Gourami Question

[Gadgetman1805]

hey everyone new to this section is there any chance i could put these into my 30 litre biorb or would they be unhappy in there?

http/www.tropicalfish4u.co.uk/acatalog/Dwarf_Gourami.html


if not i can move them to a community 180 litre tank

be grateful for any experience anyone has with these also...are they fin nippers got a few fancy tailed guppys

 

[nmonks]

I suppose in theory a 30 litre tank would just about work for a dwarf gourami. Not sure a Biorb is perfect, since these are bottom-dwelling fish rather than midwater fish, so they'd be stuck in the narrow bottom part of the thing most of the time. A regular rectangular tank would be better.

However, and I say this something like 17 times a week, approach dwarf gouramis with extreme caution. Virtually all the stock from Southeast Asia are exposed to the "dwarf gourami disease" and often start to die the moment they leave the fish farm. There may be some specimens that, for one reason or another, do fine. But you wouldn't believe the number of queries I answer about sick dwarf gouramis. I work on a couple of sites "behind the scenes" answering questions, and messages about sick gouramis come in literally every single day. Visit any aquarium shop, and you'll see a sizeable proportion of any specimens for sale showing early signs of dwarf gourami disease: loss of colour, lethargy, sitting on the bottom of the tank, odd pale patches on the body. Eventually the bloody sores kick in, and then the fish dies. Purely on experience, I'd estimate something like 50% of all the dwarf gouramis imported die within a year. They should be living 3-5 years.

So, unless your retailer gives you a copper-bottomed assurance that these fish are either locally bred or else imported from somewhere else, say Florida, then I personally wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot barge pole.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Gadgetman1805]

I suppose in theory a 30 litre tank would just about work for a dwarf gourami. Not sure a Biorb is perfect, since these are bottom-dwelling fish rather than midwater fish, so they'd be stuck in the narrow bottom part of the thing most of the time. A regular rectangular tank would be better.

However, and I say this something like 17 times a week, approach dwarf gouramis with extreme caution. Virtually all the stock from Southeast Asia are exposed to the "dwarf gourami disease" and often start to die the moment they leave the fish farm. There may be some specimens that, for one reason or another, do fine. But you wouldn't believe the number of queries I answer about sick dwarf gouramis. I work on a couple of sites "behind the scenes" answering questions, and messages about sick gouramis come in literally every single day. Visit any aquarium shop, and you'll see a sizeable proportion of any specimens for sale showing early signs of dwarf gourami disease: loss of colour, lethargy, sitting on the bottom of the tank, odd pale patches on the body. Eventually the bloody sores kick in, and then the fish dies. Purely on experience, I'd estimate something like 50% of all the dwarf gouramis imported die within a year. They should be living 3-5 years.

So, unless your retailer gives you a copper-bottomed assurance that these fish are either locally bred or else imported from somewhere else, say Florida, then I personally wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot barge pole.

Cheers, Neale

Thanks for your honest advice, i think i will be steering clear of them especially if theyre coming by post i doubt they have a chance in survival past acclimitisation period

 

[Maximumbob]

there are other types of gourami that are similar which tend not to suffer from this disease. But TBH I am not a great fan of bowl shaped aquariums due to the lack of surface area for gaseous exchange. I would always recommend under stocking it and just getting a couple of feature fish.

I suppose a betta would look nice in one!