Gourame And Betta Together

[julielynn47]

Has anyone tried to house a Gourame and Betta in the same tank.  I have a 10 gallon tank that I was going to put a betta in. But I have a neon dwarf gouramie that is getting bullied in my 55 gallon.  I was told that I could have 2 gouramie in the same tank as long as the type was different.  Well, that was obviously not true.  One of them is chasing the other relentlessly and now that poor fish is sitting on the bottom of the tank and rarely moving.  At first, yesterday, I thought the fish was dying. But this morning I saw him up in the water column, but now he is back on the bottom just sitting there.   
 
My ten gallon is old, it belonged to my daughter years ago. It is not set up at all. I will need a filter and everything for it. So needless to say I can't do anything about it today.  But I guess if the fish is still alive....and he is not just sick....I will have to put him in a new tank.  I will not get my 75 up and going soon enough for sure. But when I do I will put him in it, if he survives, and if he can't coexist with a betta.
 
I would appreciate any experienced persons  with this to let me know what happened with your situation.
 
TIA

 

[fluttermoth]

It's a very bad idea to put bettas and gouramis together.
 
They're very closely related, both being labyrinth fish, and occupy the same areas of the tank, so you will get a lot of aggression between the two. A betta could quite easily kill a dwarf gourami. 

 

[julielynn47]

Yeah, I kinda figured it would be a bad idea. But I wasn't sure.   I am going to just put the gouramie in a 10 gallon and if he isn't just sick, and just needs his own space, he will have a home. Then I will transfer him to the 75 when I get it set up.  Then I will put a betta in the 10 gallon

 

[Andysc1]

i have 2 neon dwarf gouramie in my 300 litre tank and they get on ok. i may be lucky I'm not sure

 

[julielynn47]

I guess the gouramie was just sick. He did indeed pass on.  Which is weird in one way and not is another.    For one, he was fine the day before and then I found him not looking so good the next day. And it was all downhill from there.  And for another, the store I got him at seems, with me at least, not to have what I would call, a good track record.   Years ago when I first got my tank the fish did fine.  But out of all the fish that I have purchased there over the last  few times, only my butterfly loach and a snail have lived.   I ended up taking 2 little albino cories back to the store after they passed and got them replaced with 2 more...which also died.  Then my farlowella catfish died. ( same thing as with the gouramie, one day he was doing great and the next he was dead.) And now the blue neon dwarf gouramie.
 
And note, that all my fish that I have had for years are doing great!  And the fish I got another store, in the same time period, are doing great. So something is just not right about the fish in that particular store.  I don't know what it is. I don't know if they are not taken care properly, or what. But they just don't live.
 
I am going to take them back, with my receipt, and try to just get my  money back instead of more fish.  I mean, I am beginning to wonder if it is worth the trouble.  If they won't just give me a refund I guess I will take the replacement fish. I really would rather just get the money and go to another fish store. But I will take what I can get I guess.