Can I?

[mike777]

Well, I've heard a lot of yes's and no's top this question. Can I have 2 male dwarf gouramis in the same tank? it is a 20 gallon tank and it is pretty well planted. If this is a big no no then what fish can I get on Saturday (it is Thursday now). I really love gouramis they are easily my favorite type of fish. But I don't see how this would not be ok because at the lfs they had 2 male flame gourami (now only one because I have one) and they got along in a smaller tank and It had one plant. (they also had other kinds of gouramis in there). Please help me!! thanks

 

[BettaBoyz]

a note on pet stores: their tanks are often set up to show off the best fish, and are only temporary. remember; they buy the fish quite cheap, so if they are agressive they will put them together anyway because they go by the thought there's always a chance they won't fight. most male Gouramis will fight, from what i've heard.

otherwise, i'd suggest a bigger school of Zebras- definately three, maybe six more. A quartet of silly Cories or spunky Kuhliis, and maybe the always-interesting adult Apple Snail would round out your community. of course, don't introduce them all at once!

 

[SneakBetta]

I've heard that 2 can't get along, but more 3+ can

 

[mike777]

ok thx you guys. I still will probably get 1 or 2 gourami(s), I'm going tomorrow and If I only get one gourami maybe I'll get two cories then next weekend I will get a few more and then work from there.

 

[Morrgan]

If you have to get another gourami, make it a female or two. Do not buy another male. A 20 gal should be enough to keep a male and a female in, if it's well planted and has lots of other cover, but I won't recommend it for two males. Especially since the two males in this case wouldn't have been bought at the same time.

 

[juliethegr8t]

Mike please please listen to everyone - no one suggests getting one more male. It's just not a good idea, you have to trust us - it WILL NOT work. I'm sorry to keep at you like this, but it's very frustrating. I had to learn the hard way about this and other fish things (didn't listen to people on this board), and I'm trying to keep this from happening to you. Please listen, and DON'T get another male dwarf. Please please please. Just pick up some cories - they're wonderful lil fish.

 

[mike777]

Would it be ok too add two gouramis?

 

[MAM]

okay, its a 20 gal, so you MAY be able to have two males. ifyou could find a male and female, that would be better. but if you have lots of plants, places to hide, in a 20 gal, you might get away with two males. but keep in mind you may end up returning one, they CAN be very territorial. now, they won't like bite or physically harm eachother, like bettas would, but its more that one will bully and therefore stress out the other, and d. gouramis are sensitive fish, and a great deal of stress can kill them!!!!! if you decide to still get one, for other tank mates, don't get active schooling fish, these will stress out the d. gourami terribly. you could safely get one d. gourami, a group of 6 cory cats, and maybe some livebearers (guppies, mollies, platies, swordtails). if you are dead set on two d. gouramis, then the only other fish with them would be cory cats or a small plec to keep stress to a minimum...
just my opinion.

 

[mike777]

Ohh man this stinks so if I get another d.gourami then I can't get any more zippy fish but I already have 3 zebra danio in there with one. And would it be better to get 2 more?

 

[juliethegr8t]

I'd say it would be a good idea, IMO, to get 2-3 more zebra danios. They're schooling fish and would really appreciate it! This way also, if they're bothering your gourami, they'll spend more attention within their group and each other and therefore, leave him alone. I have a school of 6 in with my boy and they get along great - they danios never bother him. I've actually never heard that "zippy" fish bother dwarfs, but maybe I just got lucky. Anyways mike I saw in your other post that you ordered a male and female - but I still suggest getting just the female - they'd be quite happy. However, with 3 dwarfs both the female AND the weaker male will be bullied. It's really much safer to just have one male, or a pair. So consider that please. By the way - congrats on your new rainbows!

 

[akhtar]

i read bettas dont like a house bigger than ten gallons, coz its tomuch of a stress to guard all the territory, and patrol the WHOLE tank

correct me if im wrong

 

[Morrgan]

akhtar, I think that as long as you plant and decorate the tank to provide a smaller territory, a betta will be fine in a larger tank. I have had a few (one male at a time, of course) in a 34 gal without trouble. They just kept to the densely planted bit and didn't bother with the rest of the tank.

 

[FanOFish]

Mike, look at the fish in my signature. All three gouramis are male, do they chase each other around? Once and awhile but no real issues, all seem happy and healthy. That's my experience...by the way....they have been together for around three months which is more than enough time to establish a pecking order.

 

[Morrgan]

FanOFish, your tank is more than twice as big as Mike's. In a tank that size I would expect things to work out because each gourami can find space for themselves, and as far as I know the pearl gourami isn't as aggressive as most other gouramis. I wouldn't risk several males in only a 20 gal.

 

[gourami fan]

Yes definetly just make sure you watch them closely. I have two in the same tank and they are fine together.