Honey Gourami - group or solo?

[hazyvonne]

I have a 2-year-old, well-planted 20g tank that currently houses 14 Neon Tetras and 3 Otos. I'd like to add about 10 cherry shrimp, but would also like to add a centerpiece fish to it. I was thinking of maybe Honey Gouramis. I researched online but unfortunately as is so often the case on the internet there is a lot of contrary information out there. Some sources say they can be kept solo in a community tank, other sources say they need to be kept in a group of at least 6 to be happy. Does anybody have any experience with that? I don't think my tank can support 6 of them without being overstocked.

 

[Ellie Potts]

Oh, ha! I just commented on your other post to get one. I think that they can be kept solo and have seen them alone many times, but someone with experience on them will have a better answer.

 

[sharkweek178]

I have a single male honey gourami with neons. He can't talk to me so I can't tell you if he's happy or not. I can only tell you the behavior I observe. I don't see him side surfing. He has a corner of the tank he likes to hang out in (I just noticed him building bubble nests there). The other fish never go near his corner. But he also swims in other parts of the tank. He rarely is out of sight and when he is, it seems more like he's exploring than hiding. I've never seen him act aggressively towards any of the other fish in the tank. He eats well.

 

[sharkweek178]

Here he is, chilling in his corner. The neons are on the other side of the tank hanging out. The pygmy corys are hiding in the plants and driftwood.

 

[seangee]

Cherry shrimp would likely be a tasty snack for a gourami.
What about just adding more tetra. I know its personal preference but I don't really get the need for a centrepiece, and I love watching large groups of small fish. I have a 50G with 50-60 cardinals and they ARE the centrepiece. In a 20G I have around 30 ember tetras and again these are the centrepiece.

 

[Byron]

Your other thread is the same issue, this can get confusing for members responding to one or the other. I'll copy over my post from there, only adding that six honeys is not a good idea in this small a tank.

With a very few exceptions, what most people mean by "centerpiece fish" does not work in a tank less than 3 feet/90 cm in length.

I also agree with others above who suggest leaving well enough alone...though I would say that there certainly is room for another fish species provided it is the right match. Neons remain in the lower half. Otos you don't see if there are lots of plants, but they are all over the tank and don't really count when considering "space" in the tank. I would look for a small "nano" type fish that will most probably be a shoaling/schooling species, which means a group of 10-12. There are many possible, and these do tend to remain in the upper half. Ember Tetras, or one of the dwarf rasboras in Boraras. A group of Nannostomus eques, a pencilfish that is not bright in colour but its oblique swimming at the surface and extreme peacefulness make it a winner in any tank. Considering the bottom, a group of pygmy coriesis another possible, if you have sand.

This is only dealing with numbers and species. No mention has been made of the water parameters which might affect these species. And 20g is it a standard (24 inches/60 cm length) or a long (30 inches, 75 cm length)?

 

[hazyvonne]

Oh, ha! I just commented on your other post to get one. I think that they can be kept solo and have seen them alone many times, but someone with experience on them will have a better answer.

I appreciate you answering both posts! Sounds like a trio of Honeys could be a real possibility if only I can find a way to actually get the correct genders (my LFS sells them unsexed).

 

[hazyvonne]

Cherry shrimp would likely be a tasty snack for a gourami.
What about just adding more tetra. I know its personal preference but I don't really get the need for a centrepiece, and I love watching large groups of small fish. I have a 50G with 50-60 cardinals and they ARE the centrepiece. In a 20G I have around 30 ember tetras and again these are the centrepiece.

I had thought about that as well. Maybe just add some shrimp and then double down on the neons. Thank you for the suggestion!

 

[hazyvonne]

Your other thread is the same issue, this can get confusing for members responding to one or the other. I'll copy over my post from there, only adding that six honeys is not a good idea in this small a tank.

With a very few exceptions, what most people mean by "centerpiece fish" does not work in a tank less than 3 feet/90 cm in length.

I also agree with others above who suggest leaving well enough alone...though I would say that there certainly is room for another fish species provided it is the right match. Neons remain in the lower half. Otos you don't see if there are lots of plants, but they are all over the tank and don't really count when considering "space" in the tank. I would look for a small "nano" type fish that will most probably be a shoaling/schooling species, which means a group of 10-12. There are many possible, and these do tend to remain in the upper half. Ember Tetras, or one of the dwarf rasboras in Boraras. A group of Nannostomus eques, a pencilfish that is not bright in colour but its oblique swimming at the surface and extreme peacefulness make it a winner in any tank. Considering the bottom, a group of pygmy coriesis another possible, if you have sand.

This is only dealing with numbers and species. No mention has been made of the water parameters which might affect these species. And 20g is it a standard (24 inches/60 cm length) or a long (30 inches, 75 cm length)?

I wrote this post to ask about the honeys and then realized it might actually be nice to get suggestions for other "centerpiece" fish - people on here have so much more experience/knowldege than me. But I see how that could be confusing. Sorry about that!

 

[Essjay]

Which colour honey gouramis does your lfs sell? Wild colours are easy to sex as males and females are different colours. Yellows are more difficult, but possible. Red honey gouramis are usually mislabelled thick lip gouramis not honeys.

 

[GaryE]

If you want honeys, make sure you GET honeys. There are more aggressive, larger (capable of eating shrimp) thick lipped gouramis sold with that name, along with 2 or 3 larger hybrids with the same flaws. Real honeys (T chuna) are victims of identity theft, and in my region, I would say 90% of the honey goramis sold (if not more) have nothing to do with the species that earned its peaceful calm reputation. Trade names get recycled.

Male honeys are territorial, and they will pick at each other sometimes. I used to breed them, and more than three get along just fine. 2 or 3 males will make your tank unpleasant to watch.

I think the centrepiece fish is an idea that has had its day. It came up 60 years ago when people kept fish very differently, with no regard for their needs. I used to have single pearl gouramis in my tanks because they provided the visual focus with their size but have tiny mouths. In time, the entire tank became more interesting to me, and the lone ornamental fish idea was no longer interesting.

I get the boredom and the wish to try something new. To me, it isn't a centrepiece fish that will solve that. It's another tank, set up, scaped and populated differently... the multiple tank demon.