Honey Gourami Questions

[Scott23]

So, I've narrowed down my fish choices to two. Tetra and Honey Gourami. In my ten gallon tank, how many Honey Gourami could I keep with, say, six Tetra? If I didn't have any Tetra, how many Honey Gourami could I keep then? Also, if I were to keep Tetra with the Gourami, would the Tetra nip at its fins? Thanks!

 

[mommytron]

the tetra should be peaceful. when considering gouramis you have to have the right ratio of male to female. however it's pretty hard to find female gouramis, when you do it's normally a mated pair. so i would say do 1 honey gourami and about 9 tetras (the more the better, i think you'd be best with 8 or 9). i think that would be a very nice tank. what kind of tetras are you considering?

 

[Scott23]

I was considering either Cardinal or Neon Tetra. If I could find one, could I pair a male and a female Gourami with about 6 Tetra? Or would it be best to just have one Gourami and six to eight Tetra?

 

[mommytron]

i'm not totally positive about multiple gouramis. sometimes particular fish of a species are aggressive while others aren't. i'm pretty sure dwarf and honey gouramis are supposed to be peaceful, but i would bet anything they would get at the least territorial if not aggressive during mating time. plus, when tetras are in bigger schools they are more comfortable (and look much more stunning). i would go with 1 honey and 9 cardinal tetras (i like cardinals better than neons, they are much prettier). just make sure when buying the cardinals that they have been at the store for a week or better. it is said that the die-off rate is something like 60% (although i bought 11 and a month or so later, 2 died, the rest are happy and healthy for over 2 months now). but as long as your LFS has had them in stock for a while, chances are the ones that were going to die already have.

 

[Scott23]

I think I'll just stick with one Gourami. I'd hate to buy too many Tetra though, I don't want to overstock the tank.

 

[mommytron]

what is your filtration? with adequate filtration you can house 9 cardinals with your honey quite comfortably. weekly PWCs are also a must (in any tank regardless)

 

[mommytron]

i just plugged the stock into aqadvisor (to be used as a general idea only) and got this

this was using the filtration that i have for my 10g (Aqueon QuietFlow 10) and it says filtration capacity is 107%. i think that stock would be just fine.

 

[Scott23]

My filter would be enough for the load. I just don't want too much. At most, I'll get eight. Would the Gourami eat the Tetra?

 

[mommytron]

no the gourami should get along fine. if anything there may be chasing. odd numbers are said to be best for schools (don't know why but apparently they school better in odd numbers) and the bigger the school the more comfortable they will be. plus, like i said in an earlier post, cardinals tend to have a high die-off rate. chances are if you buy 10 or 11 you will end up with 8 or 9 (or even less, i think i may have lucked out, especially considering i bought them the day after shipment.) make sure that the cardinals you purchase have been at the LFS for a week or two, otherwise, buy more than you want to keep.

 

[Scott23]

Thank you very much for your advice! One questions I just thought of though, should I keep all male of female Tetra? Or would a mixed gender school work out best?

 

[krap101]

Tetras are fine with any ratio. If you were to get barbs, then yes, I think it's 2:1 F:M

 

[mommytron]

Tetras are fine with any ratio. If you were to get barbs, then yes, I think it's 2:1 F:M

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