Gourami Advice

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

RCShevalier

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Oct 6, 2015
Messages
21
I am looking for some advice on gouramis. I am going to be setting up a fifty gallon community aquarium soon and would like to include some gouramis in its stock. As I do my research, however, it seems that there are several opinions out there on how many can be stocked together and the male female ratios.

I'm going to pose this question without providing a specific gourami of choice. I like a lot of them so would appreciate information on both dwarf gouramis, and the larger gouramis (like the gold gourami).

If it helps, I am not planning on stocking any other aggressive or fin nipper fish. I am currently considering panda cories, bristlenose pleco, neon black tetras, and swordtails as potential tank mates.

Thanks for any opinions.
 
Most gourami, mainly dwarfs, if you have more than one male it's asking for trouble.

I believe sparkling gourami are the one exception and enjoy groups.

Also be aware many times you only see male gourami at the store because females can be quite bland colored.


Caleb
 
Hi, I can give you advice on gouramis, they are my favorite fish and I have had a dwarf gourami, several honey gourami and I now have 5 pearl gourami in my 55 gallon tank.

My first one was a dwarf, he was beautiful but was aggressive and chased everyone in the 29 gallon tank until I finally got him rehomed to a 75 gallon tank. I had a species tank 29 gallon with 7 honey gourami, one male. It was a very nice tank, the fish were all over and enjoyed each other.

Now I have the 5 pearls in my 55 gallon. Personally I would not have more than one male of any of them because of the danger of their fighting. My 4 females and one male are beautiful and a pleasure to watch and they hang out together. They are all over the tank but spend much of their time in the upper 3rd of it. They like a planted tank and I also have a cave and a hollow log one or 2 like to go to now and then. They do not like fast boisterous fish and it sounds like your other fish would be ok with them. Not sure about the swordtails, never had them. With mine I have about 30 Cardinal tetras and kuhli loaches. Oh, you will have an easier time finding female pearls too because the male and female colors are similar.

Good luck, if you get pearls, I think you would enjoy them, to me they are just the right size for a 50-55 gallon tank. I don't know anything about the larger ones




Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice
 
+ 1 on the pearls.
I have 12 in my 180g.


Could you please tell us more about your pearls? I'm very curious. You mentioned in another post about groups of 3. How many males/females do you have? How do they all get along? What is your tank like?

Thanks.


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice
 
Could you please tell us more about your pearls? I'm very curious. You mentioned in another post about groups of 3. How many males/females do you have? How do they all get along? What is your tank like?

Thanks.


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice

I breed my own pearls.
Not sure on ratio of male female in 180 as I just added the whole group!
I really like pearls?
I have a couple tanks for breeding anfhave 2 pair or trios without issue for months(only them no other fish).
I have a thread on breeding efforts!

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f82/pearls-they-scoffed-341267.html

sorry for the mini hijack!!!
 
What about multiple males but from different gourami species? Would they still act aggressively towards each other? Is it okay to only have one gourami, or do they need company?
 
What about multiple males but from different gourami species? Would they still act aggressively towards each other? Is it okay to only have one gourami, or do they need company?


Been waiting for coral bandit to answer... Just in my opinion, don't mix gourami species because of danger they would fight. And as I said earlier, I would only have one male to a tank for the same reason.

As for one alone, I think that would be fine.


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice
 
What about multiple males but from different gourami species? Would they still act aggressively towards each other? Is it okay to only have one gourami, or do they need company?


Prob still fight. Perfectly okay to have 1 gourami.


Caleb
 
Been waiting for coral bandit to answer... Just in my opinion, don't mix gourami species because of danger they would fight. And as I said earlier, I would only have one male to a tank for the same reason.

As for one alone, I think that would be fine.


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice

+1!!
I would not mix different gouramis even in my 180g and expect good long term results.
I am pretty sure I have more then 1 male but again my ratio may still be 1;3?
They have many distractions in my 180.

Perfectly okay to have 1 gourami.


Caleb
+1
If you do just one make sure you get a male.
Sometimes they don't color up so good without a girl to entice them.
 
I have a community tank with livebarers, Angels, a pleco, and two gouramis (it used to be three but I lost one during a move to a new house). I never had a problem, and had a pearl, a blue, and a paradise. There was an occasional scuffle over food, but otherwise not a lot of fighting. I certainly don't have problems with my paradise and pearl now. I also used to have dwarfs and they got along fine.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
 
Back
Top Bottom