Can I Have Just One Blue Gourami?

[GoldfishAttentionSpan]

I am going to set up a new 26 gallon US (supposed to be 29, but the actual dimensions come out to about 26) and would like to have a blue gourami (3-point, whichever you perfer to call it) with a school of danios, maybe a school of rasborosas, and some corydoras. I would like shrimp, but I'm thinking the gourami would eat them?

A few questions:

1. Would a gourami be ok with the other fish I have listed?

2. Would having only one gourami be ok? If so, should I get a male or female?

3. How fast do blue gouramis grow?

Any other advice or comments on this would be appreciated.

Oh, and the tanks dimensions are: l-30 w-12 h-23

 

[gettotank110]

if you want gouramies you cant have shrimp thats how it is i dont know why but the shrimp flutter to the surface every once in a while and when the gouramie finds it it kinda pecks it to death if it can catch and i know catfish eat shrimp because ma picus tear up grass shrimp , but i dont know if a cory cat would bother them when the cory gets bigger,,,,,,,,,the gouramies i would buy a pair (try 2 get both of the same sex because they will breed) i hade 2 powder blues and 1 died for an un known reason the other 1 was healthy but after about a week started to seem depressed almost sleeping on his side not swimming but his waist wuznt white and he hadnt lost any color but he still died the same thing happened to my fire gouramies and to this day i still dont know what killed the 1st one but the second ones were lonly and died atleast i think so and all dwarf gouramies like a blue gourami grow realy slow since full grown is about 3-4 inches max

 

[Majjie]

Don't get a pair of three spot or blue gouramies - especially two males. I've never kept them but I've read no end of posts on here about them being territorial and aggressive to each other and I've seen a lot of advice from Sylvia about how to keep them. I'm sure she'll be along at some point to give you better advice - but in reply to your questions:

1. Yes to the danios and corydoras. Rasboras - depends on the size - some of them are pretty small. Shrimp - I don't know - possibly not the smaller ones - but Amanos might be ok.
2. Yes one gourami would be ok - one male would be best
3. I don't know how fast they grow - you'll have to wait for someone who has kept them

HTH

 

[sylvia]

1. Would a gourami be ok with the other fish I have listed?
I'd agree on the 'it depends on the species of rasbora' point. Things like harlequins do great with three-spots but it;s best to avoid very small species like spotted rasboras. The rest I think would be fine. With danios it can be tricky because they occupy the upper layers so compete with these gouramies for space. You may want to reconsider them for this reason. They can usually avoid the gourami though.

2. Would having only one gourami be ok? If so, should I get a male or female?
I second the male suggestion. Because females are social, they do better in big tanks in large female-only groups. Males are territorial so happily live alone.
And, yeah - no pairs. Three-spots are one of the most aggressive of the 'common' gourami species and males will chase females continuously. They can be kept in large groups with several females per male but then you would have an overcrowding problem. Also, if these fish spawn, the males get extremely aggressive and will even kill non-gourami tankmates - including things like cories that most other fish would ignore. Two males is an absolute no-no as they'll usually fight to the death and two females is problematic because the more cominant will chase the other and this will stress her. the result is usually disease, followed by death.

3. How fast do blue gouramis grow?
Very fast compared to most fish That's vague lol but this depends on how much you are feeding, what the food is and what the temperature of the tank is at. High temperatures, rich live foods and several feedings speed up the rate of growth. It is also important that the fish is not stressed and that it is disease-free. The frequency of water changes is also crucial to maintaining a healthy growth rate and prevention of stunting. Male three-spots grow to 6", females to about 5".

About shrimp - none of the non-gourami fish you are considering will touch the majority of shrimp species (cories included - mine actually sleep in the same cave as the shrimp - very cute). I have also kept both cherry and amano shrimp with three-spots without problems. However, young, small shrimp may well get eaten and they do best in a heavily planted tank. With amanos, that just means you need to buy larger ones. With cherries, it also means you won't be able to breed them dispite the fact that their offspring can be raised in freshwater (amanos require brackish). Because they shed their 'skin' as they grow, shrimp are also vulnerable at specific times so need to have plenty of hiding places to avoid being harassed or eaten.

 

[GoldfishAttentionSpan]

Thank you everyone.

I think I will go with this stocking:

1 male blue gourami
8 danios (3 long finned, 5 short finned)
6 coolie loaches
3 peppered corydoras
2 bronze corydoras

I want to try the gourami with the danios because these are my two favorite kinds of fish, and if there are problems, I will switch some fish around.

 

[crazychris]

You're right to just get one as two blue gouramis, or two golden for that matter, will probably fight. I've never been able to keep two together as one always chases and bullies the other. Males are worse but I had 2 females fighting two. I have one large male now and he's fine with all other fish but won't tolerate another blue or any other gourami for that matter. For peace and harmony just get one!

 

[pippoodle]

you can keep shrimps very easily with corys and gouramis - i have lots of shrimps in all my tanks --- see my profile for info

as long as the tank is heavilly planted then the shrimp are fine - yes you might lose a few as you do if you kkep them with many other fish but they can mix together

Corys DONT eat adult shrimp - they might eat some babies but i've never ever seen it and have them in my shrimp tank