Gourami Groups

Dec 25, 2004
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#1
Hello, sorry for the newbie questions.

I read that you can only have one dwarf gourami per tank from some places, and at a different site, it says I can get more than one. Which one is true? And also, is it okay to keep one male with one female? Or 2-3 females together? :)
 

ScubaSteve

Large Fish
May 11, 2003
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#2
IMO - A pair (1M, 1F) is fine... Having one male with several females works too...

When there's 2 males in a tank, they try to establish territories... which is fine provided you have a large enough tank...



I have always kept them as a pair with no problems...
 

Fishery

Large Fish
Oct 5, 2004
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#3
This is my experience with my Dward Gouramis. I use to have 3 males.. 1 being alittle older than the other and displaying its rich colours.. sadly that one died of dropsy or similiar (terrible death).. anyway.. i'll focus on the two remaining.. of the two male one took the dominate possible and starting showing real aggression toward the other, especially when building his bubble nest.. he became very terratorial, and his colour changed damatically (war paint)... until one day I was doing my regular water change, and removed the nest. The dominate one lost hes aggression and colour practically over night. And has regroups with the other male happily.

My suggestion is that if you do get two or more males.. remove the nest and you'll see a difference due to a loss of terratory.

I guess its like desexing a cat.
 

CAPSLOCK

Elite Fish
Jul 19, 2004
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#4
1 male gourami is happiest with no other male gouramis in the tank. Females will do okay with either a male or other females.

Gouramis are not like tetras in that they don't need to be with others to feel safe. They are solitary in the wild. That being said, you can put more than 1 male together, and one will be dominant. They may tolerate eachother depending on the individual. If you get 2 or 3 males, make sure that none is constantly harrassed or forced into hiding. I've heard that people have luck with about 4 males together, which is probably because none can create a territory (like overstocking cichlids). I think that having 1 male with females would eliminate the possibility of aggression, although the females look a bit more drab than the males.
 

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denimous

Large Fish
May 18, 2003
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#7
i have found that providing plenty of places to hide (with plants, real or fake), decreases the amount of aggression in the tank.

the only time i really found my gouramis chasing each other was mealtime...so i started dropping food at opposite sides of the tank.

i think its good to start with a pair. if you start to notice aggression from the male to the female, you could always add another female.

if you wanted to mix dwarf gouramis with larger gouramis, i would go with sunset or honey dwarf gouramis with pearl gouramis. the pearl gouramis, from what ive read, seem to have a milder temperment for a full sized gourami. even the female pearls have beautiful coloring.

hope this advice helps...
jeans