what kind of gourami should i get

[krap101]

im going to breed gouramis in like a month since then ill have 2 10 gallons and 2 5 gallons so i went to every chain petstore in town today (petsmart and pet co) and petsmart the fish were too big and at pet co the fish were way too small and the fish at pet land are nice but they dont have a long enough gaurentee and i still need to get some riccia java moss and some other plants but no one carries those and im going to this lfs on friday and checking there and... yeah whats better a dwarf gourami bigger then mine (female) or one smaller then mine (i need a male)

oh and what kind of shrimp is the one in finding nemo and how much are they and will gouramis eat them??

 

[Endgame319]

The tank in Finding Nemo is a saltwater tank...

And you cant just put two fish together and expect them to mate. If you are new to the hobby I dont suggest hurrying into breeding.

 

[ferret]

I could suggest an easily bred fish for you, but you'd need a 20 gallon tank and a way to dispose of hundreds of baby fish. The lfs won't want them.

 

[Sati]

Feeder guppies? lol

 

[ScottS]

Krap101, you're really missing the boat. From the knowledge you've exhibited in past posts (20+ per day), you should still work with what you have and GO TO THE LIBRARY. I've said it before, but I really do mean it. You have a good amount left to learn.

If you're a real expert, and will be breeding in a month, why the need for a long guarantee? Gouramis are fairly hardy, let alone cheap, so that's not a real issue. If you'd read a book or 5, you'd know that there's a good chance that a male could pester this female to death before they ever mated. Like many species, it's advisable to keep more females in the tank than males and let them naturally pair up. You can't always force a couple together.

We keep dispensing this advice in tiny increments as you let your ignorance slip out. Before you make a mistake we don't or can't catch, why not GO TO THE LIBRARY? I admire your eagerness to tackle the hobby, but do it right.

 

[ScottS]

Heck, start here: The Krib is a very highly regarded site and I found this article in a search in under a minute. http://www.thekrib.com/Fish/gourami.html

And I quote, "Put a male and 1 or more females in a 15-20 gal aquarium (or larger if possible; in a 10 gal tank the male might kill the females)."

 

[Allivymar]

krap:

You will no where be ready to breed any fish in a month; quite frankly your tanks will probably not even by cycled by then. Without a good handle on water parameters, breeding shouldn't be a consideration. You need to spend a little time getting the space the fish will live in safe, healthy and a place they will even consider breeding in.

The krib is a fantastic site, and full of info. I strongly suggest you take the next day or 2 reading thru it and taking notes on water parameters (not just nitrogen), the cycle and other really important information. Starting here would be a good idea: http://faq.thekrib.com/begin.html

 

[LAGlocker]

Hate to say it but I agree with taking time, and moving slowly with the fish. If you rush things, you will only end up unhappy, and with some dead fish. I have had Gouramies for a while, probably 2 years now, and have yet to have them breed, and I mix on a ratio of 1 male for every 4 females in my tanks. Dont get me wrong, they will build a bubble nest, and it does look neat when they do it, but I havent seen any eggs much less fry since I have started keeping them.

 

[PK Tester]

Feeder guppies? lol

Thats insulting ...I have feeder guppies and breed them...I actually just finished riding the majority of disease from the strand...and am cross breeding with hardy fancy guppies...but hey I like hybrids lol.

 

[Christmasfish]

Hurryflurry

Dude, you need to slow down.
With half forgotten breeding experience and a lot of help I got a final total of 35 dwarf gourami out the unintentional breeding this Christmas. I started with a approximate tally of 500 fish fry. Granted that only 75 were separated out from the predatory fry at first, so most became dinner. And it was HARD work. Testing the water daily, watching temp, not leaving the house more than 4 hours.

But I see you wanting fish when you can barely keep the ones you have healthy? I foresee trouble. Just call me Cassandra.
And you don't even know WHAT you would LIKE to breed?

And in addition you need a tank for the male and fry, you need a large tank for the gourami group (the hardier gourami also get squabbly in small quarters..the non hardy just become floaters) , you need a growout tank, you need -need -need........ If I hadn't got mondo credit for the baby predators I'd be holding my credit card bill with tongs!!!
There is NO MONEY in it. Most breeders make barely enough to help upkeep their babies. If you get famous..you can charge famous prices. Even that takes time. You can get some credit at your lfs if he carries them and doesn't breed them himself. Fish food, accessories, etc. Nothing GREAT. I traded mine for a handful of things.

Cold hard cash comes from retail. And they get their stock from GIANT puppy mill operations overseas super cheap. they don't need nickel /dime operators.
Unless You REALLY like gourami (which in that case you should already HAVE a favorite type) just drop the idea! And you need a culling method.
I opted for a knife fish and a polypterus.
So in this span of 3 months I have 6 10 gal, ,an 18, gal, ,a 20 gal grow out and 2 8gal QT.

I am ordering for the big boys 2 70-ish gallon tanks (custom dimensions for exotic animals) THIS summer. Yeah they are only 4-5 inches now...... And the stuff that goes with it..heaters, filters, medications, good food, live cultures.
You need to read up, ask ALL around and decide what your intent is.
If it is profit driven, you are pretty much sol.
I ended up here because I had never seen a betta with ich before, my petstore bettas had parasites (also never SEEN before) and they sold my kid 6 neon Tetras (which I knew ZERO about) in a 5 qt tank on the same day. No heater mentioned. Right before closing for Christmas. No mention of water parameters, and told her to warm the bag then dump it in the tank (watch all the experienced people here wince-they know the outcome!) Are you ready for expenses? Will you be allowed to have a mondo planted tank or multiple tanks all over?

 

[krap101]

actually i was thinking about getting a fire dwarf but i didnt know if that was a good idea and i was going to wait until someone made a suggestion
at petco theres these really tiny fire dwarvies can a male smaller then the female kill her?

 

[Christmasfish]

Okay you seem to miss a bit.

With very few exceptions gourami males are usually quite a bit larger than females. If they are wee cute things, they are juveniles. There are no miniature dwarves to date. Dwarves are aggressive/spunky and require dither fish. A pair will not do, you'd have to separate them.
My male disfigured the female in a space of hours after building a nest. I had no time to go get more gourami before there was fry.
Bottle raised anabantids are more aggressive than usual and display abnormal social interaction when intoduced as a community. that is why the hit and miss in gourami/community tank experiences.
Once bubblenesting; all tankmates of an anabantid male are in peril.
If a large female was at the bottom of the pecking order earlier, she will still end up harassed to death. Gourami need to be in groups of 4 or more. More peaceful types you can get away with three, but they are not secure

So as you think this project of breeding...
you need::
A main tank with the school of gourami(15 and up depends on if you add tank cleaners to the bioload)
A small breeding tank(8-10gal)
A fry growout tank (20 gal)
A QT/hospital tank, because like bettas, gouramis are quite rough in spawning. The female is usually on the losing end. It is also a place to stick any aggressive fish you end up with until you can take them back.
And all have to be reliably heated......gourami won't even want to breed unless they are well fed and in their preferred temp range.
And you need to start cultures for your fry. Infusoria is risky until they develop the labyrinth organ. Oily tensile surface can end up with dead fry.

And much much more. You have the spare time to watch the fry tank water parameters on a twice daily basis? And stick to a VERY strict feeding regimen once they are free swimming? Gourami fry are the some of THE smallest fry out there. they take a long time to get to the safety zone.
You can set up al the minimums?? then more power to you and you can get more info from the next member who cares to say anything.



And they don't bring any money in. You trade the whole lot in to the lfs for a bottle of Melafix, or another couple small fish or a small can of flakes. There is no scarce supply of gourami for the lfs who wants them.