Can 2 opaline gourami females be kept together?

[Adellefrost]

Hi, I just got 2 female (hopefully) opaline gouramis. I have a 60 gallon tank and they've settled in nicely, I'm just worried about agression down the line which is why I only got females. Is this something I need to be afraid of? Thanks.

 

[DragonScales+Doubletails]

you should be ok

 

[Byron]

This is something of a risk. The Opaline Gourami is one variety of the species Trichopodus trichopterus which is one of the most aggressive of the medium-size gourami species. Males are usually very territorial, but females can be deadly too. A year or so back we had a member with a single female that killed any other fish put in with it, tetras, the works, and she had to be separated in a 10g. I understand this is not exactly the exception with this species.

 

[Slaphppy7]

What other fish are in the tank?

 

[Adellefrost]

What other fish are in the tank?

Dojo loaches, plecos, angelfish, and rainbow sharks (2 full grown, docile temperament).

 

[Adellefrost]

This is something of a risk. The Opaline Gourami is one variety of the species Trichopodus trichopterus which is one of the most aggressive of the medium-size gourami species. Males are usually very territorial, but females can be deadly too. A year or so back we had a member with a single female that killed any other fish put in with it, tetras, the works, and she had to be separated in a 10g. I understand this is not exactly the exception with this species.

Yeah that’s what I’m worried about. I can get more if need be and I have another tank if they need to be separated but hoping not

 

[Byron]

Dojo loaches, plecos, angelfish, and rainbow sharks (2 full grown, docile temperament).

This is not a good combination of fish. And gourami and angelfish should not be together.

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

Dojo loaches, plecos, angelfish, and rainbow sharks (2 full grown, docile temperament).

This is not a good combination of fish. And gourami and angelfish should not be together.

Agreed with Byron. What plecos are they?

Rainbow sharks should be solitary fish as they can become incredibly aggressive and wind up stressing themselves out over very little. They're even prone to attacking fish who look similar to themselves, so no matter how big the tank is I would only ever keep one per tank.

 

[Adellefrost]

Agreed with Byron. What plecos are they?

Rainbow sharks should be solitary fish as they can become incredibly aggressive and wind up stressing themselves out over very little. They're even prone to attacking fish who look similar to themselves, so no matter how big the tank is I would only ever keep one per tank.

I got this tank from a neighbor who didn't want it anymore. At the time it had FIVE rainbow sharks living together and they didn't fight. I ended up rehoming 3 and the 2 I have I've watched super closely and they are not aggressive to any fish in the tank. One clown pleco one rubberlip pleco.

 

[Adellefrost]

This is not a good combination of fish. And gourami and angelfish should not be together.

Why can they not be kept together? I've read around a lot and most sources say they can be.

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

I got this tank from a neighbor who didn't want it anymore. At the time it had FIVE rainbow sharks living together and they didn't fight. I ended up rehoming 3 and the 2 I have I've watched super closely and they are not aggressive to any fish in the tank. One clown pleco one rubberlip pleco.

If you're certain. How old are they? They can get very rambunctious in their older years - even when alone - so if they're young I'd still watch out for that.

Rubberlips are gorgeous. Clown plecos are nice too. A little shy I've heard.

 

[Byron]

Why can they not be kept together? I've read around a lot and most sources say they can be.

Those sources are incorrect. Cichlids and gourami should not be housed together because the two fish groups are so much alike in their inherent territorial behaviours, it is like putting two cichlids or two gourami together. Now, aggression leading to fish death may not always occur, but there is no sense in risking the fish just to prove it may work. The chemical signals (pheromones and allomones) fish use to communicate, unseen by us, are highly significant for the fish.

We learn from our research what will or what will likely not work when it comes to fish combinations, and we follow the guidelines. It is relatively easy to see when a dog or a cat is stressed, but most of us, indeed all of us, are incapable of seeing stress in fish unless it is extremely high at the outset. Stress is the direct reason for 90% of all fish disease. Eliminating and reducing the chances for stress is therefore paramount in maintaining healthy fish.

 

[Boundava]

I have a gold female gourami with two moonlight female gouramis, one adult snakeskin and two sub adult (not really juvis as they are the same size as the gold) gouramis, a banded fake gourami along with seven pearl gouramis in my 125 and they all get along fine. My adult snakeskin is the matriarch of the tank and will fix any agression before it gets out of hand. She had to with Iron the gold gourami when she was younger and is working on the younger snakeskins. When we had the wild blue acara she also thought him she was the boss and fixed any issues with territory. I also have a school of 15ish Australian rainbowfish, five pavo eels, six (three giant adults, three thumb length juvies), seven Yo-Yo loaches (three young adult, four juvies), a royal watermelon pleco/panaque and armbursteri pleco/panaque.

The gouramis should be ok with angels, I had five sub adult angels in the 125 as well before we got the 120 set up for them. They had no issues with any other fish in the tank.

Also if I remember correctly, rainbow sharks are social where red tailed sharks become territorial as adults.

If they are both females you shouldn't have issues with keeping the with your other fish.

 

[Avel1896]

Dojo loaches, plecos, angelfish, and rainbow sharks (2 full grown, docile temperament).

Too many bottom fishes.
Gouramis and Angels aren't compatible.
Your tank measurements (L W ht) ?

 

[Adellefrost]

If you're certain. How old are they? They can get very rambunctious in their older years - even when alone - so if they're young I'd still watch out for that.

Rubberlips are gorgeous. Clown plecos are nice too. A little shy I've heard.

I’m not exactly certain but a few years old at least, they’re maybe 5 inches long or so? I’m not sure how much bigger they’d get

and yeah I love the little pleco haha ?