Gourami Compatibility

[Bex]

Hi all

I'm hoping someone can help us here. We are doing a fish rescue mission this weekend and have to collect a 4ft complete tank set up from someone who has split from her husband and wants rid of the tank and all the fish. The tank was her husbands and she doesn't know anything about fish keeping which is why she is giving it away.

Anyway, we already have 2 tanks which are nearly fully stocked so we can only take a few of the fish. We also don't have the room to re-set the whole thing back up at our flat so some of the fish will be going back to our LFS.

We have 2 Dwarf Gouramis and this person has said she has 2 Gouramis in the tank 1 male and 1 female but she doesn't know what type they are. We would like to take the Gouramis but don't know about the compatibilty of different types of Gouramis. Are there any that are a real no-no with the Dwarfs we already have just so that we can get a heads up on them first? I have been reading through the Gourami list above but just want to check with the experts on here first.

 

[TammyLiz]

Bex, you'll need to post the specs of the tank you'd be putting the gouramis in before getting a good answer. Also, try to find out what kind the others are if you can. If your tank is small, it may not work no matter what particular species the others are. Gouramis are territorial, and usually different kinds don't mix very well, but some are OK. If you have a very large tank that is not heavily stocked and has lots of plants your chances of success are much higher. However, gouramis don't like being cramped and take it out on each other, trying to establish their own territory and chasing the others away. If there is nowhere for the weaker one(s) to go, the result can be stress to the point of sickness and possibly death.

As far as specific types to stay away from, I don't know about ALL gouramis like some people on this forum do, but I would say that even if they are going into a large tank, stay away from trichogaster gouramis (platinum, blue, gold, opaline, cosby, lavender) in a tank with dwarfs, because I have those and they are big meanies! There are four in a 55 gallon planted tank and they are constantly attacking each other. When they were in a smaller tank it was even worse.

 

[Bex]

Hi TammyLiz

Thanks for the reply. Tank size wouldn't be a problem as it is 105UK gals and not fully stocked. We have decided now not to keep any of the fish from the rescue mission and my LFS will take them all. The GOuramis were the big guys and I think they would have maybe got aggressive with my dwarfs who are happy little guys and I don't want to upset the balance in the tank. It is quite harmonious and I would defo like to keep it that way!


Thanks for the advice anyway!