Dwarf Gouramis?

[SakranMM]

I've never kept these before. I've had a couple of years of experience, on and off, with tropical freshwater fish, mostly livebearers. I just got back into the hobby after a couple years off, and I've currently got a 10G with 5 small corys in it. It's still cycling, and I'm debating what to put in there after it finishes. I've thought about livebearers or neons, but I absolutely love the way gouramis look. I was thinking maybe 2 gouramis in addition to the 5 corys that are already in there.

Are the dwarf gouramis hardy fish? What are the typical requirements for them? Anything you can contribute is appreciated.

In Christ,

Michael

 

[JDogg]

I've currently got a 10G with 5 small corys in it. It's still cycling,

fish-less cycle is much more humane

Are the dwarf gouramis hardy fish? What are the typical requirements for them? Anything you can contribute is appreciated.

i have never had good luck with them (had one, it died, replaced it and that one died too all in the span of about a month) i would only put two in a 10 if you can get a male and a female, i think two males or two females would fight.

 

[SakranMM]

Thanks. I didn't want to cycle with the corys at first; I had them in a 5G with my betta, but he was stressed, so I moved them to the 10G just after I set it up. I like them, and want to keep them alive, so I'll be doing water changes at least every other day (if not everyday) to keep the cycle side-effects to a minimum on the fish.

 

[jsoong]

Gouramis are like bettas (both anabantoids) but tend to be less aggressive. They are territorial (esp. males) and may fight (to the death). There are some reports of DG's being kept in groups in big tanks with enough space & hiding places so each fish can establish its own terrritory, but I wouldn't risk it in a small setup.

 

[fearlessfisch]

Be careful:

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/blog.php?blogid=66

 

[SakranMM]

WOW. It seems like all of the people who left comments had bad experiences with dwarf gouramis. Hmmm...maybe I need to reconsider?

 

[happygirl65]

Don't get discouraged. If you don't get the fish you like you may not be satisfied and if you are like me it can start an obsession....lol.

I have had dwarf gouramis before. I have only ever had luck with one at a time though, (even in a 55 gal tank they would fight each other!)

You should definitely make sure you are well past the cycle before adding them because in my experience they are not that hardy. They are really beautiful though and their size is appropriate for a 10 gal.

I think 1 dwarf gourami, some neon tetras and the cory's you mentioned would make a nice looking display. Just add them slowly so you don't get an ammonia spike.

You might want to test your ammonia and nitrite everyday if you can and make sure it doesnt go above .5 That will tell you when you need to do water changes. Feeding every other day can help keep levels down as well.

Best of luck to you!

 

[isu712]

I currently have two male Flame Dwarf Gouramis in a 20 gallon tank along with some schooling tetras and rasboras. From what I found they are pretty hardy, I've had mine for about 2 months and I'm not particularly experienced. They seem to behave themselves but one does chase the other at times. The more places they have to hide the better off they seem.

I would think that if you wanted to add a male and female you might want to try Honey Dwarf Gouramis. It's hard to find female dwarf gouramis of the other varieties because they aren't colorful (the female honey dwarf gouramis have a nice orangeish color) and LFSs have difficulty selling fish that aren't colorful. The downside was that the honey variety aren't as hardy. When I first kept them I bought a male and female. The male died on me and I got another one which also died so I gave up with the males. The female died not too long later during a tank switch.

Like was said before, make sure the tank is completely cycled before adding anything else, but I think you can make it work. Go with either a single Flame or Blue Dwarf or a male, female Honey Dwarf pair.

 

[SakranMM]

Thanks for all the tips. I think I'm going to go for it, probably one male at first, and see what happens.

The tank is into the cycle. I didn't want to cycle with 5 corys in a 10G, but it just turned out that way, and I've got to make do with the current situation. They're doing fine. I test ammonia and nitrites every day. The ammonia is starting to spike (I'm about a week into the cycle), and I'm doing 25-50% water changes every day, depending on the level of ammonia. The nitrite is just starting to show. I'm hoping the cycle will finish within the next month, and once it does, I'll go out and get that gourami.

 

[fearlessfisch]

Let us know how you fare. I love dwarf gouramis and looked around a little today. I only went to two shops, but everything I saw looked sickly. I would be interested to know what your experiences are, looking for the fish....if you find healthy ones right away or if you have to look around a little. Keep us posted after you get the fish, too, if you can.

Probably safer if you can find a local breeder, but I know that isn't always possible. I would be interested to know where others get their gouramis.

Good luck.

 

[wingspantt]

I have a single dwarf guarami in a 10g with some Danios. He chases them every now and then but has never seriously injured them. He did beat the snot out of a much slower molly, which I had to move to another tank.

 

[Karackle]

Hi,

I don't pretend to be an expert, but I recently added a Blue Dwarf Gourami to my 20 gallon tank. He seems to be doing pretty well in there. I added 3 female bettas shortly after, one of them has some nibbles in her fins, haven't caught whether it's the Gourami or one of the other female bettas. I have platys, zebra danios, and guppies in there as well and everyone seems just fine. I do have a lot of foliage on one side of the tank that works as hiding places, but the gourami's been in there longer than the heavy foliage.

Anyway, it seems to be working out pretty well. But I would keep in mind that when I got him the people at my local fish store told me even in a 20 gallon, more than one gourami could cause problems, and I trust them, it's a small family owned place and they're extremely knowledgeable, they've given me great advice in the past.

Anyway, that's my 2(or 5) cents.

Good luck!