Just Got 4 Honey Gouramis

[lljdma06]

Hi,

I just went to the LFS, the same one where I got my T. pumilus, and I came home with 4 honey gouramis for my 15g. They are super cute. I have 1 male and 3 females, the shop keeper was really annoyed with me, since they all looked alike to him. They are acclimating nicely and hopefully, I'll get some decent pictures tomorrow. They are munching on algae now, an added bonus! They compliment my harlequins and c. pygmaeus very nicely.

 

[lljdma06]

Here's a really lousy picture of two of my gouramis. I know I at least have one male and I thought three females, at least they all had the coloration. Three of them had the female stripe when I bought them, so I assumed female at the LFS. They were all kind of pale. One of the shes, however, colored up nicely today. HE looks very nice. But there's only room for one male in that tank, and my other tank has the croaking gouramis, so I can't move him there. Probably will return him tomorrow before my opera coaching. No damage done so far, but it's not the combination I wanted. The tank is densly planted and they are avoiding each other. Played with the idea of getting two more females, but my tank is really too small, unless I move my harlequins to the 10g with the croaking gouramis and move my bridget rasboras to the 15g. Still might be too crowded. The gouramis are only about an inch long now, the harlequins are actually bigger.

http/i41.photobucket.com/albums/e283/llj...ouramispair.jpg

Please let me know how the picture turns out. It is my first experiment with photo bucket. I apologize for the poor quality, it is a camera phone.

 

[sylvia]

Oh their lovely! That shows the difference between the sexes SO clearly as well! Beautiful fish.

 

[lljdma06]

Oh their lovely! That shows the difference between the sexes SO clearly as well! Beautiful fish.

Thanks, so what do I do with what I think is the extra male, poor thing? I swear I thought he was female, he had the stripe, but it is not as prominent now, but he doesn't have quite the coloration of the dominant male you saw in the picture, which is quite the looker. Can't wait for him to get bigger.

 

[sylvia]

I'd return him to your LFS. Then you'll have 2 females and a male - perfect ratio and number for a 15 gallon

 

[lljdma06]

I'd return him to your LFS. Then you'll have 2 females and a male - perfect ratio and number for a 15 gallon

Will do, but easier said than done. I have a feeling this will involve taking out all my plants, chasing a gouramis around with two nets. Netting one, finding out it's the wrong one. Repeat steps one and two...

He really is hard to tell, had the stripe today and is showing female coloration now. The good news is that my LFS has a good store credit policy and you don't have to do it right away. Stupid sex-changing immature gouramis...

Well, here's a picture of the suspect. You tell me..

http/i41.photobucket.com/albums/e283/llj...aleorFemale.jpg

This is the only one giving me trouble, the rest are easy, definitely male or female. Maybe your eyes will see something mine cannot. Thanks so much.

 

[sylvia]

Lol - that realy is a confusing (or perhaps confused ) fish. It looks female in the pic because of the color but it's anal fin and the red shading that seems to be apparent in some areas of its body suggest it's an immature male. I haven't seen it in person so I'd trust your judgement anyway. Especialy if you've seen it color up, then it's deffinately male. Catching it, I can imagine, is going to be a nightmare... It's for the best though. If I can make a suggestion though, try feeding them and catching it while it's preoccupied with eating. It won't make it that much easier to catch; but every little helps right? Have fun

 

[lljdma06]

Lol - that realy is a confusing (or perhaps confused ) fish. It looks female in the pic because of the color but it's anal fin and the red shading that seems to be apparent in some areas of its body suggest it's an immature male. I haven't seen it in person so I'd trust your judgement anyway. Especialy if you've seen it color up, then it's deffinately male. Catching it, I can imagine, is going to be a nightmare... It's for the best though. If I can make a suggestion though, try feeding them and catching it while it's preoccupied with eating. It won't make it that much easier to catch; but every little helps right? Have fun

Yeah, funny how great minds think alike. The deed is done! I fed them peas this morning. Nobody in my tank can resist peas. Sauteed a few in butter, bacon, very yummy. They were so interested that I managed to scoop him up and take him to the LFS where I got him. I then exchanged him for one I know is female. She's just a hair bigger, but definitely female, pretty fat too. They allowed the even exchange since the fish looked so good. It was really funny taking a fish to school for my vocal coaching, but I had like two hours between classes and noboday noticed I had the fish in opera studio. I figured 1 male, 3 females would be fine. A little on the heavy side for a 15g, but I figured the way I maintain it, I don't think it'll make much of a difference, and they really do a great job with algae. Besides, with the UK system, I'm not overstocked. It's so funny how there's such a difference between the two areas.