Gouramis

[CharlieKlein]

I have a 37 gallon tank, that in the end will house

8 rumnynose tetras
8 neon tetras
5 lamp eye tetras
2 German blue rams
4 Cory catfish

And now inwas gonna get an angle fish, but i decided it would look crowed in the tank, so i want a fish that stas near the top but isn't too big. Im deciding between pearl gourami and dear gouramis. I'd like to add 2 pearl gouramis if that could be possible, would that work? I don't think i could do more than 1 dwarf gourami so is rather do a pearl. What are other top dwellin solitary or pair fish that would work? Thanks all

 

[Scottyhorse]

I would do a Honey Gourami

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

I would a single pearl gourami

It will look very nice!

 

[CharlieKlein]

Im leaning to a pearl. Could I do 2. A male and female? Are there any gouramis where I could do a pair or trio?

 

[Scottyhorse]

I would do one since they are a little larger. Honeys would be good in a group.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

You could put two as your stock is good, but you have to make sure they are male-female or female-female remember gouramis are from the beta family

 

[Scottyhorse]

Actually, I will disagree. In his tank size and stock, two pearl gouramis would be too much.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

No it wouldn't

He has two schools of small fish which is fine
And the rest are bottom feeders, so it would be ok, just remember to keep up with your weekly water changes

 

[Scottyhorse]

They are large fish, it would. Not in bioload, but you need to consider aggression and size, too.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Pearl gouramis are those gentle giants

Opaline, gold, blue, three spot, those are the big mean ones
Pearl gouramis are not aggressive and are very peaceful, go for it!

 

[Scottyhorse]

As you stated, 'giants'

One pearl gourami would be fine, but if you want multiple, you will need a small, peaceful species such as the Honey Gourami, or Sparkling Gourami.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Yea I said "giant"

But remember gouramis are not big fish, I said giant because it is large for their genus trichopodus, so go for two, or if you want only one centerpiece fish, go with one
Two will be good

 

[Scottyhorse]

I personally would not get a pair in the tank with other smaller fish as they get fairly agressive while spawning...

Plus, if you have a breeding pair of rams, then I wouldn't risk it IMO.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

It's ok, even when spawning, IME the rams are far more aggressive than the gouramis

 

[CharlieKlein]

Thanks for all the replies. I kinda would like a group, so i might just do 3 honey gourami. Do those need to be male female?

 

[Rivercats]

Just to clarify pearl gourami's can be peaceful OR aggressive. It really depends on the individual temperament of the fish. Even some honey gourami's have been known to be aggressive. I've had nice and not so nice pearl gourami's but knock on wood I've always managed to have peaceful honey gourami's. So it's always a gamble and you just have to wait and see how the fish are once introduced into a tank. What works in one tank is no guarantee it will work in another!

As for keeping multiple Honey gourami's a male and 2 females would be ideal but it's very hard to find females and you might have to call your LFS and ask if they can order a trio in.

 

[azmodan]

Yup, I agree with Rivercats. I had a honey gourami kill a gold ram that I had, but I have had honey gouramis that are the most peaceful fish in the tank. Personality, looks, and peacefulness-wise they're one if my favorite fish. But yeah, like Rivercats said it can be very difficult to find females. My LFS wouldn't even order them for me, but hopefully yours will!

 

[Try-na]

Thanks for all the replies. I kinda would like a group, so i might just do 3 honey gourami. Do those need to be male female?

I have 6 males & 2 females (3 yellow & 3 of the guys I'll post a pic of below) & they don't have any issues. I have a 55g heavily planted tank tho. They each have a territory. & only get riled up when someone tries to move in. If you want to keep them happy provide floating plants in the corners & they'll love it. The females stay closer to the bottom if the tank & are pretty much ignored by the males. I also have Pygmy Honeys. They're only an inch full grown, pretty shy & lower to mid tank fish

 

[Old Scales]

I have one female Pearl that I rescued from a BAD fish shop. As I nursed her back to health I kept her in a tank with small guppy fry(about 4 weeks old). She tried to get them at first but wasn't able to because of plants. After the second day she ignored them.
She is now in my tetra tank with Neons and Rummys and they co-exist fine.
I'm no fish scientist, but I've had Pearls for years and the largest ones I ever had only got to 4 inches. IMO a pair of Pearls would fit and would be worth trying. They are so elegant.
Has anybody personally had any Pearls that got larger than 4". Please chime in. OS.

 

[bud29]

Correct me if I'm wrong, isn't a 37g only 30" long? In a 30" tank with that stock already, I personally wouldn't do more than 1 pearl gourami - none would probably be better IMO. My stock was very close to yours in my 29, 30" long as well, and I wouldn't even put 1 pearl gourami in there. My rams took up almost the whole bottom area, and I had 2 schools of tetras and 1 school of rasbora in the mid-upper levels. As it is, there really is not any comfortable room to add a 4" fish, nevertheless two. As for size, while I have not kept any, I have seen several adults at the LFS at 4-5", as they breed most of their stock in-store.