Aquarium 10 Gallon Hood
10 gallon aquarium stocking dwarf gourami?

I have a 10 gallon aquarium with an aqueon quietflow 10 filter, a 50 watt heater, air pump, hood and flourescent light. Once it is finished cycling i plan to stock it with

top swimmer: 1 dwarf gourami (male)

mid swimmers: 2 fancy guppies OR 5 neon tetras OR 4-5 cherry barbs

bottom swimmers: 3 peppered cory catfish

So my questions are… I want the mid swimmers to be colorful, interesting, and wont fin nip or get eaten so would you recommend the guppies, tetras, or barbs? Also, with these fish, I have decided to go for medium-densely planted so can you suggest some live plants that are easy to take care of ?

This is going to put you overstocked for a tank this size. 10 gal is to small for even peppered cories. pygmy/dwarf cories are ok in a 10 gal but are typically hard to find. My recommendation would be to forget about the cories. Get the single gourami and either the neons (at least 6) or 2-3 guppies. If you do guppies stick to male only or they will quickly out breed your tank. I wouldn’t recommend the cherry barb even though they are not as known the be nippy as most barbs they still can be.

Custom 10- Gallon Aquarium Hood