Chocolate Gouramis

[xgemx]

i havent seen these before and just seen someones pics on here and really want some! anyone know of anywhere that sells them? im in grimsby in lincolnshire.

 

[-germ-]

Try calling your nearest Maidenhead Aquatics, i've seen them stocked (both samurais and 'standard' chocolates) in this chain regularly, but never anywhere else......

 

[funkycat]

They are usually very very finicky about their water and are very hard to keep alive.

I know the store i worked at ordered them once and they all died within the next two days, and my store generally has pretty good water conditions.
So thats why you dont see them too often in the major stores.

 

[Squidman]

Ive heard that chocolate gouramis are very very hard to keep so you will probably want to be careful with them but ive never seen them ive just read that out of a book!

 

[poopsydrew]

I have to say I talked to a breeder and he says that its all a bunch of crap about how hard they are to keep. I never have kept them mind you, bit it was a very well known breeder.

He says, if you dont do anything stupid, give them the proper tank setup i.e dim lights plants etc...., and keep up on your weekly water changes, then they are just as easy as anything else.

So give it a go! I almost bought some off of him and wish I would have. Best of luck

Drew

 

[Maximumbob]

Whilst not comprehensive by any means, I have found http/www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk/ a useful resource.

 

[indigoj]

I am fairly sure one of the LFS in or near Scu-nthorpe have had them in recently, try Woodthorpe and Birleys. Just don't buy 'em all as I might want some too!

 

[Amerce]

Bought 2 choc gourami's about 3 months ago and put them in a planted tank with bogwood which died the tank a lovely yellow, got floating plants etc and never had problems, tap water is usually 6.5/6.8 haven't done a tank check on the PH for a while but with the bogwood I would have thought it was still about the same, temp in most of my tanks is 25c, it was cooler but I thought I'd up it a little recently and they seem to be OK.

I do a 10% water change twice a week and they have thrived, I probably wouldn't have bought them if I had thought they were hard to keep, but as you rarely see them I coulnd't resist it and I had the mature tank and only small rasboras in the tank I thought why not.

All I want now is to get them to breed, cause they are eating me out of house and home, they accept dried and live food with no problem.

So have I been fortunate or what ?

 

[severum boy]

It sounds like you have! Very few accept dried foods, most go as far as frozen and then stop.
I have always loved chocolates, but they are on average tricky to keep. Peat in a bag inside the filter is a good way of getting the water soft, and this combined with regular water changes sorts out the water, but they also need live foods (they usually wean onto frozen) and a lot of plants for security. They like the company of others, so a group of 6 is a minimum along with some small peaceful fish who will be happy in the water. I have seen a tank with about 30 chocolates in, with some breeding.
Hope it all goes well for you if you take the plunge.

 

[Lupin]

How do you know these are easy or difficult to keep when the moment you hear from somebody it is difficult, you just keep your distance? I've contemplated for long and decided to give them a go. I acted the same with discus and amazed myself when I found these are not hard at all.

 

[poopsydrew]

How do you know these are easy or difficult to keep when the moment you hear from somebody it is difficult, you just keep your distance? I've contemplated for long and decided to give them a go. I acted the same with discus and amazed myself when I found these are not hard at all.

See my post above, I clearly stated I never kept them and passed along what a well known and reliable breeder of them had told me.

Drew

 

[gothicangel69]

Almond leaves are very good at getting the water the right pH and softness, as well as adding tannins which make the tank water tea colored. I use them on my perch, and my friend uses them on his chocolate gouramis and he has 6 pairs that have bred already.

 

[Lupin]

How do you know these are easy or difficult to keep when the moment you hear from somebody it is difficult, you just keep your distance? I've contemplated for long and decided to give them a go. I acted the same with discus and amazed myself when I found these are not hard at all.

See my post above, I clearly stated I never kept them and passed along what a well known and reliable breeder of them had told me.

Drew

My post was not directed to you, Drew. I was merely pointing out that if people chose to believe these fish are rather difficult to keep, then they have nothing to learn or discover that they may be fortunate or amazed just how much a fish considered 'delicate' can thrive in their tanks.

 

[Terriann]

Hello there

I have 5 chocolate gouramies (did have six but one got a serious case of whitespot and I lost him). Any way, my PH is around 7.4 and probably quite a bit higher than recommended but fish are doing great, I have a 3 foot tank with quite a lot of plants in, 2 large pieces of bog wood arranged to make a cave, a cave and a castle, although they very rarely hide! Unfortunately they don't take flake and eat frozen bloodworm, had them about 3 months and they are in good health. They even dance sometimes, which is really cool! I guess I am one of the lucky ones. My temp is around 26 degrees.

I hope you take the risk, they are fab. I think mine cost me around £4.95 each so they are not expensive either.