beginer gourami

[50000_tears]

i want to start keeping gouramis after some of my betta's are gone . someone at the LFS said she had gouramis after some bettas so...what is the best gourami for a newbie..i have space for at the most a 20 gallon (i have a small room and low amounts of outlets and i still want 2 bettas so i am planing to move one if ani and Amy/flame die so i could use the desk since its big) well i have to go but please reply

 

[GSD]

Dwarfs i think are the best gouramis coz theyre colourful and easy to keep and theyre small too
http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di....cfm?pCatId=974

 

[eudielynn]

I would agree with the dwarfs in a 20 gal. Most gourami's will eventually become too big for a tank that size if you have more than one or two in there.

 

[pseud]

Yeah, Dwarf Gourami would be a good one to keep. But no more than one male in a 20 gallon tank. Maybe one male and one female would be ok though.

 

[GSD]

yeah only one male as they can be aggressive and they like to have there own territories,the dominent male will chace the weaker male and bully it to death

 

[sylvia]

It's possible to keep up to 2 males or a male with 2 females. A pair sometimes works but the male might bully the female.

I actualy would suggest honeys as a better choice. They are almost as colorful as the male dwarfs but slightly smaller, much hardier and you could easily keep a trio, even 2 males and 3 females, perfectly peacefuly.

The most hardy gouramies though, are the three-spots which also come in opaline, gold, cosby etc color morphs. The downside is that, males especialy, can be very aggressive - to the point where males (usualy of the same color interestingly) will fight to the death. They also have the disadvantage of being big at a max. of 6" so you would oly be able to realy keep one. They are still excellent gouramies to start off with if you want something indestructible (well IME anyway) to start with.

Other gouramies I would suggest are the banded (colisa fasciata), the thick-lipped (colisa labiosa) and the pearl/lace gourami. The first 2 get to about 3-4" and have a similar temperament to the dwarf gourami and also similar coloration.

The pearl gourami is my absolute favourite and could prove an excellent choice. They are one of the few gouramies I would not be worried about keeping in a distorted male to female ratio (2 males, one female for example) - though there are exceptions and I have known fish that will attack all other gouramies (only one actualy ) as well as mature males that will peacefuly live in a group of 3 in a 20 gallon. These are almost as hardy as three-spots and get to around 4-5" but are incredibly beautiful fish. A pair or trio would work.

 

[Dwarfs]

^^^Sylvia's right about the three spots, they're practically indestructible (I am exaggerating, don't try any wierd experiments )

Honey Gouramis are hardy and very colorful, so are pearls, but the p's are generally very skittish

 

[Destany]

The pearl gourami is my absolute favourite and could prove an excellent choice. They are one of the few gouramies I would not be worried about keeping in a distorted male to female ratio (2 males, one female for example) - though there are exceptions...

That's funny, lol, I actually have two female pearls who are probably the most aggressive in my tank. They don't hurt any of the other fish, but the do chase and nip and they HATE the zebra danios I put in the other day. But I agree, they are also my absolute favorites

 

[rayjay999]

I like the "Gold" Honey Gourami's colour, they stay small and are usually peaceful. I think that those gourami's are the best for a smaller tank like a 20g.

 

[50000_tears]

can you keep a male dwarf in a 20 gallon?

 

[eudielynn]

Yes, I have two male dwarfs in my 20 gal. They came from the same tank at my lfs and I have not had any problems with them.