Gouramis and Rasboras?

[mhoward1999]

Hi! I have a question. I have a 29 gal tank with a pair of kissing gouramis and pair of blue paradise gouramis. I also have a 10 gal with 5 rasboras, 3 male guppies, and a black snail. My male BPG is terrorizing the female. I thought they were swawning, had all the signs, but her belly isn't swolen anymore. The behavior continues. She is really pale and her fins are tattered from his abuse. I am wondering if I could put the rasboras in the 29 and move the female BPG into the ten. What do ya'll think? TIA!

 

[Max]

eh... i guess that could work how big are the fishing goign into the ten g.?

 

[tstenback]

How big are you kissing gouramis now? they can get quite large so if this is a permanent arrangement then a larger tank may be in order sometime in the not to distant future. As for the arrangement of fish the gouramis with the rasboras should be fine. I dont have kissers but my gouramis and rasboras get along fine. HTH

Im surprised that modernhamlet hasn't been here with the name rasboras in the title of the post

 

[EX-AmP]

rasboras are pretty fast. kissing gouramis get to 10 inches. i think it should work..

 

[mhoward1999]

dragonfish4life: The fish going into the ten would be a female BPG, she is 2.5-3" long. My understanding is that their maximum size is 4" The male guppies are about 1.5" each, and the snail is probably 1.5" in diameter.

tstenback: My kissers are still very young. about 2" each. I've had them for about three months. I have had them several times in the past and they never got over 5 or 6". One of those times was in a 55 gal tank for about 10 years, so I don't believe they were stunted. After I got this last pair, though, I have read that they can get up to twelve inches. If this happened I would make other arrangements. I try to stick by the 1" of fish per gallon rule. I know there are folks who disagree with it, but I think it's a good rule of thumb. Your info does help. Kissers are usually non agressive, so I think I may go for it! B)

Ex-AmP: Thanks for the input. The more folks who give advise, the more confident I will feel about my decision!

 

[tstenback]

Seems to me like you know your fish well and have a plan GO FOR IT!

 

[Tempestuousfury]

I had a male dwarf with rasboras and tetras and I never had problems. It might be different with other types of gouramis, but the females are usually less aggressive.

 

[CatLover]

I have kept rasboras with gouramis before and they are terrific together.

 

[mhoward1999]

Awesome! Thanks so much everyone. I am gonna go for it! I'll let you know how they go tomorrow.

 

[treefrog]

I have opaline gourami's with my rasbora's aok

 

[mhoward1999]

I am so bummed! I put the female BPG in the ten gallon with three male fantail guppies. That is all- except for the snail... When I came in this morning one of my male fantails was laying in a plant with virtually no tail!!! I thought he was almost dead. The only movement was slight gill functioning. I was going to put him out of his misery, but when I put the net n the tank he took off swimming-very well! So I put the female back in the 29 gal and put melafix in the ten. I guess it's a waiting game to see if he makes it. I am so mad with her! I never anticipated this!
For now I am leaving the rasboras in the 29 and I will watch today and see how everyone gets along. They were some tough buggers to catch, and I don't want to stress them out again with transferring right now if I don't have to.

 

[Inchworm]

HI mhoward1999

I feel so bad about what happened to your guppy. I just wish I had seen this thread sooner.

You see, your fish is not a gourami; it's a paradise fish and they are considered semi-aggressive fish. A paradise fish is a labyrinth fish, like their relatives the gouramis and the bettas, but for some reason people seem to think of them as being gouramis, which is incorrect.

Here's a link with some information about them:

http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...=21&pCatId=1007

 

[mhoward1999]

Thanks for the info, inchworm. I will read up on that. Meanwhile, are they going to be a problem with my kissing gouramis? They've been fine so far...

BTW... my guppy died.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi mhoward1999

I'm sorry to learn about your guppy.

As for the paradise fish and the kissing gouramis, I think the kissers should be able to hold their own against them, especially once they get a little larger. Of course you will still be likely to see the males of both kinds showing a lot of aggressive behavior toward the females.

I suggest that you put a fair amount of tall plants in that aquarium to provide hiding places for the females. Chasing is normal and only becomes a problem if one of the fish is actually getting injured from it. If that happens, there is not much more that can be done except to separate them.

Good luck and please let me know how things turn out with them.

 

[mhoward1999]

Thanks, Inchworm. My tnak is already well planted, but my tallest plants are probably only about 3/4 as tall as the tank. I will get some really tall ones to add. Thanks for the info and suggestions. A weird thing: the female is acting much more aggressive since here moving experience. Maybe she found out what it's like to be a bully and liked it, so she's giving her Mr. a run for his money!