Will One Male Pearl Gourami Be Lonely?

[lillykinloo]

Hi everyone! I wanted to ask if it would be ok for me to keep just one male Pearl Gourami with no other Gouramis? I recently purchased what I think is a male Pearl Gourami. Originally, my plan was to have 3-4 Pearl Gouramis (1 male and 2-3 females). I placed the male in my tank on Saturday, and he is very, very shy. He hides whenever we come around. He comes out when we go away, so the other fish (5 Diamond Tetras) don't seem to bother him. He just isn't a people-fish. Would adding two females help him to be a bit more comfortable? If not, is it ok for him to be a lone Gourami in the tank?

I have a 37 gallon tank and am planning on having 5 Diamond Tetras, 5-6 Cory Cats, and a Pearl Gourami (either one male or a trio). If I don't get a trio of Gourami, my plan would be to add a striatum Killifish instead. At the present moment, I have 5 Diamond Tetras and the one male Gourami.

Thank you!

 

[DanDanUK]

Hi everyone! I wanted to ask if it would be ok for me to keep just one male Pearl Gourami with no other Gouramis? I recently purchased what I think is a male Pearl Gourami. Originally, my plan was to have 3-4 Pearl Gouramis (1 male and 2-3 females). I placed the male in my tank on Saturday, and he is very, very shy. He hides whenever we come around. He comes out when we go away, so the other fish (5 Diamond Tetras) don't seem to bother him. He just isn't a people-fish. Would adding two females help him to be a bit more comfortable? If not, is it ok for him to be a lone Gourami in the tank?

I have a 37 gallon tank and am planning on having 5 Diamond Tetras, 5-6 Cory Cats, and a Pearl Gourami (either one male or a trio). If I don't get a trio of Gourami, my plan would be to add a striatum Killifish instead. At the present moment, I have 5 Diamond Tetras and the one male Gourami.

Thank you!

i think it would be the more sensible idea, i'm not 100% so if some one can agree or deny keeping a couple of gouramis together they are territorial and can bully weaker fish, i'm nore of a big fish keeper so not too experienced with smaller (feeder sized fish...lol)

 

[sylvia]

Yes, adding a couple of females would make him come out more but also, yes, he'd be fine on his own.

I'm not familiar with most killies. How big do those get and are they aggressive/territorial? Would you get a pair/trio or what? You might have room for both the trio of pearls and killies depending on these things.

 

[lillykinloo]

Yes, adding a couple of females would make him come out more but also, yes, he'd be fine on his own.

I'm not familiar with most killies. How big do those get and are they aggressive/territorial? Would you get a pair/trio or what? You might have room for both the trio of pearls and killies depending on these things.

Hi sylvia! Thank you for your reply! Killifish striatum are smaller sized fish. They are definitely smaller than the Pearl Gouramis and reach about 2.5 inches when they mature. The Killifish Striatum was recommended to me by Big C (the resident Killifish expert in the Oddballs forum). I don't think they are territorial, but Killifish do have rather large mouths, so some will eat smaller fish like neons. They definitely could not fit a mature Pearl in their mouths. Big C told me that the striatum is not nippy or aggressive & would be appropriate for a community aquarium with Pearl Gouramis. However, he did caution me against feeding live worms, because this might encourage the Killifish to take a nip at the Gourami's feelers. He also told me it is best to get a trio (1 male and 2 females with Killifish), so I would probably have a trio of striatum Killifish. Do you think I could have the 3 Pearl Gouramis (1 male and 2 females) with the Killifish?

Thanks again!

 

[sylvia]

I think you could keep both the trio of pearls and killies but I'm going purely off what you've told me about A. striatum. If they really aren't territorial or aggressive, they should be fine with the trio of pearls as well.

 

[lillykinloo]

I think you could keep both the trio of pearls and killies but I'm going purely off what you've told me about A. striatum. If they really aren't territorial or aggressive, they should be fine with the trio of pearls as well.

Many thanks, Sylvia!