A systematic investigation is presented, for the first time, of a 1000 ppmw (parts per million, by weight) Dy 3+ -doped Ge-As-Ga-Se chalcogenide glass series, with a fixed low Ga content of 1 atomic% (at. %), suitable for active mid-infrared fiber optics. Seven glasses constitute the series, which have increasing average coordination number from 2.49 to 2.61, in steps of 0.02, with the GeSe 2 , As 2 Se 3 , and Ga 2 Se 3 stoichiometries kept. Glass formation is confirmed using X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy is reported for the series. Parallel plate viscometry enables prediction of fiber-drawing temperatures and, with differential thermal analysis, determines the potential for fiber fabrication. X-ray diffraction of samples after parallel-plate viscometry shows that Ge 25 As 9 Ga 1 Se 65 (at. %) alone, in the glass-series, devitrifies to form the single-crystalline phase: monoclinic-GeSe 2 ; scanning electron microscope imaging suggests that this phase is both surface and bulk grown. Overall, the recommended host glass at. % compositions for doping with rare-earth ions and drawing to active mid-infrared fiber are