Dwarf Gouramis in 5.5 gallon tank?

[Bettaluv]

My betta passed away yesterday, and a friend recommended I get two Dwarf Gouramis to put in the tank, because I was wanting to try a new fish species. How big do they grow? And could I keep them in that size tank with a heater and filter?
I just don't know because I would envision a gourami as being very large...
please help!

 

[siva]

No dwarf gouramis in a 5.5 gal. IMO one is OK in 10 gals, but some do feel they should have larger. Multiple dwarf gouramis would require a larger tank, and would still be risky. Males often fight and have issues sharing a tank.

Two sparkling gourami's would be fine in your 5.5.

 

[Brox]

Or 1 maybe 2 honey gouramis

 

[siva]

Honey gourami stocking usually falls under the same guidelines as dwarf gourami. I wouldn't put one in a tank smaller than 10 gals.

 

[Bettaluv]

where would I happen to obtain these so called Sparkling Gouramis?

 

[siva]

Do you have a good fish shop locally you might wanna check out first?

 

[Bettaluv]

Yeah I have a really good one and you could walk through their store for an hour and still not see all of there fish so I would assume they have some

 

[mohican]

IMO, 0 gourami's. They like to swim and need room. Anything smaller than 10 gal for one is not my recommedation.

 

[emerald76]

Or 1 maybe 2 honey gouramis

That simply won't work
Please stop giving people all over the forums untrue advice

 

[Sharkbait54]

Sparkling gouramis would work!

 

[Bettaluv]

unfortunatly I have no way of purchasing these "Sparkling Gouramis" I am thinking about just keeping it a betta tank. I am excited to get a double tail soon

 

[Luna09]

IMO I wouldn't put any gourami in less than a 10, but especially dwarf gourami. Yes it could live in a ten if you provide it with everything it needs, but you could live in a room the size of a bathroom if you had food and water. It doesn't mean you or it will be happy or healthy. They need room to swim with speed. To "stretch fins". A 5.5 gallon is very hard to stock as it is too small for most fish.

If you are bored of betta, why not try a paradise fish? They have the same requirements as betta and are pretty but they look different

 

[emerald76]

Paradise fish require 30 gallon tanks

 

[Luna09]

The Big Al's near my place keeps them in 5 gallon bowls alone.

 

[emerald76]

The Big Al's near my place keeps them in 5 gallon bowls alone.

Then they improperly keep them
Especially of not filtered

 

[Coursair]

Big Al's may use that to store them, but hopefully it's not how they recommend keeping them long term. They are also Labyrinthine fish so they can breathe surface air, but still not a choice for the fish to thrive.

 

[Samzter]

In my opinion they need a 15 gallon minimum.

 

[Luna09]

They sell them and have them on display in those little two gallon bio orbs. It has a little water fountain... And when I asked about it they said that they can be kept like betta (which in my opinion are more often than not also wrongly kept.)

 

[Luananeko]

Licorice and samurai gourami actually prefer small tanks, so they may be options if you can't get any sparkling gourami. You could go with 2-3 of them. If you can't find any, 1-2 African dwarf frogs would work. Or just make it a shrimp tank

 

[LyndaB]

They sell them and have them on display in those little two gallon bio orbs. It has a little water fountain... And when I asked about it they said that they can be kept like betta (which in my opinion are more often than not also wrongly kept.)

The vast majority of us have lfs that do not offer sage advice about keeping fish. And the vast majority of lfs have no option other than to cramp any species into the smallest tank possible, with the worst choices of tankmates possible, in order to carry the largest inventory possible.

Just because you've seen it done, doesn't mean it was done right. Research is key...... and it's free.