Dwarf Gouramis

[fmervin]

Hello everyone,

I have a 65 ltr (approx 17 gal tank). I intend on stocking it as follows (the one with the * are the ones I currently have in the tank)

* 3 mollies (1 male, 2 female)
* 1 betta (I know they are aggressive, but my mollies and betta seem to be getting along very well)
1 female platty
3 zebra loaches
2 cory catfish
5 cardinal tetras
2 ottos

I intend to also keep a dwarf gourami (possibly 2?). However, from what I have read it seems that the male can get pretty aggressive towards the female. Will it be ok if I kept a single male? Or should I keep a pair? Or 2 males, 2 females? Please advise.

My tank is nicely planted and does have quite a few hiding places with bog woods etc I can post pics if required.

Thanks for all the help

 

[-germ-]

You really have to be careful for a number of reasons...

1) You can never predict a dwarves aggressiveness, and who it may be toward, my dwarves are as calm as could be but you constantly hear of dwarves bullying vaious species of fish.
2) The same applies to Bettas, particularly in relation to Gourami as they share the same water level and both will be going up for air from time to time. I'd certainly advise that you avoid getting a Gourami of a similar colour to your betta, if your betta sees it as a threat ie. treats it as it would another betta then it'll be carnage.
3) To avoid any females being bullied/harassed you should keep a ratio of at least 2 females to every male, but the more females the better really.
4) Farmed/tank bred dwarf gourami have alot of illness related issues at the moment, a fair few Tff members would tell you not to keep them at all, i'd agree really, which'd leave you 3 more reliable options;

a) wild dwarf gourami, not as colourful but less prone to disease
B) colisa chuna; dwarf honey gourami; i've heard people say these aren't as at risk as dwarves...
c) colisa labiosa thick lipped gourami, the most peaceful small gourami, don't need to be kept apart from members of the same sex, but get to about 3" (so slightly larger than dwarves/honeys)

I'd go with c myself, i've got thick lips, tank bred dwarves and wild colouration honeys in the same tank and the thick lips are by far the most bold, active and friendly fish in the tank.
Hope that helps.....

 

[fmervin]

Thanks Germ Really helpful, however I do have a few more questions

3) To avoid any females being bullied/harassed you should keep a ratio of at least 2 females to every male, but the more females the better really.

Do I have to keep a female at all? Or could I have just 2 males? Or 1 male? If there are no females I guess they won't be harrased and stressed out. On the other hand if I do keep 2 males, not sure if they will have problems with each other

c) colisa labiosa thick lipped gourami, the most peaceful small gourami, don't need to be kept apart from members of the same sex, but get to about 3" (so slightly larger than dwarves/honeys)
I'd go with c myself, i've got thick lips, tank bred dwarves and wild colouration honeys in the same tank and the thick lips are by far the most bold, active and friendly fish in the tank.

I wouldn't mind a thick lipped gourami. However, again, can I keep a single male? This site http/fish.mongabay.com/species/Colisa_labiosa.html mentions that they grow up to a size of 4" so I might be able to keep just one of them. I would like a nice centrepiece fish, the betta currently has that status at the moment however, it is a bit small for my tank and does get lost

Thanks for all the help. I love this forum

 

[-germ-]

Yeah keep to one male and you should be fine, although they tend to be sociable, you can't guarantee you won't get a fish with a chip on its shoulder...

Dwarves/honeys; 1 male or 1 male 2 female. Definatley NOT 2 male.
Thick lips; 1 male, 2 males shouldn't make a difference.
Whatever you do be really careful with the betta, is there anyway you could rehome him, new small tank? If not make sure you have a tank divider handy, just in case there is trouble.

 

[fmervin]

Thanks germ

Yeah keep to one male and you should be fine, although they tend to be sociable, you can't guarantee you won't get a fish with a chip on its shoulder...

Dwarves/honeys; 1 male or 1 male 2 female. Definatley NOT 2 male.
Thick lips; 1 male, 2 males shouldn't make a difference.

I think I'll go in for a single thick lipped gourami. I think I prefer the look of the dwarf, however taking your advice into consideration, I think the thick lips is currently the best choice for my tank

Whatever you do be really careful with the betta, is there anyway you could rehome him, new small tank? If not make sure you have a tank divider handy, just in case there is trouble.

The betta did initially give problems with my mollies. However, they have settled down now and they seem to be fine. I see them together quite a bit. I think the betta was stressed at that time since the nitrite levels were a bit high, but now that it's under control they are cool. Not sure if it's because they have been together for a month and if I introduce a gourami he might start getting territorial again. If that is the case, I will have to rehome the betta. Also, do you know where I can purchase the divider from? Just in case...

Thanks for all the help

 

[-germ-]

Not sure where to get one, i've heard people mentioning cutting down a condensation cover down to size, if you search the DIY section i'm sure you'll find something.
Not to panic you but if it was me i'd be back and forth to the tank every five minutes, sorry just don't want you to end up with 'blood on your hands' so to speak. Be extra vigilant.
What colour is the betta?
Good luck

 

[Scunny]

Lots of people are likely to advice you against having dawrf gouramis and a male betta in the same tank. You could have both in your tank, and everything may be fine (it has been for me), although there is a chance that you may have to buy your betta his own little tank. Just a bit of prior warning

Scunny

p.s. nice to see your getting some corys...cracking little fish

 

[MHunt]

I would be careful with your stocking list for a couple of reasons. First is that the Dwarf gourami and the betta are both anabantoids, so that could cause a problem. Second, i don't know why, but i had a dwarf gourami who wouldn't stop bullying my femalw platy. He would literally swim full speed towards the platy almost every time he saw it, hitting the side of the tank if he couldn't stop. A right nutter and a bully.

 

[Biulu]

For some reason mollies don't get along well with gouramis. Many people on this forum have written about mollies picking on gouramis. Also remember that bettas and gouramis are related; a betta is a type of gourami and both are territorial.

 

[fmervin]

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies, perhaps as germ suggested I might go in for the thick lipped gourami if my lfs stocks it. I'll check my tank every now and then to see if they are getting along. My betta is a bit strange, he did take some time to get used to my mollies, however, after a while he settled down and doesn't mind them. In fact I find them together quite a bit

What colour is the betta?

Can't describe it (never been good with colours) but it looks similar to the one here

 

[fmervin]

Guys, I've decided to return my siamese fighter ([topic="200478"]more details here[/topic]), now I'm wondering if I get in a thick lipped gourami would he take it's place? I mean would he start being aggressive towards my other fish? Also, I have ready that blue ram cichlids are very peaceful and a beautiful fish, is it ok if I keep a male thick lipped gourami and a male blue ram cichlid? Or would that cause problems again? I'm thinking of stocking my tank as:

* 3 mollies (1 male, 2 female)
3 guppies (1 male, 2 female)
1 male platty
3 zebra loaches
2 cory catfish
5 cardinal tetras
2 ottos
1 thick lipped gourami
1 blue ram cichlid

Also, I plan to keep amano shrimps would the gourami or blue ram eat the shrimps? Do let me know

 

[Biulu]

Gouramis are mostly only agressive towards their own kind. However, there is a disliking between mollies and gouramis for some reason. In this case it are the mollies that mostly go after the gouramis. Other than with mollies they should be fine.

Rams only get agressive when they breed. However, they like to be in pairs (they form pairs for life), and breed easily in fishtanks.