I'm Getting A Dwarf Gourami

[The_Dude]

I'm planning on getting a dwarf gourami, and I was just wondering.Would it and a Betta fight in the 29 gallon I'm getting prior to the purchase of my gourami?

 

[stang1]

Bettas and Gouramis should never be kept together as they will end up attacking each other.

 

[The_Dude]

thanks bud, I needed just a lil' bit of help there.

 

[stang1]

No problem!
You could keep your Betta in a little tank by himself, that way you are not restricted as to what you can keep in the 29g.
It's easier trying to find a fish that will live with a Gourami than it is a Betta.

 

[The_Dude]

Yeah, I've noticed.Bettas are so picky, but they do have tankmates that I've always been intrested in,like glowlight tetras,and small cyprinids like rosy reds.Now that I think about it, bettas and gouramis are very similar in a lot of ways other than being in the same group of fish.I mean,they can both be what I like to call "bi-polar" fish.One minute they're swimming and frolicking with the other fish and the next they're terrorizing them.But alas, they can never be tankmates because of their genetic predisposition to tear other males of their own species apart.

 

[sylvia]

Not to be nit-picky or anything but bettas are gouramies. Dwarf gouramies and Betta splendens are seperate species - but all bettas are 'gouramies' (not all gouramies are bettas though). Does that make sense? lol

 

[stang1]

Not to be nit-picky or anything but bettas are gouramies. Dwarf gouramies and Betta splendens are seperate species - but all bettas are 'gouramies' (not all gouramies are bettas though). Does that make sense? lol

It does to me! You worded it a lot better, wasn't sure how to explain it.

 

[The_Dude]

OOOOH! So that's how it works. I was puzzled as to why the couldn't be housed together but it all fits now!Thanks!

 

[Danno]

You could separate the tank into two parts. Kinda of like having two 14 1/2 tanks.

 

[venom2112]

i got 4 dwarf s with my male betta & theres no trouble at all, happy tank!!

 

[Orbit887]

i got 4 dwarf s with my male betta & theres no trouble at all, happy tank!!

I've had experience to the total opposite to this.

Foolishly added a betta to my community tank and the beta terrorised both the male and female dwarf gouramis, even though the betta's body is about half the size at the most of the male! He would chase them both around, the other fish in the tank didn't bother him (xray & neon tetra's, panda corrys, BN plec, amano shrimp).

When betta was moved into his own tank about 4 days later tranquility returned

 

[The_Dude]

A really big divider?I've never thought of that.I mean I could always set up my mini hex 6.3 litre just in case,you know,but my betta is afraid of the ghost shrimp in the tank so I'm not sure he'd be that violent....hopefully.I've also got a TON of artificial plants and "hiding place" ornaments, and i've heard that you can house betta and gourami species together without issues if you have a lot of plants and hiding places...Is that true?

 

[SouthernCross]

I think it really comes down to the temperament of individual fish. From the answers you can see some people have done it with no problems, and others have had to remove fish because they are complete terrors. Some bettas are mellow, some are not, some will happily live with other fish, others won't. Trial and error, really. A few months ago I asked people about keeping angelfish with gouramis, and I receieved a similar answer - depends on how tolerant the individual fish is. So we can't really give you a definitive yes or no answer.

A possibility is to try it, but make sure you have a backup plan. Ie a spare tank to move your problem fish to in case it doesn't work out. It sounds like you have a hex or sometihng that would do. 29 gallons is a lot of room for one betta (not that he wouldn't be loving it though!) - do you already have other fish in there with him? That'd be a good indicator of how tolerant he is.

I keep two bettas each in their own small tanks. If it came down to it, there's one that might be ok in my community as hes very mellow, takes a lot to fire him up and even get him to flare. Doesn't mean I'm going to do it though. My other betta on the other hand is a complete psycho, flares up at the slightest thing. Wouldn't dream of putting anything else near him! .

Good luck!

 

[The_Dude]

Oh I haven't gotten the tank yet.. I'm goin to at the end of next month though. I'm saving money up in between car payments,cell phone bills ect. I just need to raise some money first.My betta is a mix of your two.He's kind of bi-polar, as he has very very very sudden mood swings.One minute he's ok and the next he's raising all hell!He's timid most of the time, though he's never flared at another fish before, only his own reflection, and on very rare occasions at that. He runs from it most of the time...Can you mentally evaluate my betta?