Gourami Gender

[Gavril]

I bought 3 honey gourami for my tank today one male and 2 female. When I got home my male had changed colour and has blended into the colour of the females. I can't tell the difference anymore. Can honey gourami change gender??

 

[Colin_T]

no they can't change sex. Your fish is probably stressed out from the move and has faded. If the water is clean and temperature good, and you have some plants in the tank, the fish will colour up in a day or so.

 

[Gavril]

no they can't change sex. Your fish is probably stressed out from the move and has faded. If the water is clean and temperature good, and you have some plants in the tank, the fish will colour up in a day or so.

Thanks for the help. I was getting quoted worried myself

 

[Gavril]

Could someone identify the gender of these honey gourami please?

 

[Colin_T]

2 pictures with 3 male honey dwarf gouramis

 

[Gavril]

2 pictures with 3 male honey dwarf gouramis

So I have two males, when person who I bought them from said there were two females and one male (one of them died) , so would getting a female honey and a female dwarf be a good idea ? For breeding. And how could you tell the difference

 

[Colin_T]

young males look like females and when they reach maturity they change colour. Stressed out males will also fade and look similar to females.

Adult males have the colour and black anal fin (bottom fin). Females don't get as colourful and never have the black anal fin.

-----------------------
Do not mix normal dwarf gouramis (Trichogaster lalius) with honey dwarf gouramis or any other fish if you can help it. The normal common dwarf gourami has nasty diseases that can kill any fish that contracts it so try to avoid normal dwarf gouramis.

-----------------------
If you have a big enough tank (3 foot or longer) with lots of plants in, then you could have a couple of prs of honey dwarf gouramis. If your tank is small, say 2 foot long, then probably stay with the 2 males you have, unless you want to breed them. If you want to breed them then get 2 females and put them with the males and see if they pair up. When a male and female pair up and hang out together, move the other 2 fish into another tank.

 

[Gavril]

young males look like females and when they reach maturity they change colour. Stressed out males will also fade and look similar to females.

Adult males have the colour and black anal fin (bottom fin). Females don't get as colourful and never have the black anal fin.

-----------------------
Do not mix normal dwarf gouramis (Trichogaster lalius) with honey dwarf gouramis or any other fish if you can help it. The normal common dwarf gourami has nasty diseases that can kill any fish that contracts it so try to avoid normal dwarf gouramis.

-----------------------
If you have a big enough tank (3 foot or longer) with lots of plants in, then you could have a couple of prs of honey dwarf gouramis. If your tank is small, say 2 foot long, then probably stay with the 2 males you have, unless you want to breed them. If you want to breed them then get 2 females and put them with the males and see if they pair up. When a male and female pair up and hang out together, move the other 2 fish into another tank.

When you say 2 females are they strictly just honeys or one honey and one dwarf? Also how big should the other tank be?

 

[Colin_T]

Honey Gouramis are a dwarf gourami. In Australia we call them Honey Dwarf Gouramis. If you want dwarf (small) gouramis, then stay with Honey Dwarf Gourami, which are the fish in the pictures you posted above.

Do not get the normal Dwarf Gouramis (Trichogaster lalius) or any of their colour forms. If you google Trichogaster lalius and look at images of them, you will see a wide range of normal dwarf gourami colour forms. You should avoid all of these colour forms because they all carry the same diseases, namely Tuberculosis (TB) and the Iridovirus.

The Honey Gouramis do not normally carry these diseases.

------------------------
A tank suitable for 1 pr of Honey Gouramis would be about 2ft long x 12inches wide x 12inches high. Or a similar size to that.

If you wanted 2 breeding prs, then you want a tank about 3 ft long x 12inches wide x 12 inches high or bigger. Preferably wider and higher (3ft x 18inch x 18inch) makes a nice size tank

 

[Gavril]

Honey Gouramis are a dwarf gourami. In Australia we call them Honey Dwarf Gouramis. If you want dwarf (small) gouramis, then stay with Honey Dwarf Gourami, which are the fish in the pictures you posted above.

Do not get the normal Dwarf Gouramis (Trichogaster lalius) or any of their colour forms. If you google Trichogaster lalius and look at images of them, you will see a wide range of normal dwarf gourami colour forms. You should avoid all of these colour forms because they all carry the same diseases, namely Tuberculosis (TB) and the Iridovirus.

The Honey Gouramis do not normally carry these diseases.

------------------------
A tank suitable for 1 pr of Honey Gouramis would be about 2ft long x 12inches wide x 12inches high. Or a similar size to that.

If you wanted 2 breeding prs, then you want a tank about 3 ft long x 12inches wide x 12 inches high or bigger. Preferably wider and higher (3ft x 18inch x 18inch) makes a nice size tank

Got it thanks Colin you have been a great help!!

 

[Essjay]

Just to go a bit further with Colin's post:
Honey gouramis are Trichogaster chuna. Dwarf gouramis are a different species, Trichogaster lalius. If you get more gouramis they should all be T. chuna not a mix of T. chuna and T. lalius.

 

[Gavril]

I have just put two female honey and the one dominant male in my 30l tank and the male doesn't seem to want to build a nest, he just keeps on nipping at the females tails and trying to wrap around them. The females are getting so harassed that I put them back in the main tank for a while. Any ideas what might be stopping him? I have put the filter on the lowest possible setting. The females and the male seemed very lax and are sitting on the base of the tank and rarely move. The male has gone black in the face and his anal fin.

 

[Essjay]

The male wants to breed but the females don't. Chasing the females and nipping their tails is normal behaviour for a male. Their tails will grow back quickly provided the water is kept clean.
Not all males build bubble nests. One of the males I had several years ago just placed the eggs around the top of the heater.
30 litres is a bit on the small side as it does not have any room for the females to escape the attentions of the male. Their tank should have lots of live plants including floating plants. If you intend to breed them, both male and female need to be conditioned with lots of small live foods. Once the eggs are laid it is best to remove the female and leave the male to care for the eggs without needing to keep the female away from the eggs.

 

[Gavril]

Thanks but what they all remain motionless at the bottom of the tank for long periods of time?

The male is behind the building.

 

[Essjay]

What are the ammonia and nitrite readings in the tank? Any readings above zero will stress them.
Is there any other decor besides the one in the middle of the photo? If not, they are stressed because they have nowhere to hide. They need a well planted tank with floating plants on the surface because they need shade.
And 30 litres is on the small side - they really need a tank with a 60 x 30 cm footprint, which is usually a 60 litre tank.

If you can provide them with a bigger tank that has lots of plants including floating plants you will find they do not sit on the bottom - unless there is ammonia and/or nitrite in the water.