Unfortunatley, my water is hard and has high PH ( 7.8 ). This is my first tank and i don't want to mess with the water chemistry (i.e., PH buffers). Will Dwarf Gouramis be OK is such water? Does their hardiness and adaptability vary with the color variations (standard, neon, flame, etc).
Dwarf Gourami In Hard Water With High Ph
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My tap water is at the same pH as yours and I have no trouble keeping any fish at all. It can sometimes be tricky getting things to breed but even then there are other things you can do to induce spawning.
Anyway, as is the case with most popular gouramies, dwarfs are absolutely fine kept in a pH like yours but they cannot tolerate fluctuations. I learnt the hard way that gouramies are generaly extremely sensitive to fluctuations in pH and dwarfs arguably more so than others. The main thing is to make shure you acclimatise the new fish to your tank very slowly and/or ask your LFS what pH their tanks are at. Unfortunately, many use RO water and have a neutral pH which poses problems when you have to take the fish home. Another thing to consider is how long the fish have been in your LFS. The longer they've survived the LFS, the hardier and healthier they probably are will have become accustomed to your LFS' water chemistry so their reaction to your water will, at least, be predictable.
Having said that, you have to keep in mind that dwarfs are not hardy fish - one of the least hardy of the 'common' gouramies - and very highly prone to disease if stressed even slightly. You may want to consider an entirely different species if your LFS doesn't have water at a similar pH as yours and/or you're not prepaired to spend time acclimatising. I always suggest honey gouramies (Colisa sota/chuna) and banded gouramies (Colisa fasciata) as ideal alternatives - far hardier and arguably prettier in some cases as well.
All dwarf gouramies are cultivated varieties and color morph makes no difference to hardiness. If you ever find a wild fish, it'll be hardier once acclimatised (though possibly even more sensitive to fluctuations) but as far as any of the available varieties go - even the 'wild-type' coloration - they are equaly hardy (or not as the case may be).
Remember not to buy your dwarfs in a pair - if you want a mixed sex group, go for a trio (1 male, 2 females). If you are getting males, allow at least 10 gallons per fish. If you want females, the more you have (within reason!), the better.
Anyway, as is the case with most popular gouramies, dwarfs are absolutely fine kept in a pH like yours but they cannot tolerate fluctuations. I learnt the hard way that gouramies are generaly extremely sensitive to fluctuations in pH and dwarfs arguably more so than others. The main thing is to make shure you acclimatise the new fish to your tank very slowly and/or ask your LFS what pH their tanks are at. Unfortunately, many use RO water and have a neutral pH which poses problems when you have to take the fish home. Another thing to consider is how long the fish have been in your LFS. The longer they've survived the LFS, the hardier and healthier they probably are will have become accustomed to your LFS' water chemistry so their reaction to your water will, at least, be predictable.
Having said that, you have to keep in mind that dwarfs are not hardy fish - one of the least hardy of the 'common' gouramies - and very highly prone to disease if stressed even slightly. You may want to consider an entirely different species if your LFS doesn't have water at a similar pH as yours and/or you're not prepaired to spend time acclimatising. I always suggest honey gouramies (Colisa sota/chuna) and banded gouramies (Colisa fasciata) as ideal alternatives - far hardier and arguably prettier in some cases as well.
All dwarf gouramies are cultivated varieties and color morph makes no difference to hardiness. If you ever find a wild fish, it'll be hardier once acclimatised (though possibly even more sensitive to fluctuations) but as far as any of the available varieties go - even the 'wild-type' coloration - they are equaly hardy (or not as the case may be).
Remember not to buy your dwarfs in a pair - if you want a mixed sex group, go for a trio (1 male, 2 females). If you are getting males, allow at least 10 gallons per fish. If you want females, the more you have (within reason!), the better.
Thanks for the advice. On liveaquaria.com they identify dwarf honey gourami as difficult to keep. What has been your experience with dwarf honey gourami? Unfortunatley, the banded gouramies will be too big for my tank - it's only 29 gallon. I'm having a hard time finding a fish trio or pair to contrast my schools.
By dwarf honey do you mean the honey morph of the dwarf gourami (Colisa lalia) or the actual honey gourami (Colisa chuna/sota)?
The former is exactly the same as any ordinary dwarf and is therefore highly sensitive to fluctuations in any parameters and very easily stressed. Once stressed, they easily get internal bacterial infections which usualy present themselves first as ulcers and then in the form of dropsy (and eventualy death). Don't get me wrong - if you can get a healthy individual and keep it in a stable environment, taking care to acclimatise it and its healthy to begin with (and its also best to quarantine just in case), they can make great fish - just as hardy as any other gourami kept in stable conditions. Unfortunately, it is rather tricky to find healthy fish and though I do own some dwarfs and haven't had many problems over-all, I wouldn't personaly reccomend them. The main issue is with the way they are bred - generaly mass produced commercialy and very inbred with no attention to health.
If you were reffering to the latter species, its a totaly different matter. Honeys are quite hardy fish and adaptable. They are very easy to keep and, being just a tad smaller than dwafs, are ideal for a tank that doesn't have very much room to offer. I absolutely adore these for their (IME) easy going nature. The males develop a lovely blue-black ventral coloration when in breeding condition. It's always very rewarding to see your dull LFS-bought fish color up. Again, fluctuations are not welcome but that's the same for any fish. I highly reccomend these.
Just to avoid misunderstandings - dwarfs are beautiful fish and have very interesting behaviour traits (for example they are one of the more likely species to 'squirt' water in the manner of an archer fish as if to knock down insects above the water). They are also relatively easy to breed and extremely popular fish. The only thing is that a lot of people get sucked into buying them because they are such beautiful fish and overlook their health issues. Having said that, if you can get good-sized fry from a hobbyist breeder rather than an LFS, they are likely to be perfectly healthy.
The former is exactly the same as any ordinary dwarf and is therefore highly sensitive to fluctuations in any parameters and very easily stressed. Once stressed, they easily get internal bacterial infections which usualy present themselves first as ulcers and then in the form of dropsy (and eventualy death). Don't get me wrong - if you can get a healthy individual and keep it in a stable environment, taking care to acclimatise it and its healthy to begin with (and its also best to quarantine just in case), they can make great fish - just as hardy as any other gourami kept in stable conditions. Unfortunately, it is rather tricky to find healthy fish and though I do own some dwarfs and haven't had many problems over-all, I wouldn't personaly reccomend them. The main issue is with the way they are bred - generaly mass produced commercialy and very inbred with no attention to health.
If you were reffering to the latter species, its a totaly different matter. Honeys are quite hardy fish and adaptable. They are very easy to keep and, being just a tad smaller than dwafs, are ideal for a tank that doesn't have very much room to offer. I absolutely adore these for their (IME) easy going nature. The males develop a lovely blue-black ventral coloration when in breeding condition. It's always very rewarding to see your dull LFS-bought fish color up. Again, fluctuations are not welcome but that's the same for any fish. I highly reccomend these.
Just to avoid misunderstandings - dwarfs are beautiful fish and have very interesting behaviour traits (for example they are one of the more likely species to 'squirt' water in the manner of an archer fish as if to knock down insects above the water). They are also relatively easy to breed and extremely popular fish. The only thing is that a lot of people get sucked into buying them because they are such beautiful fish and overlook their health issues. Having said that, if you can get good-sized fry from a hobbyist breeder rather than an LFS, they are likely to be perfectly healthy.
Serpae are nippers so I wouldn't realy keep them with honeys (or dwarfs). If you don't already have them, maybe consider black phantom tetras as an alternative. I think they look nicer than serpaes anyway (but I'm biased - phantoms are my favoyurite tetra 
)
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