New To Gourami's

[kribensis12]

So, I am fairly new to Gouramis. I have only kept them once before, and it was a powder blue dwarf that lived for about three months. It stopped eating and died. Our local Petsmart was selling Gouramis for half off so I bought one. It's a Honey Sunset Gouramis. It's a very pretty, active fish. I made sure they fed him/her before buying the fish to make sure it was healthy enough to eat. So, I really have no experience with them. I know they are sensitive to water conditions. I do weekly 25 percent water changes. The fish is in a 10g tank with molly babies. It seems fine for now. I did drip acclimate him for a while before adding him in. So, my question is: Does anyone have any helpful hints or advice to give me?

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Well you're on track and are doing the right things.... Being in with Mollies however, I know some auarists add quite a lot of salt in the water with their mollies (which is not essential for keeping mollies, but they do like it) so, in this instance where you have the Dwarf in with them... I'd suggest that you do not use salt in the water (if you have been) and also, a string of hornwort (floating plant) will just make him feel a little more comfortable.

 

[luckyliam13]

hey ive only kept golden gourami and they are super hardy so... but honey gouramies seem to be very popular atm. they aprently like a well planted tank with lots of hiding places but dislike strong filter currents. they are good comunity fish due to there peaceful nature, they eat most comercial fish food and some small live food brine shrimp ect. water chemistry is not critical however extreme phs should be avoided.

hope that helps

kind regards liam m

 

[kribensis12]

I do not add salt with my mollies. It's not worth the money IME. I am selling off basically all my fish stock and getting some new things this fall anyway, so now would be kind of a late time to start adding salt! I would love to put some plants in there, but I can't keep anything alive. I did keep duck weed alive (and even it looked a little sad), and I'd rather not have duckweed again. The Gourami ate tonight, which is always a good health indicator. It's getting plenty of high quality food. I am feeding the mollies and the Gourami a "Triple Growth Flake Combo" which I believe to be earth worm flake, Plankton flake, and egg yolk flake. They are also getting Sprinula flake occasionally. I might start putting some O.S.I. vivid color in their diet as to give the Gourami something to work with. But as far as care, I am just trying to avoid an event like last time. It was sad, watching the stunning Gourami gradually degrade into a slow moving hollow shell of what was once a pretty fish. The thing I am worried about, is my water. Our pH around here is a good 8.4 all around. The kH and gH are through the roof, making it near impossible to change the pH. I think the pH may have played a role in the previous Gouramis demise. On the other hand ,my water quality is great. Last I checked, the water was about 78 F, ammonia at 0, nitrIte at 0, and nitrAte around 30 to 40. So, I am hoping this little guy makes it.

By the way, how do you sex these guys? I am assuming this one is a male, considering it's entire body is red, with a white gill plate and a white tail. There were a couple there with a white body with a tiny bit of red on the stomach (which I am assuming was the female(s). I will do my best to grab a picture later today.

 

[kribensis12]

Here he (I believe it's a "he") is:

 

[Twinklecaz]

He looks like a Flame Dwarf! Very beautiful fish he is too, I considered getting one myself.

 

[kribensis12]

Thanks. I am sure he is a "Flame Dwarf", and a "Honey Sunset". I believe that pet stores like to tweak the names a little bit.

 

[kribensis12]

Here is another picture of "Ferdinand". He is really a cool little fish, very pretty, with a lot of spunk and energy.