I have been keeping gouramis now for over 20 years and they have got to
be one of the best fish for the first time fish keeper. They do not
require much special care by way water quality and will not bother any
other fish (they will chaise each other tho, but will not hurt each
other) you may wish to add later on. Start off with two three-spot
gouramis and once your tank has cycled for a few weeks start adding a
fish a week till you have what you want.

I am not a fan of pre-cycling a tank tho. I have never had any trouble
with starting a tank in this way. The helpful bacteria will cycle with
the low fish load and will multiply with the addition of fish. So as
long as you don't over load the tank at first you should do just fine.
There are those who do pre-cycle a tank and I am sure they are on top of
their game but for just starting out the method I mentioned should be
just fine for you.

Gouramis will get along with other semi aggressive fish and general fish
without much bother. I have a 55 gallon tank with various gouramis,
angels, danios, corys, loaches, kribs, severums, a rainbow shark, a
pleco and a algae eater. They do great together and seem very happy in
their tank.

Good luck with your new tank and I would like to add that all of the
suggestions from the other posts are good. Whatever you choose will be
a great hobby for you and you will enjoy learning about keeping pet
fish.

Vicki