how many and what to do now

[hargi22]

Hi all
I was wondering if you could tell me will all the types of goramis live happily together or do some not like each other?

i have a 30 g tank at the mow which i want to make into a gorami tank with maybe a small shole or 2 of something else?
at the moment in there i have 2 guppies 2 mollies 2 platties 2 corries 6 flame tetras a twig cat and a featered fin cat what would u sergest putting in there for now

Cheers in advance matt

 

[sylvia]

Well I'd begin by adding another female molly, platy and guppy if you already have one male and one female as they should be kept at a ratio of at least 2 females to every male - if you have 2 males or 2 females, then don't worry about this. For the moment I would suggest some honey gouramies, sparkling or croaking gouramies or a pearl gourami.

Not all gouramies will get along but there are many options that would - amongst these are honeys which I highly reccomend if you've never kept gouramies before - they are small and quite peaceful. You could comfortably keep 5 with up to 2 being males and at least 3 being females. Make sure you don't confuse them with dwarfs. Honeys are colisa chuna/sota whilst dwarfs are colisa lalia.

Dwarfs are the next option. Though they are very attractive, I would not go for these as they tend to carry disease and you'd only have room for about 3 as the males are territorial. Unfortunately, females are rare to come by as they are not as colorful so don't sell quite as well.

Two larger but equaly peaceful colisa species are c. fasciata and c. labiosa - the banded/striped/indian/giant gourami and thick-lipped gourami respectively. You could keep about 2 males or a single male and 2 females of either (or a mix) without problems. Make sure you don't confuse the 'giant' gourami mentioned here with the real giant gourami (osphronemus goramy) as these get to 24"!

Pearl gouramies (trichogaster leeri) are my personal favourite. I have found these to be exceptionaly peaceful, considering they get to 6", and the most attractive. Mature males are absolutely stunning fish and are not as aggressive as many other gouramies towards each other or the females. I would reccomend a pair or trio of these for any tank of 20 gallons or more. They are also quite hardy and would get along with any of the previously mentioned species (though obviously you couldn't keep as many of each as I suggested as they all need some territory space - about 4 gouramies would be the maximum you could keep of any/a mixture of species). A pair of pearls could also work.

A single three-spot male (this includes opaline, blue, gold, cosby, platinum and lavender - all of which are color morphs of trichogaster trichopterus) OR a pair of females, could work but I'll warn you that these are aggressive fish and some can have a very bad temper (particularly males). They get slightly larger than pearls (which average 5"), at around 6". I would not mix these with any other top-dwelling species, especialy slow or vulnerable fish - that includes other gouramies and fish like hatchets. These gouramies are, however, the hardiest and easiest to breed.

Then there are sparkling and croaking gouramies which would work nicely if your tank is planted. You could keep quite a few of these (say 4-6) as they are not as territorial and don't grow big either. If you are lucky, you will even get to here them croak. They aren't as much of a top-dwelling fish as the previously mentioned species.

All these fish would work but would like floating plants or some kind of tall plants (near the surface) to hide in and to help devide territory. Be aware that the males are generaly more aggressive and keeping only one of the trichogsater species (males) is reccomended. The colisa species I mentioned would be fine with more than one male but choose carefuly and make sure any females always outnumber the males or they may be chased and stressed continuously.

I suggest you do some extra research on google.com and the fish index on this board for more specific details on each species. Don't rush into anything and ask if in doubt. Keep in mind that gouramies can be temperamental and their characters vary widely so you may need to switch between individuals before getting a compatible group.

Also visit your LFS and see what's available.

Do NOT get chocolates, licorice, frail, osphronemus/giant (not the colisa species - the real one), kissing or moonlight gouramies as they either get too big or are very very fragile. Moonlights actualy don't get THAT big but I still would not reccomend them if you want more gourami species as they need space - their aggression level is somewhere between pearls and three-spots.

In each case, I have not realy thought much about how much space you have left in your tank for additional fish so please make sure you don't over-stock. Keep your nitrAtes in check and keep up with maintainance to make sure you don't put in too many fish and cause a fluctuation in water parameters or end up with bad water quality as your fish will not like this and many gouramies are quite sensitive to such changes. There's no need to worry about pH or hardness (unless your's is extreme) as the species I've suggested are quite adaptable.

 

[mandi]

In addition to what sylvia said about adding females for all your livebearers, I would add at least 1 more cory or ideally 2-3 more. They're a shoaling fish and like to be in groups.

Also, careful you don't overstock. Those livebearers will start reproducing like crazy for you and before you know it you'll have more than you know what to do with LOL. [Voice of experience here.]

 

[Ben]

i recomend 2 or 3 honeys, theyre awsome fish together IME

 

[hargi22]

Thanks for the responce.
the mollie platties and guppies are fine though i do know i need a few more corries
I been doing some more research and i do like the pearls, honeys and croaking ones. I can get hold of pairs of dwarfs easy and i do like them but if you think they arnt as robust as the others then i will discount them.
So i want your opinion on what to do now as i have messed up in the past
i have these 2 guppies 2 mollies 2 platties 2 corries 6 flame tetras a twig cat and a featered fin cat in a 30 g
and i like pearls honeys and croaking gouramies, so what im asking is what would you do if you were me?
and in what order would u add them?
cheers

 

[Phantom Thief]

I would add 1 male Pearl Gourami and 2 female Pearl Gourami. You can sex them by their "throats", males have a bright red throat while females have a lighter shade of red.

P.T.

 

[sylvia]

I would also go for pearls but you'll need to keep an eye on water parameters as they are quite large fish. Sexing them by the throat color won't work with younger fish - you'll need to look at the unpaired fins (particularly the orsal). You'll notice that males have much longer, more pointed fins and females also look considerably deeper-bodied or wide when viewed from above. I also agree with adding one male and two females - I'd add the 2 females first and the male a week or so later if you cannot put them all in at once.

Having said that, it may be in your best interest to go for some honeys. A male and 2-3 females. I'd add them all at once and this would probably leave you with room for more fish in future. You can sex honeys in a similar way to pearls. Males are noticably brighter than females when in good condition and when in breeding condition they also develop a blue-black throat area or underside. However, in most LFSs the fish are quite stressed from being moved around and won't show their brighter colors. If this is the case, look at the finnage. Again, males do have a pointier dorsal. It's harder to tell with honeys but it's not a serious problem if you end up with an extra male anyway as these gouramies are small and not very aggressive or territorial. Another thing to note is that honeys are less vulnerabe to being nipped by any nippy fish than pearls because they lack the extended fin rays that male pearls devellop in their fins - the anal fin in particular, as they mature.

Pearls and honeys are both equaly hardy and easy to care for. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[keane]

Have just picked up on this thread....sorry to butt in but......

Sylvia can I have some of your wisdom please???

i currently have 4 gourami (2 three spot, 1 male, 1 female, and 2 opaline, 1 male, 1 female) in my 30 gallon. 4ft long, tank. I appreciate now that they are actually the same breed and just different colouration.

They have been together for about a month. all were bought at the same time from the same LFS. and they seem to be quite happy with each other. I haven't noticed any bullying or fighting taking place.

In the same tank I have 4 platys, 2 blue rams, 4 leopard cories and 2 CAE's (CAE's soon to be re-homed)

Having read this thread and your comments it appears I have too many and that I am "dicing with death"

They are each about 2.5" long, the males perhaps slightly bigger than the females.

Am i going to encounter savageness at some stage?? If so, how long will this be and should I take any back to the LFS?

thanks in advance.

tbr

 

[sylvia]

Well... 'dicing with death' might be a little extreme but I would think it highly likely you'll get some aggressive chasing (towards the females) and territorial fighting between the males once the fish get a little bigger. At 2.5", they are still pretty young (they get to 5", several of my male opalines have grown to 6"), so you should not have serious trouble for a while yet. I unfortunately cannot say how long that 'while' will be as, though gouramies are relatively fast-growing fish, the rate they grow at varies greatly depending on their environment and feeding. Another thing to think about with three-spots is that they are known to be most aggressive to the fish of the same color. So I'd be most worried about the males bullying the females in this instance, though fighting between them is also a serious issue. None the less, gouramies vary greatly in temperament. The fact that they are growing up together might even enable them to co-exist as adults since they will have already established territory and dominance. The females might still be harassed though. My suggestion at this point is that you keep them for now but at the first sign of trouble you should remove one of the males. Watch them carefuly. IME, opalines are more aggressive so I'd take that male out but obviously if you see your blue is the aggressor, remove him instead. You may need to remove both males if the females are being chased too much. It's quite uncertain at this point - you'll have to wait and see how they act as they mature. Gouramies are very individual fish with their very own individual characters. What I deffinately would advise against, however, is adding more gouramies or taking out an aggressive fish (once they mature) but then replacing with another. Don't replace as the new fish will be bullied and stressed and don't add any more gouramies (or other top-dwellers) as they'll be competing for space. Just keep in mind that gouramies can be very unpredictable and be prepaired for the worst. I just like to be on the safe side but it isn't certain that the fish can't live together, just somewhat risky. Anyway, that's my take on that and thanks for asking for my opinion

 

[keane]

Thanks Sylvia!

Sods law is the phrase that springs to mind...........when I fed them last night I dropped an algae wafer at one end of the tank. All the fish seem to love them and there was soon a fish frenzy just outside a "sunken treasure pot" ornament I have in there that the male opaline has taken a fancy too.

Suddenly the male opaline started chasing the other gourami away, having a good peck at them in the process. Quite a nasty little bugger!! (although he left all the other fish alone for some reason ). This went on for about ten minutes and none of the other gourami could get near without being "attacked"!!

So I moved the wafer into the middle of the tank and the male opaline immediately chilled out and left the others alone.

He even then went back to the wafer and quite happily ate with all the others until the wafer was gone, with no further tantrums!

Seems his territory has already been laid down!

Will do as you suggest though and keep a keen eye on them. I do think though, after this episode, that if one is going to have to go back then it will probably be the male opaline.

Thanks again.

tbr