Sparkling Vs Croaking Gourami?

[DeanoL83]

Hi
 
Just wondering if these two Gourami - who look pretty similar to me - can live together peacefully? Or is it better to stick to just one kind?
 
I did have 5 sparkling gourami, but a long arm shrimp took care of one, and I moved them to a smaller tank to avoid the shrimp but they didn't like that tank too much and two died within the first three days of being moved.  So I moved the two remaining gourami back into the main tank and they are living happily and healthily.
 
The shop where I bought them from currently doesn't have any sparkling gourami, but does have croaking gourami.  Should I get some croaking gourami, or wait until they have sparkling available again?
 
Also, can anyone tell me what is the main difference between the two?  Because I have heard my sparkling gourami croaking so I'm a bit confused lol....
 
Thanks,
Dean

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Sparkling gourami
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/Trichopsis-pumila/
 
 
Croaking gourami
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/trichopsis-vittata/

 

[Byron]

As those excellent links will show, the Croaking Gourami is larger, up to three inches, so needs more space than the much smaller pygmy sparkling.  And yes, both "croak," and I'll just add a bit more detail to what Matt has there, from a profile I did elsewhere.
 
Both species make "croaking" sounds, like a rapid series of clicks, when excited and during courtship, and these can easily be heard outside the aquarium. In a 1992 study, Friedrich Ladich et.al. determined that this sound is important not only in breeding displays but also in antagonistic displays of males to establish dominance. The "croak" is a series of double pulses generated by rapid beating of the pectoral fins. Another study by Ladich in 1998 established that the sounds vary according to the individual fish and the sound frequency had a role in determining the outcome of the encounter between rival fish.
 
As for keeping them together, I wouldn't; males of both species, like all gourami, are territorial.  I've never kept them together, but I would suspect trouble if they were.
 
Byron.

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

I've kept both species before (not together) and their size difference alone will tell you why it's not a good idea to house them together. It is interesting to note though that the smaller sparkling gours can be kept with a few female bettas in a heavily planted tank without aggression issues