Sparkling Gouramis

[Bubblenester]

I've always wanted sparkling gouramis, and I was lucky enough to be given some by a friend who was frustrated because they wouldn't breed and wouldn't even come out of hiding. He had four in the tank and thought there was only one left until he started catching them! Anyway, does anyone have any tips on how to set up or plant the tank so that the little guys are comfortable but I can still see them every once in a while? I'm not expecting them to be front and center or anything, but seeing them at all would be nice.

Right now they are temporarily in a 10-gallon tank with some small java ferns and a big spawn mop made from yarn (they have been hiding in there since I got them) and a few guppies. I have an extra 10-g tank right now so I can definitely separate them from the guppies if that would work better, and set it up however I need to.

My friend said something about duckweed... if I threw in some of that, would it maybe diffuse the light enough so they wouldn't be so shy?

Thanks!

 

[Davo86]

Hmm, is there a strong light on the tank? if so your friend maybe thinking along the lines that the duckweed will make more shade inside the tank, try leaving the tank light off for a day and see if they are more adventurous, if this works you may need to think about providing surface cover or even replacing the bulb to a dull blue bulb

 

[indigoj]

Add a couple more? I recently got 6 and although it is early days they are quite adventurous.

That said, most people suggest a species tank for the small gouramis. You could keep them this some chocolate gourami and some liquorice gourami quite happily.

They do like cover and places to hide so do provide them with some plants to shelter in.

Lovely little fish!

 

[Bubblenester]

Thanks for the advice- I turned off the tank light and 10 minutes later I saw a little sparkly face peeking out. It's a start! I think I will set up a species tank for them and look for more sparklers, and I'm liking the idea of the duckweed so maybe I'll give that a try. All of my lights are fluorescent so they are fairly bright.

Maybe they just need one of those special red lights, like they use at zoos to display nocturnal animals