another gourami is not a good idea when you already have a gourami in the tank. Bettas and gouramis are very territorial and they are both in the same family. Only one gourami or betta is recommended for a 10 gallon. Your little shy one could be bullied or killed by another one.

Until the ammonia problem is under control I wouldn't add more fish. The tank has been set up for long enough now that it should be through the break-in period so there shouldn't be any ammonia in there at all. Vacuum the gravel every time you make your weekly water change. If there is a lot of crud down there, that's where the ammonia is coming from. It's from overfeeding. Cut back on food so it doesn't build up any more, and vacuum the gravel with every weekly water change.

When things are under control again, you could add a couple more cory cats. They like to be in groups of 3 or more.

Or, small breed peaceful tetras that stay under 2 inches. They like to school so get three of the same kind such as;

Jellybean http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/582.htm

Panda http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/194.htm

Flame Tetra http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/587.htm

Neon Tetra http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/577.htm

Or, the dwarf danio (also schoolers);

http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/509.htm

Or, White cloud mountain minnow, they like to school too so get three;

http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/447.htm

You can go to the fishprofiles.com site to research others you might be interested in too. Just keep in mind that your tank is almost fully stocked already. Here are some web pages about that too;

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/beginnerinfo/a/fishcalc.htm

http://www.firsttankguide.net/capacity.php

Have fun!

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins