dwarf gouramis

[snowrat2004]

ok i am a little confused. i am changing my 29 gallon tank form a guppy tank to a comuntiy tank with (hopefully) 2-3 dwarf gouramis, 8-10 neon tetra 6-8 diamond/black diamond tetras, 5 cory catfish and some kind of algea eater that i havent decided on yet. so my question is.... if i got 3 dwarf gouramis, would they be fine in that tank, or should i only get two, or one. if 3 should it be one male and two females, or could i get all males

thanx for any help you can give me!
Jenny

 

[Alia]

I suppose I am more or less qualified to answer you. My 28 gallon community tank has a somewhat similar composition to what you seek, though perhaps less crowded.

You can get all male dwarf gourami, and might have a difficult time getting any females if you wanted them, depending on the fish stores at your disposal. I personally have never seen a female gourami, and I live in a heavily populated area. Because the females are rather plain, stores tend to carry only the colorful males.

I have four dwarf gourami in my tank and they are not only fine with each other, they are fine with everybody else. They are a joy to have in my tank.

I am not familiar with diamond tetras. I have black skirt tetras. They chase one another around the tank when no one is looking, but they play nice with others. I love watching them eat -- like little pirhanas. Some tetras can be nippy, I guess, but I think if you have several they are ok.

Cories are the best. My bronze cories are too skittish, though. Some people will say it is because I only have two, but I had three plus a pair of peppers, and the bronze were psycho then, too. My peppered cories have been the most hardy, good natured, laid back, and lovable of fish.

I don't know about algae eaters, except that many get way too big for my tank. Do your research on those. I don't seem to have a problem with algae, I just use an algae cleaner every once in a while when I do a water change.

Unless your water is absolutely ideal for neon tetras, you may have a rough time keeping them alive. Most people seem to. It's the breeding practices, I gather -- they are just not healthy fish. Best of luck with that. Otherwise, your tank sounds like a winner! Happy fishkeeping!

 

[aernympha]

In my lfs they seell female dwarf gouramis!!! surpose i am lucky!!! yay! they just plain silver but if i was u i would get one male and one female of maybe tow females thats it for them..........also i wouldnt go with neon pursonnally because they aren't very hardy ....why not go for some cardinal i think cardinal are prettier anyways because there tummys are all red and not half silver like neons!!! and a good algae eater which s very small is otos!!!!! i have redfin otos

 

[MAM]

i've been looking at dwarf gouramis lately, going to start up a tank similar to yours actually. was recommended that i get a matched pair of gouramis by someone, but when i go to the shops here in phx (not too many fish shops unfortunately, have to go the chain pet stores instead), all i see are males...... but they put a number of them together and they look to be doing fine that way............ if you find any females up there in flag, let me know!!!!