Wanting To Try Gouramis!

[linher1215]

Ok, so I am wanting to try some gouramis for my 55G tank.
In the tank I have- 6 cherry barbs, 5 black skirt tetras, 4 platys, 20ish platy fry (about 1 inch) , 5 corys and 4 otos.
I hope to get rid of the platy fry as soon as they are big enough to sex.

What kind of gouramis would be the best to get along with the other fish I already have? I have been doing a little reading on the dwarf gourami and it seems to be the most peaceful. Is that right? I also like the opaline but they seem to be more aggressive.

Any gourami advice is greatly appreciated!!!

 

[murphyk32]

dwarfs CAN be peaceful, CAN be mean, my male was great, but some find them mean, and they are prone to a disease that seems pretty common. I loved mine,, get a male and maybe 2 females?.. opalines are GREAT, though males are a bit aggressive. Dont get 2 males, one will die. Id personally go with a male and 2 female dwarfs, and maybe even an opaline with that, some say the 2 dont mix, mine were fine in a 20 and then moved to a 55 gallon. Thats my oppinion,

Murph

 

[gta1628]

I reccomend a banded gourami if you can find one. They are beautiful and should get along great with the fish you have.

 

[Faythee]

My male Opaline IS aggressive ! However I did have him with Dwarfs while young. If you add them all to the tank at the same size you will have better success. Once the Opaline is full grown....you may have trouble when adding new tankmates. The Dwarfs is my area are sickly...both of mine died and they all look terrible at the stores. You may have access to a reputible breeder though. Very pretty fish. The Pearl Gourami is alos very pretty and mild mannered, but more shy.

 

[bloatedguppy]

Actually the most peacful I've heard of are Pearl Gouramis. How do I know this?, I have a trio and even though they have been going through a dominant stage right now They are still very peacful. Most gourami species can be picky mostly species around 3-spot gouramis which are similiar to golds,opolines,dwarf,etc. But I actually had mine for about 6 months and the pearls are awsome, I personaly think they have the best color then any other species once there settled + they are very hardy fish. They are active and display there color alot and mine have even gotten tame where they'll feed out of my hand. But if you are looking for somthing like a pure blue color or orange dwarf's are fine but arnt as peaceful in my experiance also I've read articles that there more prone to disease these days. Anyway good luck and take your time with choosing I know it hard to wait awhile.

 

[dnn3]

i have a chocolate gourami (adding another when i find one) and it's pretty peaceful, and cute too. they don't get very big though, about 2 inches fully grown.

 

[linher1215]

OK i finally got some gouramis!

I got a dwarf, a powder blue dwarf, and a blood red dwarf. One of each. The lady at my LFS said I would probably have a better chance that they would all get along than getting two of the same kind. I am going to carefully watch them and if I have any problems they will take them back or just the problem one.
The LFS is also willing to take the little platys for store credit!!! Can't beat that!!

I love going to my LFS they are so knowledgeable!!!

 

[gourami_fan]

Well the three you mentioned are all of the same kind unfortunately. They are just different colour morphs of eachother. Since you have such a large tank, there might not be any problems with them since they have a lot of space. Even beter is if you have a lot of plants or hiding places.

Keep your water parameters good because dwarf gouramis have a reputation of getting diseases/illness really easily.

 

[linher1215]

Well, its been and a week and so far so good! They are getting along fine. I guess the tank is big enough so they are not bothering each other. Sometimes I see them swim around together and there is no aggressive behavior that I have seen.

Next time I may try some pearls. They are nice looking too.