How many gouramis in one tank?
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Tempestuousfury
Fish Aficionado
A pair of dwarf gouramis worked in my 45.
The problem that I see with many males is that they might get aggressive. It would also limit the other fish you could have, seeing as how gouramis are not small fish.
I take it females would be aggressive, too, though not necessarily as much as males.
The problem that I see with many males is that they might get aggressive. It would also limit the other fish you could have, seeing as how gouramis are not small fish.
I take it females would be aggressive, too, though not necessarily as much as males.
LoachLover
Snails Beware
Dwarf Gourami males tend to be pretty territorial with eachother, at least mine were 
If you are talking about dwarf gouramies (colisa lalia), you could manage 10 if you got 3-4 males and the rest females (in a 55 gallon long tank). It's generaly best to give the males plenty of space to establish territories and keep more females to devide their aggressive chasing. They should also have plenty of hiding places to retreat to - especialy floating plants - and keep other top-dwelling fish to a minnimum.
If you were reffering to honeys (colisa chuna/sota) you could keep 10 quite comfortably. Again, you need more females than males to devide attention but these are smaller and less aggressive to their own species than the dwarfs are.
If you are talking about either colisa labiosa or colisa fasciata, you should limit the number to about 5-7 - mainly due to size. They are peaceful though so, again, hiding places and more females than males is all you need to keep territoriality down.
Sparkling or croaking gouramies would be fine in a group of 10.
Pearl gouramies, due to size, would need to be about 5. You CAN keep more but keep only 1 or 2 males and the rest should be females. Keep in mind that I am reffering to tanks that contain no other fish. You DO have to take stocking and bio-load into acount. Pearls are exceptionaly peaceful though - I have often kept 3 in a 20 gallon without clashes - including 3 males. (On the other hand, I've also had a male killer pearl - he will attack any other gourami.)
Moonlights, I'd only keep 2-3 - due to size. They are just a little more aggressive than the very peaceful pearls.
You could keep a couple of kissers but they get to 8".
Three-spots are a problem. Trichogaster trichopterus includes the opaline, blue, violet/lavender, cosby, gold, platinum and other color morphs of the three-spot gourami. Males are very aggressive IME. Females are ok. I suggest only one male per tank unless it's a realy big, heavily planted tank. Even then, there should be twice as many females to limmit aggression and the males should prefferably be obviously different types (ie an opaline and a gold) as this seems to keep them from fighting too seriously. Both sexes are territorial or aggressive though they aren't much larger than pearls, I'd say 3-4 at most in a 55. You can add more females if things look ok - always to at a time so the new comer doesn't get bullied and make sure you are prepaired to take them back out.
Then, of course, there are chocolates, licorice, frail and other gouramies which I wouldn't reccomend for anything but a species tank and an experienced fish-keeper with a mature, heavily-planted tank.
Most gouramies will be ok with most other fish (the exception being three-spots which are aggressive and kissers which can eat small fish once they get to full size). Dwarf gouramies, in particular, are good with other fish but can be aggressive with each other. They also can carry disease. Three-spots are the easiest to breed, pearls the most beautiful, croakers are interesting because they croak and sparklers sparkle... Moonlights have tiny scales that make them shine and they have a purple sheen in good lighting. All can be kept alone (except maybe croakers/sparklers which are most interesting when kept as a group and the last few I mentioned - licorice, frail, chocolate - which need a species tank to thrive).
You can also mix certain species but, besides the dwarfs and pearls, all the others will show limmited aggression to other gouramies just as they would to their own species. Three-spots, males in particular, can kill other gouramies so be careful with what you choose. They need lots of space for themselves.
You can keep some in pairs but the male may harass the female. Dwarfs, pearls, c. fasciata and c. labiosa are those I have had most success with keeping them in pairs. It's generaly best to have more females than males to devide un-wanted attention.
The key with gouramies is to understand that they are individuals. More so than many other fish, gouramies vary greatly in character. It is often necessary to replace individuals with others until the group is compatible. Sometimes you need to take drastic steps and consider the fish a priority rather than your own tastes. I have learned the hard way so believe me when I say this.
So what fish were you thinking about?
If you were reffering to honeys (colisa chuna/sota) you could keep 10 quite comfortably. Again, you need more females than males to devide attention but these are smaller and less aggressive to their own species than the dwarfs are.
If you are talking about either colisa labiosa or colisa fasciata, you should limit the number to about 5-7 - mainly due to size. They are peaceful though so, again, hiding places and more females than males is all you need to keep territoriality down.
Sparkling or croaking gouramies would be fine in a group of 10.
Pearl gouramies, due to size, would need to be about 5. You CAN keep more but keep only 1 or 2 males and the rest should be females. Keep in mind that I am reffering to tanks that contain no other fish. You DO have to take stocking and bio-load into acount. Pearls are exceptionaly peaceful though - I have often kept 3 in a 20 gallon without clashes - including 3 males. (On the other hand, I've also had a male killer pearl - he will attack any other gourami.)
Moonlights, I'd only keep 2-3 - due to size. They are just a little more aggressive than the very peaceful pearls.
You could keep a couple of kissers but they get to 8".
Three-spots are a problem. Trichogaster trichopterus includes the opaline, blue, violet/lavender, cosby, gold, platinum and other color morphs of the three-spot gourami. Males are very aggressive IME. Females are ok. I suggest only one male per tank unless it's a realy big, heavily planted tank. Even then, there should be twice as many females to limmit aggression and the males should prefferably be obviously different types (ie an opaline and a gold) as this seems to keep them from fighting too seriously. Both sexes are territorial or aggressive though they aren't much larger than pearls, I'd say 3-4 at most in a 55. You can add more females if things look ok - always to at a time so the new comer doesn't get bullied and make sure you are prepaired to take them back out.
Then, of course, there are chocolates, licorice, frail and other gouramies which I wouldn't reccomend for anything but a species tank and an experienced fish-keeper with a mature, heavily-planted tank.
Most gouramies will be ok with most other fish (the exception being three-spots which are aggressive and kissers which can eat small fish once they get to full size). Dwarf gouramies, in particular, are good with other fish but can be aggressive with each other. They also can carry disease. Three-spots are the easiest to breed, pearls the most beautiful, croakers are interesting because they croak and sparklers sparkle... Moonlights have tiny scales that make them shine and they have a purple sheen in good lighting. All can be kept alone (except maybe croakers/sparklers which are most interesting when kept as a group and the last few I mentioned - licorice, frail, chocolate - which need a species tank to thrive).
You can also mix certain species but, besides the dwarfs and pearls, all the others will show limmited aggression to other gouramies just as they would to their own species. Three-spots, males in particular, can kill other gouramies so be careful with what you choose. They need lots of space for themselves.
You can keep some in pairs but the male may harass the female. Dwarfs, pearls, c. fasciata and c. labiosa are those I have had most success with keeping them in pairs. It's generaly best to have more females than males to devide un-wanted attention.
The key with gouramies is to understand that they are individuals. More so than many other fish, gouramies vary greatly in character. It is often necessary to replace individuals with others until the group is compatible. Sometimes you need to take drastic steps and consider the fish a priority rather than your own tastes. I have learned the hard way so believe me when I say this.
So what fish were you thinking about?
LKravitzDO
New Member
Will it be a problem w/ what appears to be 2 male dwarfs (powder blue and orange striped) in a 20 gallon lg. ? They do seem to be at odds with each other intermittently, raising their fins, and an occasional nip, but all in all it seems harmless.
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