Gouramis and angelfish

[blackandwhite]

I have been reading a lot of contradicting stuff about these two fish.
Their compatibility and numbers to be more specific.

Aren't gouramis schooling fish? Some sources say as long as there is only one male per tank things will be fine others say you can't have more than one or two. One source says they are very peaceful another that they are aggressive. ???

Also what is the ideal number of angelfish in a community tank of say 50 gallons? Would 4 angelfish work or is that going to allow one guy to be a bully? How would their gender play into this?

 

[Huro]

I wouldn't put angelfish with Gouramis because they are fin nippers and nothing gets there attention faster than something with a long flowing fin, also don't mix types/breeds of Gourami because they will fight (usually nothing too serious) but it will happen.

 

[twiddlemuffin]

If you're gonna mix the two I wouldn't do more than two of each. I have two angels, two three spot gouramis and one opaline. My gouramis are all adults, one of my angels is a juvi. My angels and gouramis do not bother each other, never have, don't even compete for food, but my male gourami does chase the smaller female. I also have one very small female dwarf gourami and she isn't bothered by the other gouramis or the angels, so I wouldn't be worried about the two being mixed. I'd be more worried about gourami on gourami aggression.

 

[grode15]

Only get one gourami. I had two gouramis and the dominant one bullied the other one to death. But the gourami that killed the other one is fine with all my other fish so I would say there should only be 1 per tank. Also they were both dwarf gouramis.

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[Janssenjr84]

Making an average of angels per gallon found on the net I would say 3-5 angels in 50 gallons. I would think a decent HOB would take care of it. As for gourami it's pretty unanimously species to species with dwarf gourami being the gentil

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[Coursair]

When people want to breed Angels, they often buy 5 or 6 babies. Grow them up in a 55g. Let them pair up and pick a pair to stay and the other Angels get moved out. Once Angels pair up, they'll tend to beat the crap out of any other Angels that get too close.

My friend has 4 juvenile Angels in a 75g with plenty of plants. She's keeping a close eye on who bullies whom. It's big enough they don't do too much damage so far to each other.

 

[Coursair]

If I was going to try a Gourami with Angels ? Look at a single Pearl Gourami. They tend to be the most peaceful of the larger Gouramis.

 

[blackandwhite]

I was definitely considering dwarf gouramis. And I've no intention to breed so I wander if I get all female angelfish, say four of them, would they still bully each other?

My understanding is that the dwarf gourami have no problem being in a group as long as there's only one male in the tank or they are all females. I wonder if the same principle is true about the angelfish?

 

[grode15]

I'm not really sure about angelfish but from the little research I did I saw it said that you should get a couple angel fish like 6 and see which 2 pair off that you like and than take the rest out because the pair of angel fish will then attack all the others ones.

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[Coursair]

I was definitely considering dwarf gouramis. And I've no intention to breed so I wander if I get all female angelfish, say four of them, would they still bully each other?

My understanding is that the dwarf gourami have no problem being in a group as long as there's only one male in the tank or they are all females. I wonder if the same principle is true about the angelfish?

The problem is, it's very hard to sex Angels unless you see them lay eggs or observe behavior as adults. Some people say they can sex them younger but it's very subtle hints AFAIK.

And even Dwarf Gouramis may fight. Female DGs are very hard to get around my area. I'd have to order online. Stores don't sell them.

Keep researching before you buy and have a backup plan.