Dwarfs And Others

[stucolls]

I wnt to find out the compatability of dwarf gourami (thats prob biggest I can have in my 80litre).

I want to add tehm in to my tank with 3 cory, 4 dalmation molly and a red tail black shark, im also wanting to add 2 more cory so they have a nice shoal, 4 pitbull/bulldog plec, and 3 dwarf gourami.

is this something which will work? and if so which dwarf variety?

 

[Biulu]

For some unknown reason mollies don't like gouramis, plus that mollies like some salt in their water, so it is not a very good idea to put gouramis in there.

In your tank, you can have a trio (1 male: 2 females) of honey gouramis. Don't buy a dwarf gourami as it is prone to diseases, and many of us have already lost dwarfs to the same sickness.

By the way, your red tail black shark is not recommended for that size tank, plus will get agressive.

 

[poopsydrew]

Agreed. Dwarf Gouramis are all diseased. I personally like the pearls or the thick-lipped.

Drew

 

[stucolls]

ok points taken......

the RTBS.... im very taken with him and very torn as to whether or not to tale him back too.
I know of what they grow too and behave like but this little fella seems quite tame, swims with the dalmations and doesnt really pick on anyone, also I have a 5ft tank in the garden I just need to get a filter for it and find somewhere to put it so he will be rehomed in that eventually, but point definaetly taken.

as for gourami....you said they dont get on with mollys, is that the same for the honeys? or kissing?

sorry didnt understand if you meant it was just dwarfs who dont get along, and I cant add salt because of the corys and the plecs I want.

thanks for advice, more appreciated

 

[-germ-]

4 pitbull/bulldog plec

Woah! Stu, i reccommended pitbulls... not bulldogs, very different fish, common mistake to make (the lfs does it every time i call asking for some)
but bulldogs get 2-3 times the size of pitbulls

Dwarf Gouramis are all diseased

Dwarfs are evil and commonly associated (well TBH alot of gourami are, this has been a problem since the 70's) with parasitic infections, ( apparently although i've not read up on it, i'd take these guys judgment) a weakess to bacterial infection and the possibility of (bad,bad,bad,bad) DGIV....
Probably all, but the parasite issue which has been around forever, as a result of inbreeding and the overuse of antibiotics in farmed fish.

as for gourami....you said they dont get on with mollys, is that the same for the honeys? or kissing?

I wouldn't risk gourami with molly full stop, don't understand it myself but Mollies, for some reason, hate all Gourami...
Plus kissers'd get too big...

the RTBS.... im very taken with him and very torn as to whether or not to tale him back too.

I assume he's fairly young but he'll get to 6" tops and can be extremely aggressive, although you may have a good'un, early behaviour is no indication he may just be settling in, developing territory or maybe too young at the mo...
I had the same with my labeo chrysophakedion (black shark) Oscar, my first fish, loved him to bits, eventually saw his true colours and couldn't get him back to the LFS soon enough, IMHO its not worth the risk unless you get the large tank running.....
Hope that helps....
Gb

 

[stucolls]

That does help yes, cant believe I ballsed up on the plec front......pitbulls it is

As for Gouramis, I just thought they were nice medium sized fish who could add some colour to the tank, I will avoid them now I think, perhaps a couple Blue Rams? or maybe a nice shoal of something?

As for goerge the shark, He does seem quite playful and placid at the moment and is probably arouns 1.5" (im rubbish at measurements), im planning on having the 5ft tank running by the end of the year for definate, if thats too long I will rehome him too, but would like to try getting him in there if poss.

Thanks Germ

 

[SouthernCross]

Just want to clarify for your that its not ALL gouramis that are diseased - only the dwarf gourami's have the major problems.

Honeys were a great recommendation from others above. They stay small.

Others like pearls, blues/opalines/gold, etc are all very nice too, but may get too large for you (5-6 inches).

Sparkling gouramis are on the smaller side too, but I think they can be harder to find.

Good luck!

 

[-germ-]

Just want to clarify for your that its not ALL gouramis that are diseased - only the dwarf gourami's have the major problems.

Sorry if i didn't make that clear....
Honeys would have been ok, but i still wouldn't risk it with the mollies?
How's the sick fish SthrnCrss?

 

[Biulu]

That's right, the only gourami vulnerable for diseases are the dwarfs. Other gouramis don't have that problem, but mollies DO have a disliking for all gourami species.

Although mollies are hardy fish, they do prefer some salt in their water, and that, as you noticed already, will seriously limit your fish choices. Would you be willing to trade the mollies in for platies? In that way you could add whatever you want, including the rams......

 

[stucolls]

ok everyone.......dont shout at me..............

I went for 2 dwarf gourami, I asked about disease etc etc (I asked the one girl in pets at home who keeps tropicals herself and has a multitiude of tanks) (oh and she's pretty good looking lol) and she assured me none of their dwarfs are carrying anything, had been quarantined for a couple of weeks and the ones I chose in particular had been there around 3 to 4 weeks.

BUT

you are right on the mollies, my dalmations wont leave them alone, they seem completely mesmerized by the dwarfs, not squabbling or fighting just slowly following them, its quite funny,

BUT
I know its no good for the gourami so I may well exchange the mollies for platys even though im in love with the dalmations, I got them becuase we actually have a proper dalmation lol

thanks everyone, and sorry for not heeding your warnings (I did want honey gouramis but they only had dwarfs andsomething bigger and redder)

 

[-germ-]

 

[SouthernCross]

Just want to clarify for your that its not ALL gouramis that are diseased - only the dwarf gourami's have the major problems.

Sorry if i didn't make that clear....
Honeys would have been ok, but i still wouldn't risk it with the mollies?
How's the sick fish SthrnCrss?

Yeah just clarifying cos the OP made a blanket statement about 'gouramis' - wanted to make sure it was only the dwarfs.

She's still hanging in there - however I ended up getting that tablet in there didn't make her worse at least. Doesn't look much better though. I'm starting to think maybe it could be fish TB, but will have to dig around a bit more first. Just gave her a little water change as per the tablet instructions and I put some salt in there for her too.

To the OP
I agree with germ, I think you haven't made the best decision here with the dwarfs. Honestly, if you really like your mollies, take the dwarfs back, because I bet you're going to run into trouble with them. I started running into trouble after 1-2 months with mine.

Search this forum for dwarf gourami - you'll come across numerous threads detailing all our problems with them. Including one by me that a lot of ppl get referred to these days.

And P.S. Don't ever rely on what LFS staff tell you. At the end of the day, they are there to make money. Do your own research and make educated decisions.

 

[stucolls]

alright alright.....you lot go on long enough and make me feel guilty enough lol

I wil take em back on monday, they seem to be doing ok at moment, but I wont chance it, wil change em for either platy or some more cory I think lol

should have stuck to your advice to begin with, I only got them because I panicked at the choice really (stupid I know)
thanks all

 

[mudvayne42]

thats wierd i dont know whether it makes a differance but i got a male and female dwarf gourami about 2 or 3 months back and i havent had a single problem with them they are happy and look great i just hope i dont come over any bad patches but to be honest i would stick with the gouramis but i have read that they are teritorial so and to only hav bor than one male and female in a larger tank but it is best to have them in a male and female pair up to you mate hope i helped a little bit

 

[poopsydrew]

thats wierd i dont know whether it makes a differance but i got a male and female dwarf gourami about 2 or 3 months back and i havent had a single problem with them they are happy and look great i just hope i dont come over any bad patches but to be honest i would stick with the gouramis but i have read that they are teritorial so and to only hav bor than one male and female in a larger tank but it is best to have them in a male and female pair up to you mate hope i helped a little bit

Thats really not that long of a time to see if you will have problems. I have met VERY few people who have owned them for longer than 6 months without them dying or returning them. Of course, its nothing against the fish. It just seems all of tghe dwarfs are diseased. Whenever we get them in at my work they are dead within an hour. We try not to order them. Hopefully, yours will be the exception

Drew