Best Gourmis?

Fish4eva · Sep 17, 2006

hi guys. I was wandering which is the best gourmi for a begginner? eg which is the least aggressive when it gets older etc...
Thanks very much
Itty x

justmatt · Sep 17, 2006

Dwarf gouramis are pretty cool.
I have 2 and they are quite peaceful.

Although saying that the male has started being hostile towards the female the last day or so, and she is missing a chunk from her fin.

Opilius · Sep 18, 2006

Male Gourami's of any type are usually semi aggressive and dwarves aren't as hardy do to inbreeding so I would go with female threespot gourami. There are a few different variety Blue, Opaline, Gold, Platinum and more.

Oplilius

sylvia · Sep 29, 2006

Three spots are some of the most aggressive of gouramies and grow quite large. A small, peaceful and hardy option is the honey gourami - Colisa chuna/sota. These work best in trios (1 male, 2 females) and appreciate a planted tank. There are a handful of color morphs but the wild type is the most beautiful in my opinion. Males develop a lovely blue-black ventral color that contrasts stunningly with the honey-yellow body color. Females are duller with stubbier fins. The wild type females have a darker brown stripe running from eye to tail horizontaly.

fishfantastic · Oct 8, 2006

my favorites are the pearl and the moonlights. Very beautiful fish. Powder blues and flames are pretty and are both dwarfs.

sylvia · Oct 14, 2006

Dwarf gouramies are fragile so I'd avoid those. Moonlights and pearls, I agree, are lovely. Pearl gouramies are my favourite fish :wub:

Having said that, while pearls grow to about 5" and do well in a reasonably-sized (eg: 20-30 gallon) tank, kept as a trio (1 male, 2 females), moonlights grow to 7" and are far more difficult to sex so may not be the best if you are just starting out with gouramies.