So many gouramis to choose from!

[Ami]

Hi

I'm restocking the main tank (see sig below) and am considering the following combo:

• 3 Cherry Barbs (1m&2f)
  a pair of Rams
  6 Pygmy Corys

I've had the suggestion of either a dwarf gourami on his own, or a trio of honey's from the Tropical Chit Chat area, but have just paid you guys a visit, read the pinned topics, and am now tempted by Sparkling and Licorice Gouramis!

Please can you guys suggest which gourami would be most suitable?

Also, I need to know whether singles/pairs/threes are best for each, specific problems etc.

I'm getting conflicting info on keeping singles or pairs and aggressive tendencies, not to mentioned hardiness so would really appreciate some help.

Thank you in advance,
Ami

 

[fishwatcher]

You could do either of those. They are all peaceful fish, but try to get 1 m, 2 fm to keep the aggressiveness down. Typically the males are aggressive/territorial to each other, which is why it's best to keep just one male. You really can't mix types, either, unless maybe it is a huge tank. You could put any of the types you've listed though. They all would be small enough. It's just a matter of what kind you want and what you can find. I'd love to have had a trio of sparklers, but I can't find them around here.
I hope this helps!

 

[hello kitty]

i have 1 male gold gourami whos a lovely critter!

 

[boxman]

I have honey gouramis, 2 pairs and they're fine together. Very nice fish!

It may be worth having a look at various other sorts of gouramis as there are lots of nice ones out there.

 

[mrV]

Liquiorice gourami (Parosphromenus deissneri) is a bit sensitive fish. Soft water and turf addition makes it feel better. pH should be under 7, even 4 is good. It's also a quite shy fish, so lots of plants is what this fish needs.

Sparkling gourami (Trichopsis pumila) is much better choice, still soft and a little bit acidic water is better.

Also Colisa lalia (dwarf gourami?) is a small gourami or Honey gourami (Colisa sota (/chuna)).

Keeping these little gouramis in a harem is good. Lots of hiding places and plants - it's all they need

A gold gourami is yellow variation from blue gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus). But it's a bit large gourami. And especially male may be a bit aggressive and don't tolerate any other gouramis near, even other some kind of fishes may be too much for him.

BTW. Cherry barbs are quite harmless and calm fish, but they can from time to time snip other fish fins.

 

[Ami]

Fishwatcher:

I'd love to have had a trio of sparklers, but I can't find them around here.

My LFS is small and I've only seen drawrfs (the electric blue and flame red varieties) in another LFS, which is bigger but less trustworthy. My preferred LFS will order whatever I want though so sparklers shouldn't be too much of a prob.

Why do you like them so much in comparison to the others?

Thanks for the other advice guys.

mrV - I am wary of the cherry barbs, but they should be okay in a trio right? Also, I seem to be leaning towards dwarfs/honeys/sparlers at the mo - any aggressiveness from those guys I should be aware of?

 

[fishwatcher]

Well, I like sparklers simply bc they're harder to find and they make a little croaking noise sometimes. The others don't. As for the cherry barbs, they should be just fine. I've never had one nip another fish of mine. As for aggressiveness, as long as you keep the honeys/sparklers in a trio (1m, 2fm) they should be just fine. I've been told though that the dwarf gourami, whether they're the regular, blue or flame red, should be kept alone (or with a few females in a large tank) as they will harrass the female if it's just a pair in a smaller tank. I have mine alone and he does great. He even builds a bubblenest. Pretty cool to watch.

 

[afireinside]

i have neons, and i keep them with my albino paradise gourami and my dwarf flame gourami.

 

[Briarmoor]

My gold female does fine with my 5 neons. She however is rough on the corys, especially at feeding time. And she will poke her head out of the log after lights out if there is too much zipping around in her area. The neons and corys go elsewhere to frolic after she pokes her head out. She rules the tank.

My black neons are zippier than my regular neons and I don't think she'd like being around them. Except at feeding time, she swims sedately around the tank. She is very tame and will eat out of my fingers. The Golds do get large, so a bigger tank might be necessary. I am told they are usually more territorial than the Pearls (big also) and smaller varieties. The Gold is the only variety I've had.

P.

 

[Ami]

Ah. I was told dwarfs must be in pairs!

Trying to work out where to find honeys / sparklers at the mo. Anyone got an idea of the UK price for these guys?

If I can't find them, I might go back to the dwarfs.



Fishwatcher, what's with the croaking noise?!


Pam & Oppositearmour - cheers for the info re: relations with neons. I'm getting pygmy corys too so I'll need to watch that.

 

[fishwatcher]

It's just a noise they make. I think it's related to breeding, though I'm not positive. (Sorry!)

 

[Briarmoor]

Ami, I didn't want to scare you off the Gold, just tell you a possibility. I have been told by the LFS and folks on the list that the 3-spots can be the more aggressive of the varieties. I was also told that for a female, my Gold is more territorial than most. That said, my Gold is very tame and friendly and will come to the surface to eat from my fingers. She is quite the beggar. I will let everyone know if her bahavior changes once she moves to the 55g and has more space for territory. Should be interesting.

Some Golds or other varieties might do well with corys. My corys were added after the Gold, so maybe that has something to do with it, or not. Also, her aggression is mostly at feeding time. Your mileage might vary depending on the fish. Just keep in mind the size of the 3-spots, Pearls, and some of the larger varieties. I love all the gouramis and have decided they are my favorite fish and one of the more interesting.

One thing you might do is when you go to buy your fish, avoid the one that is doing any bullying in the tank or seems to be the dominant fish. I don't know if this will be the same when you get home, but why get the fish who is already a bully for sure.

P.

 

[Ami]

Thanks for the tip Pam!

I'm adding the pygmy corys and trio of cherry barbs first, before the gouramis and rams, so still have plenty of time to make up my mind.

Ami

 

[Ami]

I failed to find any sprakling gouramis - pity cos I was looking forwarding to the croaking - bu am now the proud owner of 3 baby honeys!


They've already shown their wonderful playful, friendly characters, swimming all over the tank and making friends with the neons.

I tried to get my pygmy corys first but my LFS (the only one I actually trust!) hasn't had them on their suppliers lists recently. I got the honey's from elsewhere (Maidenhead Aquatiqs, Basingstoke) and am a little nervous about that so hopefully they'll be okay!

I went to my LFS afterwards and picked up the cherry barbs (trio) as they advised that it might be a good idea to add them together with the gouramis so none of them get to settle in and become territorial before the others have a chance.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and will post pics as soon as I can work out how to stop the flash reflecting off the glass!

Big hugs to you all (esp. fishwatcher and Pam for the excellent help as always)

Ami