Gourami And Barbs?

[hawk]

Hi

I have 3 tiger barbs and 3 green barbs as well as 2 widows in a 60l tank.

Are gouramis compatible or will the "terrorist" nature of my current fish harm them?

Thanks?....

 

[Aprilia997]

Blue or Opaline gouramis which are both different color varities of the same species will do well with barbs.

 

[Majjie]

I don't know about opaline gouramis - I've never kept them. I definitely wouldn't keep pearls, dwarf or honey gouramis with tiger barbs - they like more peaceful tanks. (I speak as I watch one of my tiger barbs going mental and chasing every other barb around their tank )

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I wouldn't put tiger barbs with any sort of gourami, gourami's are prone to having their feelers and find nipped by faster and nippier/more agressive fish like tiger barbs. Gourami's are slow moving fish which prefer a laid back, peaceful and very planted community aquarium- you should avoid fish like tiger barbs with gouramis as tiger barbs can be really bad fin nippers and can easily attack and terorise the slower moving and more defenceless gourami's, its been known to happen a lot with these fish.

 

[arabballin]

As long as you keep barbs in groups of 6 and you can see they have all schooled together i dont think you have anything to worry about when it comes to gouramis since they dont have long fins. I have 3 tigers and 3 green barbs with some mollies right now and the barbs dont even bother with the mollies. The only aggression they show is toward each other.

 

[trisha76]

I have 2 golden barbs in with my gouramis but I have a few different types of gouramis in my tank yeah I know alot of gouramis owners wont agree with whats in my tank but they all get along
In my tank I have 1 pink kissing gourami, 2 blue, 1 gold, 1 pearl and 2 dwarfs, I also have 2 corys and 4 bristlenose, 3 small angels and 2 key holes.
But Im not sure about other barbs I have been told cherry barbs can be ok with them but not tiger barbs as the are more agressive.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

As long as you keep barbs in groups of 6 and you can see they have all schooled together i dont think you have anything to worry about when it comes to gouramis since they dont have long fins. I have 3 tigers and 3 green barbs with some mollies right now and the barbs dont even bother with the mollies. The only aggression they show is toward each other.

Mollys are very different fish from gourami's though, gourami's are slow and not good at defending themselves while mollys are fast and agile fish- some fish are just more prone to getting picked on by tiger barbs than others, with gourami's being one of the main victims of tiger barbs.

I have 2 golden barbs in with my gouramis but I have a few different types of gouramis in my tank yeah I know alot of gouramis owners wont agree with whats in my tank but they all get along
In my tank I have 1 pink kissing gourami, 2 blue, 1 gold, 1 pearl and 2 dwarfs, I also have 2 corys and 4 bristlenose, 3 small angels and 2 key holes.
But Im not sure about other barbs I have been told cherry barbs can be ok with them but not tiger barbs as the are more agressive.

Not all barbs are agressive, cherry barbs are generally very peaceful fish. Although i have to say none the less that your stocking is not very desirable as you are keeping fish together that are very risky to stock- you are very lucky you do not have a lot of agression or stress between your fish right now.
Generally speaking though, its not wise or fair to risk stocking fish together that are known to cause issues with each other. Its also very important to have the right numbers of certain species of fish, golden barbs for example are sociable fish that like to shoal together, so a group of 6+ is far better than a lonely pair of two. Your fish will be much more likely to live longer and healthier if you stock them better .

 

[n3ont3tra]

I wouldn't keep Tiger barbs with gouramis, they'll usually tear the poor gouramis apart, especially if you already have the Tiger Barbs. It would be very unfair. I've heard people keeping cherry barbs and tiger barbs, but I've also heard many people say it doesn't work. I personally think the best setup for tiger barbs is a species only tank.

 

[MHunt]

I have cherry barbs with honey gourami, but tiger and green barbs are too vicious, the gourami's feelers are likely to be nipped.

 

[sylvia]

60 litres is only about 25 gallons so you should focus on increasing the numbers for your existing (schooling) fish before cosnidering further tankmates. The tiger/green barbs need to be in a group of at least 7 and grow to 2.5" and the widows/skirts need a school of 6 and each grow to about 2.5" as well. Your tank actualy ends up fully stocked. Having said that, while no gouramies will do well in this setup, you could get a small school (say 4) of dwarf chained loaches or a bristlenose plec or something else along those lines that won't be at risk of nipping. Kuhlie loaches are also great.

edit: your tank is actually around 15 gallons. My estimate was completely out. You need to stick with only the fish you already have. Sorry about that!

 

[hawk]

Ok thanks very much guys

 

[starsatnight]

can i jump in here and ask a question too? i cycled my first tank (fishless!) over 3 weeks with filter media from an established tank. just a few days ago i added 4 cherry barbs and 3 golden barbs and am checking daily to make sure that all stays well in my new tank.

if all keeps going well, in about 4 weeks i plan on adding either a pair of pearl gouramis (m/f) or a trio (m/f/f).

have noticed that my 3 goldens shoal quite nicely and they often have 2 or 3 of the cherry's schooling with them as well (i have one stand-offish male cherry!).

does this barb behaviour sound ok to be eventually introducing pearls?

thanks very much

 

[sylvia]

Yes, those barbs aren't nippy species. BTW, go for the trio of pearls rather than the pair and consider adding at least a couple more goldens. And also, just so you know, cherries are not technically a shoaling species so they do fine kept as trios (4 is fine).

 

[starsatnight]

Yes, those barbs aren't nippy species. BTW, go for the trio of pearls rather than the pair and consider adding at least a couple more goldens. And also, just so you know, cherries are not technically a shoaling species so they do fine kept as trios (4 is fine).

thanks sylvia one last question (maybe!), would any species of catfish or loaches be OK in the 25 gallon with the barbs and a trio of pearls? or is that getting a tich overstocked?

 

[bobross]

Just googled litres to gallons and 0.264172051 X 60 = is right around 16 g U.S. - just thought I'd point that out...