blue gourami / betta compatibility?

[redlum777]

being sick and tired of the awful lighting in my betta's 1.5 gal, i was wondering if he'd be okay with my female blue gourami? right now the set up is: 10 gal - 1 blue gourami, 3 tiger barbs, 4 kuhli loaches. i realize the barbs probably won't work with the betta (they can be relocated), but i've read that female gouramis (shorter, rounded dorsal fin, right?) aren't near as aggressive as males.

just trying to situate my betta in a place i can enjoy him more. any other recommendations? anyone know of a small aquarium (1-2 gallon) with decent lighting?

thanks!

 

[corrado33]

Why don't you just get a 2.5 gallon normal looking tank and buy a fixture that fits on top of it? They do make them. (Too lazy to look for one now, but I've seen them.) Or even put a desk lamp with a daytime spectrum CFL over top of it.

Kinda like this setup.

Link to that page.

EDIT: Ugh, finding those hoods is not fun, just use a desk lamp or clip on lamp and be done with it.

 

[HN1]

The betta would likely be the problem towards the gourami.

 

[severum mama]

If the blue gourami is T. trichopterus, I think it could pose a big threat to the betta... and it will soon need a larger tank.

 

[JohnPaul]

Also, Tiger Barbs are notorious fin nippers and so if your betta is a male betta, there might be nipping issues.

That being said, I'm not absolutely convinced it won't work. I would say try it out--just keep his current tank running for the time being, so that if there are problems that emerge you can immediately put him back in his 1.5g while you work on an alternative plan.

 

[dkpate]

Any time you put antabids together, you will most likely run into problems.
You can get a cheap 5G tank, that comes with the hood and light. I have 2 divided bettas in one at the moment.

 

[HN1]

Any time you put antabids together, you will most likely run into problems.
You can get a cheap 5G tank, that comes with the hood and light. I have 2 divided bettas in one at the moment.

Only the common ones.... there are actually more species that cohabitate well together than not. Sparkling gourami, b. rutilans, etc are perfect examples. Unfortunately those are rarer in the hobby and often have to be specifically imported.

 

[taylorodw]

3 tiger barbs will cause problems with a betta. That was my first aquarium almost (I had 3 tiger barbs, 5 tetras, and a betta). The betta and tetras had nipped fins from my dominant tiger barb. Tiger barbs should be kept in groups of 7+ for their own good, they constantly like to "bully" each other so they need a few tank mates to bounce off of and establish a dominant/submissive chain of rank. A group that large needs a larger tank, as well.

However, kuhlis should be good with any of those fish.