surface plants for dwarf gourami?

[jiffy]

I am going to be getting a dwarf gourami soon and want to make sure my tank is ready for him. I have read that they like a floating plant and was wondering if it is necessary and what to use?

All the plants I have are fake, and I would like to keep it this way for now, unless there is a good floating plant that will not need much looking after (ie. slow growing so I dont have to trim it often). I am new to fishkeeping and would rather focus my attention on proper fishkeeping than planting at this point.

Also, as Dwarfs are bubble nest builders, how often do they do this? Is it a constant thing, is it only when there is a female for mating in the tank as well, etc? And Are they a big deal to remove, or are they messy and so on?

Thanks in advance

 

[OscarCichlid]

Dwarf gouramis like all gouramis love floating plants but it is not needed to keep them happy. Fake plants are fine for them. They also love the company of other dwarf gouramis but you should only keep one male per tank because they are very territorial. They are not very messy fish and in my experiences they only make bubble nests under certain conditions. If they make a nest there is no need to clean it up. It is actually a good thing. It means that you may soon be seeing some baby dwarf gouramis and if there is no female i could mean that he is ready to breed or that he is just happy.

 

[SneakBetta]

Yeah, I agree with the post above. They LOVE them (especially mine), but they don't HAVE to have it to live. It's a personal preference. They don't know what they're missing if there isn't a plant at the top of the tank!

 

[Tempestuousfury]

If breeding, all you have to do is lower the water level to 6-8" and add tall plants. the plants should bend over due to the lack of support, thus acting as a floating plant.

 

[jiffy]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I am probably going to try to and rig up something that floats, but will stay in the corner so its not all over the place. Thanks too for the info on their bubblenests.

 

[gouramiguy]

i take parts off of some of plants and my gouramis love it they feel pertected