Best place to get a honey gourami online? I got a sunset thick-lipped by mistake

[JCinPA]

I'm a noob at this, and wanted a honey gourami as a centerpiece fish for my 10 gallon tank, but bought a "sunset honey gourami" only to find out it is really a trichogaster labiosa. He's healthy and happy, but about 2" long now, and he can't stay in that tank if he gets much past 3", which I'm guessing will be in 3 months or more, so this is not a fire drill. The LFS store didn't know the difference, and I learned many stores sell the larger fish as honey gouramis.

Honey gouramis are hard to find near me, and I don't trust the stores to know the difference between these two fish after one mistake already. I'm ready to try getting my first online fish, at least I trust them to know what they have more than the LFS. Any USA-based members have a favorite online gourami dealer? I've never gotten a fish online before.

Thanks much.

 

[Essjay33 148]

It's the red ones that are usually the wrong species. If you can find natural colour (gold-tan male, silver-grey female) or the yellow variant, those are both honeys. I wouldn't risk any other colour as being true honeys.

 

[GaryE]

What's a name? Go nerd on this one. The labiosa ARE honey gouramis in much of the trade, because you can name anything anything. Sometimes 3 or 4 species will be sold under one English name, and surprises are common online where you can't see. It's hard to complain, because in the cheap trade, they ARE honeys, just as four different species of fish are rummynoses.

You want Trichogaster chuna. Any decent dealer will know.

I can't suggest US dealers, but dealers that know the Latin name are a good start. It's a generally inexpensive fish to start. Shipping may cost more than the fish.

 

[JCinPA]

Thanks, mods! Wow, two responses from moderators! lol This place is high touch service!

I know all that you've said, though. Now. But the regional commercial fish distributor (no sales to the public) does not have any of the chuna variety, only the labiosa, I checked their website. So the local fish stores don't have them, either around here. So I did my research I know what I have and it will grow to four inches. I know what I want, and it will stay 2 inches, I'm all squared away with my knowledge.

What I need is a reputable online fish dealer recommendation people trust so I can get what I want. I've never ordered a fish online and I'm a bit nervous. When I do an Internet search I get dozens of returns.

I'll poke around here some more and see if I can turn up a thread on U.S. recommended online fish dealers.

 

[JCinPA]

The other option I'm thinking of now is maybe keep him in my 10 gallon tank for now. I'm hoping to have a larger one sometime in the fall, and he could be a nice centerpiece fish for a community of smaller fish, tetras, rasboras, and corydoras. He won't get too big in the next week or two.

That's probably a better solution than returning him and ordering a smaller fish online now that I think it through. I don't have to do anything for a month or two. He's a nice fish, he'll just outgrow my 40L tank at some point.

 

[JCinPA]

Yeah, I think I’ll keep him. It will
Motivate me to go to the bigger tank. No further replies needed. Thanks!

 

[anewbie]

There is no best place the two on line stores i mostly use are wetspot (likely to have some sooner or later) and aquaticclarity (will likely never have them). There are other on line stores of course with vairous results - aqua-huna can be ok but i have a list of mostly minor complaints about them though i would qt the fishes as I've gotten diseased fishes from them before.

--
Just answering the part about on-line stores.

 

[JCinPA]

I think I have a good fish. My best bet is to upgrade my tank and keep him

 

[JCinPA]

Thanks @anewbie I appreciate the online store suggestions. But this fish is doing fine. So I got the wrong fish. I think I'll keep him, I'm already planning the larger tank, he'll be OK for a couple months in the 10 gallon, he's not too big yet. Good motivator to up my game.

 

[Mr Limpet11 21]

It’s a shame that wild- type thicklips are no longer available. They could NEVER be mistaken for honeys.

 

[JCinPA]

It’s a shame that wild- type thicklips are no longer available. They could NEVER be mistaken for honeys.

I bet. Unfortunately, the mixup is common now from what I read. But I do want to go to a larger tank, and I'd like to keep this guy. He seems happy and comfortable. I'd rather grow my tank than replace him now.

 

[Innesfan31 15]

You seem to have come up with a resolution. For future reference, and as @GaryE mentioned, if buying one fish on-line your shipping could be many times the cost of the fish. Most vendors have shipping fees in the $30 - $50 range. So most of us buy numerous fish each order to mitigate the shipping cost. I too use Wetspot the most but have had good outcomes with many others. Even though I live in an area that still has a few quality brick and mortar retail options,(there used to be many more), most of my purchases are on-line.

 

[Boundava9]

Thanks @anewbie I appreciate the online store suggestions. But this fish is doing fine. So I got the wrong fish. I think I'll keep him, I'm already planning the larger tank, he'll be OK for a couple months in the 10 gallon, he's not too big yet. Good motivator to up my game.

Good choice to upgrade the tank. The honey gourami are pretty inbred nowadays so I would recommend looking for wild caught. I choose Wet Spot, Aqua Imports, or Imperial Topicals when I am looking online. I have a local fish store; Aquatics Unlimited in WI, that I believe has gone to shipping stock. Their stock in their store is always healthy and there basement is where they QT new fish to sell.

 

[JCinPA]

Thanks for the recommends! When I get the larger tank, I'll likely order some fish online.

 

[gwand33 149]

Thanks @anewbie I appreciate the online store suggestions. But this fish is doing fine. So I got the wrong fish. I think I'll keep him, I'm already planning the larger tank, he'll be OK for a couple months in the 10 gallon, he's not too big yet. Good motivator to up my game.

I just bought two Trichogaster chuna from the Wet Spot. Juveniles. They are adorable. But very shy in their new community environment. The Wet Spot and Aquatic Clarity our my online go to stores for most of my fish. The Wet Spot has greater variety but Aquatic Clarity has many wild caught fish that are fantastic. Mostly South American and west African.