Gold Gouramis

[Barry P]

I recently informed the forum that i had lost my betta and was wondering what to replace it with. The majority of replies said that a gourami or 2 would suffice. As i always listen to the forums advice i purchased 2 beautiful Gold gouramis. They are both as big as anything i have in the tank yet they havent shown themselves in 2 days.? They just constantly hide and i have no way of knowing if they are eating or not..? The look skittish and jumpy. They seemed fine in the Fish Shop. Is this behaviour just because they are getting used to a new environment or have i bought the most boring, shy fish ever.?

 

[lankey89]

Definately not. i also have two gold gouramis and they are out all the time. not shy at all. must be just getting used to the new environment.

 

[Barry P]

Thats good to know lankey, anything else i should know about the golds..??? what do you feed them.?

 

[lankey89]

i just use normal flake food twice a day but every other day i feed all my fish frozen blood worm. they really enjoy it and tends to make them a lot happier. really brings out their colours. my two gold gouramis have developed a really nice bright blue stripe along the bottom of their fins. looks great. i'l try and get a picture to show you. wont be until later.

 

[Barry P]

Hey Lankey, i also heard that Gold Gouramis stay at the top of the tank..is this true with your two..?

 

[lankey89]

I never see them around the bottom 3rd of the tank, mainly around the middle but about an hour before i feed they come up to the top. this happens everytime i feed so i think they know what time it is lol. suprising seeing as ive heard that they have really short memorys or something

 

[AncientMariner]

I've got a Gold Gourami. He's about 4 inch from mouth to tip of tail. He tends to spend his resting time at the top 3rd back left of the tank. He used to chase most fish that came in his space, but when I introduced my latest fish which is a Gold Severum (7 inch) the Gourami has calmed down completely. Now the Severum is the kiddie of the tank but in a much mild mannered respectful way if that makes sense

 

[mandi]

If I'm doing my calculations correctly, 60 litres is about 15 US gallons? If so, I think that 2 gold grouamis might be a little crowded (they grow up to 6"). That aside, gold gouramis and blue (3-spot) gourami are color variations of the same fish -- and can be quite agressive as they get bigger/older. Though yours sound quite mild-mannered (shy even!) right now, just keep an eye on things because they're in close-quarters. (Depending on whether they're males or females also.)

Give them a few days to acclimate. Maybe add some plants and hiding places (if you don't have lots already)? Some floating hornwort would be great too (the gourami's I've kept always seemed to like to blow bubble-nests amongst it.)

 

[Barry P]

Thanks Mandi...? My 2 golds have spent the last 4 days hiding completely from me, i havent seen them feed and when they do surface they tend to swim backwards alot...? Is this normal behaviour..? On a different subject, when i asked the forum about what fish to buy i clearly stated that i had a 60L tank, yet all the replies said to get gouramis..??? And now im being told they may be to big..?

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

I am suprised you were told that hon. My gouramies live in a 35g tank with a mass of live plants. Gourami love loads of plants. The more they have the less they'll hide, simply because they feel secure. It's rare for any of mine to hide at all, unless one of the girls has just spawned and is very tired. Swimming backwards is something they can do. Are they sucking at the surface at the time?
Keep a close eye on them for a while. Make sure they have no signs of disease or sickness in general. Try to put food near them. Bloodworm is good and live brineshrimp is very popular.
Hugs,
P.
P.S:And I'm sad to say they will probably grow out of your tank, unless they're both female and there aren't too many other fish.

 

[sylvia]

Golds (or any other three-spot color morph) are not going to work in a 15 gallon. They grow to 6" and, though males are mroe aggressive than females, these don't make particularly good community fish if they're in mixed sex groups, will deffinately bully each other (or even kill each other) if crowded and your guppies are not going to survive for long. Three-spots are territorial and need plenty of space per fish. Try to sex yours - males have a more pointed dorsal, the female's is rounded. With some luck, you'll have two females. That doesn't mean you can keep them - just that there's not as much of an immediate danger. return these fish to your LFS or upgrade to a 30 gallon. Keep in mind that, if you have a male and female, the male will probably end up killing the female and, if you have 2 males, one will likely kill the other (and get terribly beat up in the process).

 

[Barry P]

I cant remember who on this site told me to get Gouramis but you would think that they might have told me about the possibility of "killing" each other, im pretty sure i wouldnt have gone for them.

 

[sylvia]

You have to understand that 'gourami' is a very general term. I keep saying this and trying to emphasise the point. Things like dwarf or honey gouramies are relatively peaceful, same for croakers or sparkling gouramies. Then there's realy fragile ones like the licorice and chocolate gouramies and realy hardy ones like paradisefish and three-spots (gold, blue, lavender, platinum, opaline and cosby are just color morphs of this species). Then you have huge ones like the osphronemus species and some that most people don't even consider gouramies, like the bettas. In future, if you are told that any species is reccomended, first research its requirements - you're likely to find there's a lot you weren't aware of. I do appreciate that you'd expect advise to be accurate but it's still a good diea to research first - regardless of how reliable you think your source is.

 

[fish mad]

I cant remember who on this site told me to get Gouramis but you would think that they might have told me about the possibility of "killing" each other, im pretty sure i wouldnt have gone for them.

I agree with you ive just learnt the hard way and got a male and a female i have to remove one.