Fish Compatibility and Tank

Question
Hi, I have a 25 Gallon tank. With Pump-filteration, a bit simple hill decor with holes for fishes. Some times i buy plants to put it and remove when they die (perhaps not enough strong lighting, only a simple flouresent light). Currently i have two Goldfish, one about 5 inch, the other 2.5 inch. 8 corys, 2 ram cichlids, 2 mini-red gourami (suspect to be dwarf, (1) any way to find out?), i'm considering to add an adult golden gourami to the tank. He was previously removed together with his friend after they bite each other, both same breed. (2) do you think it is advisable to put him back now? His friend died a few days ago. (3) is my tank considered big enough for them? I do weekly water changes. Also, it seems after 3 weeks of partial water change, the water becomes so dirty that i need to do full water change or they tend to fall sick or develop ick. (4) Is it because of the goldfishes? (5) What should i do to keep tank happy for my little cutie pies? Thanks for any speedy reply :)

Answer
Hello "Mr. Fishy" -

Sorry for the wait!

First off - Your gouramis would do much better if they were separated from your goldfish. Gouramis like it much warmer and goldfish prefer cooler water. I'll answer your questions in order so that my response is easy to refer back to.

1. These gouramis sound just like dwarf gouramis. Red with light blue stripes? Small body size? Yup! Dwarf gouramis!

2. I've heard bad things about cichlids and gouramis together - Try this at your own risk. Personally, I would put your 3 gouramis in a separate tank, along with some of the corys.

3.& 4. If you put all the fish you've mentioned in the same tank, you may stress them by not giving them enough "personal" space and they may turn aggressive. Also, goldfish are very messy fish, they tend to dirty the water much faster than other fish. I've also heard that the slime coat they secrete can bother other fish, gouramis especially.

Hopefully this information was helpful - Good luck with your little ones!

-Amber Worman