Sunset Gourami Question

[cyberkat]

Hey Everyone,
Recently added 3 female Sunset Gourami to my planted 40g breeder community tank. Chose this variety since its the smallest of the Gourami family and the most docile of the bunch. Not interested in the "dwarfs" since they do not tend to be as docile.
My question is, will 2 males (with maybe 5 females) be OK in this size tank?
Normally with Gourami's having two males would be an issue but since these guys are the smallest, most docile member of the family I'm hoping I can have two.

 

[NYgiantsRP]

It depends a lot on the rest of the stock. They dont NEED to have a male to female ratio, they should get along fine without having more females then females. They are usually VERY docile and wont bother each other. Did you WANT to have that many? Whats the rest of the stock?

 

[cyberkat]

I am trying to build my stock back up currently. Am considering adding the Gourami males due to their color. Not too sure if I want any fish breeding at this point, so I'm in research mode!! Current stock: 5-6 Kuhli Loach (bio load 2=1), 2 Cory, 5 Neons, 1 Endler male, 2 Guppy males, 1 LF Danio, smallish harem of 3 Betta females & 3 Sunset Gourami. Tank is planted & also has 3 types of Nerite Snails, Assissin Snails and several Ghost Shrimp. Everyone in my tank lives in peaceful harmony, took a long time to get to this point!

 

[NYgiantsRP]

I would start with getting those cory numbers up to 5 of the same spcies, then the same with the danios. This would leave a little bit of room, but you dont need to have the male to female ratio with the sunsets. They should be fine. You could add a few rainbows, or couple ram cichlids.

 

[cyberkat]

I plan to add more Corie's but my Danio is the last one from his group (he's an old man now) & I want to try a different combo of fish. I thought it would be cool to have 2 different harems in the tank that's why I added the Gouramis. Big personalties but little color & totally different from my Betta girls! Eventually I'm thinking of adding 4-5 Emperor Tetra's once my Danio, Endler & Guppies are gone. Maybe just maybe when I can afford them & have enough tank space I might add a group of 6-10 Pygmy Cories as well. Might be able to squeeze them in, they're bio load should be similar to my Khuli's I think.
This is if I decide to omit any male Sunsets. Since these guys differ so much personality wise to all the others I just didn't know if a 40g breeder was big enough for 2 breeding males.

 

[NYgiantsRP]

I think your plan sounds good. The pygmy cories have very low bioload. They are SO tiny. See if you can bring the guppies and danio to a local place for some credit.

 

[absolutangel04]

I do not suggest keeping the gouramis with the betta females. Labyrinth breathers are notorious for not getting along long term. I see that it is at least working for you right now, but I still do not suggest it for the long run. I definitely would not add males to the mix. If they are all getting along fine now, I wouldn't throw it off by having labyrinth fish breeding.
Something to keep in mind, while honeys are docile compared to other gouramis, they still can be rather feisty IME. If I was you, I would not add males so long as you have all the females of both species. If the harmony ends and you need to re-home the bettas, then adding a couple males should be fine in that amount of space. They are small fish after all, and have enough space to avoid each other.

 

[absolutangel04]

Also, for your long term plan, I wouldn't get a species as large and active as the emperor tetra and pygmy cories. They cories could well get out-competed for food. A larger cory species would fair better with emps in my opinion.

 

[NYgiantsRP]

If you use sinking pellets or wafers the cories would be fine.

 

[absolutangel04]

If you use sinking pellets or wafers the cories would be fine.

I disagree. It is not a given, but I have definitely seen pygmy cories not be able to compete against a lot of larger fish. Emperor tetras are particularly rambunctious and it can be hard to get any food to fall past them, and then they will clean the gravel too of any fallen bits. Plus, pygmy cories tend to be much more shy than their larger counterparts.
To be fair, if you just meant dwarf cories instead of pygmy cories (C. pygmaeus), there is the C. habrosus that is less shy and would do better. Though, I personally do not suggest keeping habrosus with emperor tetras. But, of course, yymv.

 

[cyberkat]

Hadn't given that much thought! I know the Pigmy Cory will school and is more mid level but I was thinking they also scavenged around like they're cousins as well.
Don't think I'll add the male Sunsets after all; I value my peaceful tank, its so nice that no one fights or is aggressively protecting eggs/fry or harassing the females!!!!
But just for future reference is a 40g breeder too small to house 2 males?

 

[NYgiantsRP]

I have kept pygmy...yes pygmy...with neons, rams, platty, furcata rainbow, kuhli, betta, shrimps and a couple others i cant really remember. Maybe with the more hyper and bigger tetras like emperors or serpae they wouldnt do so well but i havent had exp with that. Mine arent very shy at all, they are always around looking for food and resting on leafy plants. Im not sure what yymv means.

 

[cyberkat]

Always use a mixture of flake food & shrimp pellets. Will switch out pellets for algae wafers and agg frozen brine shrimp as well.

 

[NYgiantsRP]

Hadn't given that much thought! I know the Pigmy Cory will school and is more mid level but I was thinking they also scavenged around like they're cousins as well.
Don't think I'll add the male Sunsets after all; I value my peaceful tank, its so nice that no one fights or is aggressively protecting eggs/fry or harassing the females!!!!
But just for future reference is a 40g breeder too small to house 2 males?

It always depends on the other fish, decor arrangment, plants, and the individual fish. You never know with gourami. One can bee goodie miss too shoes and the next is evil. But its always good to quit while your ahead when it comes to having a harmonized tank.

 

[absolutangel04]

I have kept pygmy...yes pygmy...with neons, rams, platty, furcata rainbow, kuhli, betta, shrimps and a couple others i cant really remember. Maybe with the more hyper and bigger tetras like emperors or serpae they wouldnt do so well but i havent had exp with that. Mine arent very shy at all, they are always around looking for food and resting on leafy plants. Im not sure what yymv means.

Your milage may vary. Fish are individuals, and what works in one tank may not be the norm.
The key to my point was the emperor tetras. They are an especially rambunctious tetra, well beyond your average neon or cardinal.
I should have clarified that pygmies are not always shy, but certainly can be with the wrong tankmates. Apologies if that came across as overly argumentative. I don't disagree that pygmies will work with some tank mates, I just don't believe emps qualify.

 

[absolutangel04]

Hadn't given that much thought! I know the Pigmy Cory will school and is more mid level but I was thinking they also scavenged around like they're cousins as well.
Don't think I'll add the male Sunsets after all; I value my peaceful tank, its so nice that no one fights or is aggressively protecting eggs/fry or harassing the females!!!!
But just for future reference is a 40g breeder too small to house 2 males?

No, in my opinion it is not. You never know for sure, but if it was my tank, I would certainly try it out (assuming no bettas).

 

[cyberkat]

Thank you both for your advice!! Its great that there are so many members here with experience on such a huge variety of fish that are always willing to share their fish keeping experiences.