Honey gourami

[kcl_jmo]

Hi all,

Interested in any information regarding honey gourami. What are they like to keep in terms of personality and visual appeal, hardiness? Just tell me about your set up, routine and experience with them.

 

[BanjoFish]

Hi all,

Interested in any information regarding honey gourami. What are they like to keep in terms of personality and visual appeal, hardiness? Just tell me about your set up, routine and experience with them.

I'm hoping to add one to my tank in a few weeks.

Some are shrimp friendly, others not.

 

[Essjay]

A word of caution about honey gouramis. There are several colour variants; the most common in shops are yellow and red, with the natural form being less common. The red ones, sometimes labelled as red robin gouramis, are not honey gouramis, they're just sold as honeys. Most of the red ones are the red colour morph of thick lipped gouramis which are bigger fish, or they're hybrids of honey & thick lipped.

Trichogaster labiosa (Thick-lipped Gourami) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

 

[Whitecloudminnowguy09]

I have kept one before. This year, actually. He died from an unusual and unknown disease. I say unknown, but that means I do not know what the disease is. I am not sure why he did. I had him for a few months. He was a great fish, though. Ignoring the death, he ate whatever you offered (although it took a bit to get him to start eating at all, due to the unfamiliar environment and his shyness). Slow swimmer. He is shy, but it's not like I never saw him; he mostly swam at the upper portion of my tank. If you have aggressive eaters, make sure to feed the honey on the opposite side of the tank, while the other fish get their portion on the other side, because they will let any fish steal their food since they are pretty slow.

If I had to guess about the sickness, I would say swim bladder. BUT the symptoms were much different.

Water parameters, pretty simple. Low end Ph around 6.5 to keep them comfy, and high end, a 8.

You can get a pair, a couple, or trio. All depends on size tank and sex of the gouramis.

 

[BanjoFish]

I have kept one before. This year, actually. He died from an unusual and unknown disease. I say unknown, but that means I do not know what the disease is. I am not sure why he did. I had him for a few months. He was a great fish, though. Ignoring the death, he ate whatever you offered (although it took a bit to get him to start eating at all, due to the unfamiliar environment and his shyness). Slow swimmer. He is shy, but it's not like I never saw him; he mostly swam at the upper portion of my tank. If you have aggressive eaters, make sure to feed the honey on the opposite side of the tank, while the other fish get their portion on the other side, because they will let any fish steal their food since they are pretty slow.

If I had to guess about the sickness, I would say swim bladder. BUT the symptoms were much different.

Water parameters, pretty simple. Low end Ph around 6.5 to keep them comfy, and high end, a 8.

You can get a pair, a couple, or trio. All depends on size tank and sex of the gouramis.

my tank is 60L

 

[Gertrudae]

my tank is 60L

What other fish do you keep in it, and how many? If I only had a 60-litre tank, I would buy one. If you have another tank where you could put one in, then you could try with a pair.

Ensure that three-quarters of your tank is densely planted. Some floating or swimming plants are a good choice.

 

[BanjoFish]

What other fish do you keep in it, and how many? If I only had a 60-litre tank, I would buy one. If you have another tank where you could put one in, then you could try with a pair.

Ensure that three-quarters of your tank is densely planted. Some floating or swimming plants are a good choice.

No fish yet.

I'm currently waiting for the plants to thrive now.

Eventually looking into

12 x Pygmy Corydoras
8 x Ember Tetras,
8 x Cherry Shrimp,
1 Honey Gourami

EDITED TO CORRECT THE REQUIRED SHRIMP.

 

[GaryE]

I used to breed honey gouramis, so I know them well.

First, what @Essjay said above is important. There are three different fish sold as honey gouramis now. If you get T. chuna, you have a great fish. If you get one of the other two, have fun. The honey name sounds appealing, and so it was worth slapping on to 2 less desirable fish. Honeys had a repution as very peaceful gouramis. The hybrids and labiosa gouramis didn't. The solution? Marketing.

They're social fish. A real honey male is a stunningly beautiful fish for about half the year, as it goes in and out of breeding moods. Alone, it gives up fast, but in a group, it stays lit up much more. When I raised broods and had a lot of them, the males were in full colour most of the time. In groups, these small fish (the other two are twice the size) do fight, but not to the death. They aren't as bad as pearl gouramis, or labiosa.

They are air breathers, with their inner ear adapted into a breathing organ called a labyrinth. They come from very warm, slow, still water, and their world is the surface, ideally with floating plants. They build bubble nests and the male guards the young.

I would keep them in groups of six, if I were to go back to keeping Asian fish. I like them. They're small, colourful and have complex behaviour. But alone, they are lost in a tank.

 

[BanjoFish]

I used to breed honey gouramis, so I know them well.

First, what @Essjay said above is important. There are three different fish sold as honey gouramis now. If you get T. chuna, you have a great fish. If you get one of the other two, have fun. The honey name sounds appealing, and so it was worth slapping on to 2 less desirable fish. Honeys had a repution as very peaceful gouramis. The hybrids and labiosa gouramis didn't. The solution? Marketing.

They're social fish. A real honey male is a stunningly beautiful fish for about half the year, as it goes in and out of breeding moods. Alone, it gives up fast, but in a group, it stays lit up much more. When I raised broods and had a lot of them, the males were in full colour most of the time. In groups, these small fish (the other two are twice the size) do fight, but not to the death. They aren't as bad as pearl gouramis, or labiosa.

They are air breathers, with their inner ear adapted into a breathing organ called a labyrinth. They come from very warm, slow, still water, and their world is the surface, ideally with floating plants. They build bubble nests and the male guards the young.

I would keep them in groups of six, if I were to go back to keeping Asian fish. I like them. They're small, colourful and have complex behaviour. But alone, they are lost in a tank.

Can you suggest an alternative excluding the bettas?

 

[Essjay]

This is for a 60 litre tank isn't it?]

You don't need a centrepiece fish in that sized tank. To me, it would look better with a large shoal of small fish - more ember tetras. At least 12.

I would also not get amano shrimps simply because they get bigger than both ember tetras and pygmy cories. I've kept them and they are quite big for shrimps. Cherry shrimps would be a better match. These are smaller and come in a variety of colours - and they'll breed in the tank unlike amanos. But just one colour - mixed colours will end up with a tank of brown shrimp.

 

[BanjoFish]

This is for a 60 litre tank isn't it?]

You don't need a centrepiece fish in that sized tank. To me, it would look better with a large shoal of small fish - more ember tetras. At least 12.

I would also not get amano shrimps simply because they get bigger than both ember tetras and pygmy cories. I've kept them and they are quite big for shrimps. Cherry shrimps would be a better match. These are smaller and come in a variety of colours - and they'll breed in the tank unlike amanos. But just one colour - mixed colours will end up with a tank of brown shrimp.

Yes it's a 6OL tank. I originally planned on the cherry shrimp then changed due to the honey gourami but if I don't need a centrepiece then I'll revert back to the cherry.

Is twelve of the Corys ok? Would a max number of cherry shrimp be better?

 

[Essjay]

12 cories is fine, with 12 to 15 ember tetras.

I would wait a while before getting shrimps as they tend to do better in a mature tank. We talk about cycling because ammonia and nitrite can kill fish quickly, but that's not all there is to setting up a tank. There needs to be a whole host of other micro-organisms grow and that takes a few months after the cycle is completed. Many fish are OK in a newly cycled tank but some sensitive fish - and shrimps - do better in a mature tank.
With cherries, they will multiply provided you have at least one male and one female. I recently bought a group of yellow cherry shrimp and every single one was female. I finally tracked down another shop selling them and managed to buy a couple of males. I now have a lot of yellow cherry shrimps.
With orangey red ember tetras you may want to think about yellow or blue shrimps as a contrast.

 

[Whitecloudminnowguy09]

Now knowing that your tank is a 60L, I would not get a centerpiece at all. Just the tetras and pygmys like @Essjay is talking about. I would go for Neocardina shrimp though, instead of cherry, but I suppose that is a personal preference.

 

[BanjoFish]

Now knowing that your tank is a 60L, I would not get a centerpiece at all. Just the tetras and pygmys like @Essjay is talking about. I would go for Neocardina shrimp though, instead of cherry, but I suppose that is a personal preference.

My gallery album

I've been under the impression the cherry shrimp were Neorcardina.

 

[Essjay]

Neocardina shrimp though, instead of cherry

Yes, cherry shrimps are Neocaridina davidi. They come in a variety of colours - red (with various depth of red each with it's own name), orange, blue, yellow, green, black, chocolate and so on.