Tank mates for gold gourami

[NukaGirl-76]

Hey all,

I'm looking for ideas for tank mates for a gold gourami, a handful of platys, 2 flying foxes, and 2 julii cories. I'd like a group of schooling fish, ones that wont nip at the gourami or eat my plants. Also something not too flashy because the gourami did kill off a few guppies I had a while back. My tank is a 30 gal, planted, with an AC50 running on the back.

P.S. I already know I'm probably due to add more cories [emoji6]

 

[libertybelle]

I think both the gourami and flying foxes can get quite large. 5-6 inches. Even platies can get to 2-3 inches so unless you’re planning on moving them as they grow you may be closer to capped out than you realize! But not only do you need to worry about space and bioload but about small schooling fish becoming a snack once the gourami gets bigger. Even smaller Gouramis can harass their smaller tank mates.

Maybe I’m overly conservative but (as long as the gourami is not already pestering the cories) I would just get more cories. It will make them happy, add lots of movement to the tank and they hang out in a different water level than the gourami so hopefully he will leave them alone as he gets older.

 

[Laser]

I have personally never seen a gourami go after any non-labyrinth fish and they seem to ignore schools of smaller fish altogether. That could just be my experience though.

I have to agree with upping the cory school. You could try something like Harlequin Rasboras.

 

[libertybelle]

For the record I have not personally seen it either. (Never kept gold gourami.). But I’ve seen a few posts about aggression towards tetra sized fish. I have no idea how common it is but in general big fish will eat little fish as soon as their mouths are big enough so it’s just something to consider especially if the gourami is already fairly large.