Can I Add Dwarf Gouramis To My Community

[Mommabear]

Hello everyone. I have a 55 gallon planted tank that is well established. It includes a shoal of corydorus, a whole lot of Platys in various sizes, 4 lyretail Killifish, and one bristle nose pleco. Recently my dear old friend Charlie the angelfish passed of old age. He lived happily in this community tank and was my prize fish. Now when I look at my tank it just feels so empty and makes me sad. I was interested in a few dwarf gouramis. I did some research and it seems they will work with everybody in the tank.
 I'm wondering what is the best number to add. How many females? I figure only one male?  What's been your dwarf gourami, in community tank experience?

 

[DreamertK]

You could go with most gourami with that setup. The large gourami's (opaline/gold/blue/3spot) grow up to about 6" and you may just want to keep one in there. If you go with DG, the only thing I really highly not recommend against is DGD (disease). About 1 in every 4 DG from the LFS get this disease and it's extremely contagious. If you were to go with DG, try to research local breeders who would be unlikely to catch the disease. If you really want to do DG, you should do 1:3 if you get four. Generally it's hard to find females since they're so subdued in color that they're less marketable. You could also go with a bunch of pygmy/sparkling/croaking gourami.
 
I've always wanted to get honey gourami.

 

 

[josh63762]

i agree with dreamertk I would rather get a honey or gold gourami as they are less prone to disease

 

[Mommabear]

Wow thank you both! I've never heard of dwarf gourami disease. I had flame dwarfs in mind, but I do like the honey and powder blue varieties. Is this disease one that would sweep through all my fish? or would it only kill off gouramis if one of them had it?

 

[DreamertK]

(Un)fortunately only the dwarf variety. There isn't a cure, so most people recommend isolation and then euthanization if you start seeing symptoms.

 

[Metka]

As the others before me have stated, DGD is a very common occurance these days, due to over farming and the use of so many pesticides & treatments. As the fish are bred, they are doused with so many chemicals to reduce stock loss, that once the fish are sold to the shops for public purchase, the chemicals are no longer used - thus the diseases that have been kept at bay are allowed to run freely within the fishes body. Given the fact that most Dwarf Gourami tend to get the disease at around the 6 month mark, this would suggest the length of time the chems take to pass through the fish and the disease take hold. - With this in mind, a general rule of thumb can be implied: Dwarf Gourami aged over 6-9 months can be suggested to be free from the disease.
 
Anyway, back on topic. I can whole heartedly recommend gourami of any type! Just remember that depending on variety, they are well known to be 'bullies'. Especially the three-spot variations (Opaline, Gold, Blue..etc). Although generally the bullying will only occur between fish of the same type, as they age male three-spots can become very territorial and bully just about anybody.
If you're wanting a gourami that is more placid than the threespot, but larger than a dwarf then I would recommend a couple of Pearl Gourami. As always, try and keep at least 1 males to 2 females - and if space allows then go for a large group - these fish are very happy in large groups.
 
I hope this helps. Anything else I can do to help, let me know

 
- Metka
(The Gourami Lover)

 

[Mommabear]

Thank you fish fanatic! I visited one of my local fish stores today and asked to take a look at their dwarfs. I overheard one of the managers say "this isn't a good time of year for them". While i'm not sure what to think of that, they did have some blue and gold gourami. The blue ones I really like.
Can you tell me anything I would need to know about them?
Since they are bigger i'm thinking just a pair, as it says they grow 5 inches and both male and females will become aggressive towards each other. I'm worried however if they would be aggressive towards my Killifish, as they already "own" the larger of the plants.

 

[CASIN0]

I have had a male and a female Dwarf Gourami on two occasions and boths times after a couple of months have ended up with bloody sores/ulcers and die a few days later. Lovely fish, just wish there were not so prone to disease.

 

[DreamertK]

My gourami dont tend to bother anything other than their own species (even shrimplets). Be absolutely sure you're getting one female in the pair. If the dorsal fin isn't short and round, don't get it as the female. Though I've heard that if the male and female arn't compatible, they'll also engage in fight-to-the-death combat. Thats why I only recommended one for your tank. With the blue ones, I prefer the opaline variety the most as they show their emotions quite readily on their skin.