Gold Gouramis

[fish_face]

Hello,

I have really really really wanted a pair of gold gouramis ever since I set up my tank. But when I went to get them, I was told that they would pester all my other fish (see signature) so chose pearl gouramis instead. Are gold gouramis really that bad or merely misjudged?

 

[sylvia]

Gold gouramies are a variety of the three-spot or 'blue' gourami, trichogaster trichopterus (as you may already know). They do not get on well with most other gouramies. Sometimes they'll be ok with moonlight or pearls but usualy they are best kept with their own species and even then there should only be one male per tank. In large tanks it's possible to keep more with several females and without problems. They were right to say the gold gouramies would most likely not get along with your other fish. In particular, the dwarf gouramies would likely suffer. Any fish that share the upper water layers (and compete on territory because of this) or that are slow-moving can easily be harassed by three-spots. IMO, pearls are a better choice anyway. Not only are they more peaceful, they are just as attractive.

 

[Teelie]

They can be. My gold bullied one of my blues to death.

 

[cometcattle]

The one I had killed a rainbow shark and a paradise fish before I returned it to a lfs. All 3 fish were full grown at the time.

 

[MAM]

i got mine as a juvie along with other juvies. i ended up with a pair of golds and a pair of opalines. as they go older, i had to go with one of each. i believe the gold was male, and the opaline i kept was female, so they basically left each other alone. but before that, i had the pair of each, and the gold harassed the other gold, the opaline harassed the other opaline.

i had the gold in with hatchetfish, a cichlid, some platies and a mollies, and some bottom dwellers without issue. but he basically "grew up" with these fish so that may have had something to do with it. but he did have quite an attitude. he's the one that played with the thermometer daily, tapping it against the side of the tank until he'd knock it off. he also is the one that actually spit at me once (and hit me in the eye) when i was netting up molly fry once.

i know i would not have tried mixing him with dwarf gouramis or any dominant type fish (though he was best buddies with the cichlid that spend some time in the tank before moving on, which was so strange).

 

[Teelie]

he's the one that played with the thermometer daily, tapping it against the side of the tank until he'd knock it off. he also is the one that actually spit at me once (and hit me in the eye) when i was netting up molly fry once.

I had a goldfish who would do that with the thermometer. I never figured out why, and I've seen numerous puffer fish squirt water at people but never heard of gouramis doing it.