can gouramis room with these?

[Mr Miagi]

How do you know if it's an Asian or a Euro fish?

Their accent! LOL

JK:

So have u decided which to choose? Id go either Dwarf or ( like sylvia said before and i didnt think of them before) honey gouramis. They are great fish! I didnt realsie there was any thing different between say a euro species and asian, but i spose euro gouramis are bred in captivity so they are your best bet.

I still think you could go another 5 neons too! Or take back that lonely one... poor guy!

 

[sylvia]

All dwarf gouramies originated in asia That's where they occur in the wild. Asian fish are not wild-caught - they are also mass-bred in captivity. Those fancy color morphs aren't natural, wild-caught strains. European fish shouldn't realy be that much hardier - maybe they've been bred a couple of generations in Europe but, honestly, I don't think that would make much of a difference as far as their hardiness is concerned - they still came originaly from the mass-produced fish in Asia. If it does make a difference, it might be because they are slightly less in-bred. But realy, any dwarf gourami of one of those other-than-natural color morphs is going to be quite in-bred (regardless of where it hatched out into the world ). What might make a difference is the amount of travelling the gourami has done - if you can find one bred locally, it'll likely have been exposed to fewer stressful situations and so be hardier.

 

[fishwatcher]

I'd like to get a dwarf, but not sure now since I'm hearing they are real sensitive. I have 3 zebra danios, 1 pr guppies (which I'll be adding another female) and the one neon. could I get a dwarf and still have room for 3-4 more neons? If not, which type would be hardier? (it's a 10-gal)

 

[sylvia]

The zebra danios realy shouldn't be in a 10 gallon. Please do consider re-homing them to at least a 20.

As your stocking stands (including the additional guppy), you only realy have room for either one dwarf or one honey gourami. you could also try a pair or trio of sparkling gouramies instead if you wish but they preffer a planted tank and don't occupy the upper water layers (which maybe is a factor in your descision - I don't know) like the colisa species do. If you were to add a few more neons, you would be ever so slightly over-stocked. However, this slight over-stocking should be manageable in a well-maintained tank so it is by no means impossible and I personaly think it would be a good idea to add a few more neons - but realy no more than 3 more. If you remove the danios, you should be fine as far as stocking goes - even with the neons - and it is much kinder for the danios as they are very active fish and do deserve a bigger tank.

Do you have a larger community you could maybe move them to? Otherwise, a friend might want them?

 

[xanthianacid]

Doggfather,
thought I'd point out that I actually didn't recommend choc gouramis for his tank set up as I believe they need a mature tank. I was just trying to make the point that I find Dwarfs are harder to keep alive, even though they are supposed to be a hardier fish than chocs.
Xan

 

[fishwatcher]

this is all so confusing.... thank you all for your help though!
How about this: I keep the 3 guppies, get 3-4 more neons, and add either a couple of cory cats (not albino) or one gourami. I'll have take back the danios, which I think are nipping my male guppy's tail anyway (though the lfs said, oh they'll be fine!). How would that be? The only question I have (if that stock is ok), is which is harder to kill... the cory or gourami?

 

[sylvia]

That would work. Which is hardier out of the gourami or cories depends on the species you choose. I suppose if you go with gouramies, you'll either get a dwarf or a honey. Honeys are hardier than most cories. Dwarfs are more fragile than most cories. With cories, however, it depends on the exact species - for example, bronze, blackfin, peppered and albino I have found to be very hardy fish - panda cories on the other hand, for instance, are quite fragile and probably are almost as fragile or equaly fragile as the dwarf gourami. If you want hardy cories, go for blackfin, peppered, bronze - any of the more common species (but peppered and bronze get quite big so you may want to avoid them in a small tank though they would be ok - just a little more cramped). If you want hardy gouramies, go for a honey or two (colisa chuna/sota is the honey - don't confuse them with the dwarf (colisa lalia) color morph that is sometimes given names with 'honey' in it).

 

[fishwatcher]

ok, so would the 3 guppies, 3 danios and 2 gouramis be ok, or should i just get one? Can I get one gourami and still get 1-2 cory cats?

 

[fishwatcher]

As your stocking stands (including the additional guppy), you only realy have room for either one dwarf or one honey gourami. you could also try a pair or trio of sparkling gouramies instead if you wish but they preffer a planted tank and don't occupy the upper water layers (which maybe is a factor in your descision - I don't know) like the colisa species do. If you were to add a few more neons, you would be ever so slightly over-stocked. However, this slight over-stocking should be manageable in a well-maintained tank so it is by no means impossible and I personaly think it would be a good idea to add a few more neons - but realy no more than 3 more.

So you think I can have 3 guppies, 4-5 neons, and still add a few gouramis? What is the difference in the honey/dwarf as compared to the sparkling gouramis? I see where you said I could have either one of the first-mentioned kind, or 2-3 of the sparkling? I have a well-planted tank, and if they are bottom swimmers, that is fine to me.

 

[sylvia]

Sparkling gouramies are very small which is why 2-3 would work in a well-planted tank along with the guppies and tetras.

Or you can go for either 1 or 2 honey gouramies. These are territorial but only get to 1.5" at most so are usualy fine in a tank with plenty of hiding places/planted - prefferably as a male/female pair in your case.

Or you can get just one dwarf gourami as these are the largest out of those I mentioned and the most aggressive towards their own kind. They don't get big though - just to 2". They are also the most likely to get itnernal bacterial infections and so on but they are very attractive (the males come in all sorts of color morphs) and they do hang around the top layers. Though they can be fragile, they are still worth it if you are up to a challenge (though you'll need to choose the fish carefuly).

Any of the above could do well in your tank with the fish you are proposing to keep but you wouldn't realy have space for any cories afterwards. Even if you went with just one honey, for example, you still are not realy leaving enough space for cories (which you should keep in mind can get to 3" depending on exact species). To be honest, the only way you could fit both gouramies and cories in is if you go for just one honey and then get a couple of pygmy cories. The sparklers I am not suggesting keeping alone because IME they do better with others of their own kind (though they too do need to be able to establish territories and a very small number can cause problems as one fish may end up bullying the other - with 3 or more, you are spreading out any aggression between more individuals and thus reducing the pressure on any single fish).

 

[xanthianacid]

I'd recommend sparkling over dwarfs, unless you can verify where your dwarfs originate from. I've had far too much grief over dwarfs as they have problems if from the Asian strain ie production lines, any problems in water quality or stress from other fish and they develop nasties and die. Now, I've only got three sparkling gourami's like yesterday, everything I read/research suggests strength and stability. As long as the tank is cycled and youre prepared to have smaller cuter flashy fish then I'd recommend them, plus you can own a couple more and they look good when they are together.

 

[fishwatcher]

Ok, that sounds great. I'll try to find some sparkling gouramies then. I don't think I've seen them around here, but I'll look again. I'll add 2-3 of them, plue one female guppy and a few more neons. I will need to rehome the danios, right?
Thank you all for your help! You're lifesavers!