Dwarf Gourmis and neon rainbow fish, thoughts?

[BarbsandGobies_expert]

Dwarf Gourmis and Neon rainbow fish, thoughts?

I've been keeping my extremely friendly male dwarf gourami with barbs for a while now but I recently introduced some neon rainbow. At present I only have one as the females I had were not suited to my tank hardness.
But with the addition of my neon rainbow, my male gourami has made lots of friends. Don't get me wrong he loves his solitude but he spend time with them and interacts with them loads and they follow him around.

He is an excellent centrepiece and is seeming to thrive in my aquarium despite my high GH (I have not adjusted GH levels as the majority of my tank is barbs and this wouldn't be safe for them).

They are also the only fish that comes to the glass after feeding time which is something. (I swear neon rainbow fish manage to make their way into every. Single. Photo.)

And as long as your Gourami is peaceful I would say it would make a great centerpiece. However it depends on the fish.
Does anyone have experience with either of these fish?

 

[Colin_T]

Rainbowfish and dwarf gouramis regularly carry Fish TB (Mycobacteria)
Neon rainbowfish (Melanotaenia praecox) are fine in hard water with a high pH (GH 100-400ppm, pH 7.0-8.5).

Gouramis come from soft water with a low pH (GH below 150ppm, pH normally below 7.0).

Rainbows need to be kept in groups consisting of at least 6 (preferably 10) or more fish. You don't have to have the entire group made up of the same species and they happily mix with other species that are similar sized.

Dwarf Gouramis are territorial and you keep 1 male and 1 or 2 females per tank. If the tank is small and the male is threatening the females, separate them until breeding. Then put a female with the male, let them breed, then remove the female.

 

[GaryE]

It's common in rainbow circles to keep Melanotaenia rainbows like your praecox at around 23 degrees or slightly under, to slow the progression of any Myco. Dwarf gouramis like it much warmer. While the gourami temps will work for praecox for a while, I would expect them to have shortened lives in water that warm. But if you flip it and prioritize the rainbows, you'll lose the gouramis quickly.

 

[BarbsandGobies_expert]

Rainbowfish and dwarf gouramis regularly carry Fish TB (Mycobacteria)
Neon rainbowfish (Melanotaenia praecox) are fine in hard water with a high pH (GH 100-400ppm, pH 7.0-8.5).

Gouramis come from soft water with a low pH (GH below 150ppm, pH normally below 7.0).

Rainbows need to be kept in groups consisting of at least 6 (preferably 10) or more fish. You don't have to have the entire group made up of the same species and they happily mix with other species that are similar sized.

Dwarf Gouramis are territorial and you keep 1 male and 1 or 2 females per tank. If the tank is small and the male is threatening the females, separate them until breeding. Then put a female with the male, let them breed, then remove the female.

Well yes, my water is very hard and that's why I no longer have females as they were noticeabley stressed in my tank and a couple died. However, my male gourami is very happy in my aquarium and has been for the last 3 years, taking him out wouldn't be the right choice. I'm keeping him alone because he isn't aggressive either. As for my neon rainbow my tank temperature is balanced enough to keep them for quite a while. (4 years)