gourami
- Thread starter brimble
- Start date
How big is your tank?
If you only have a ten or twenty gallon, you'll have to stick to dwarf gouramis that don't grow much more than two inches or so. You would only be able to house one since they can be quite aggressive towards each other, and tankmates, if they don't have enough room for -their- territory. Male dwarfs are the most common you'll find on the market since they have the brightest, best color, and come in varieties called Neon (blue with red stripes), Powdered Blue (very vivid blue), Flame (vivid red), Honey (a golden brown) and some others I'm not as familiar with. Sunset thicklip (honey) dwarf gouramis seem to be the least aggressive that I've observed.
If you have a larger tank, 30 gallon long or more, you could do some of the larger gourami species in a 1m/2f ratio and not have a problem. The larger, longer tank allows for more surface area that the gourami will want for territories. Golds, blues, opaline, pearls, Leeris, snakeskins (my fave), pink or green kissers all grow about six to eight inches in length, and in small volume tanks like ten gallons, can wreak havoc with tankmates because they control the entire tank and don't let others feed. Pearl and Leeris gouramis seem to the least aggressive of the larger gourami, but they are also the most delicate and prone to disease in my experience. Keeping them in 1m/2f trios helps reduce aggression.
Gouramis get along with most tankmates provided they have a part of the tank's surface area as their territory. They'll chase tankmates out of their territory, but usually not to stress and death unless in a very small tank. Fin-nipping fish like tiger barbs might harassa a gourami in a small tank, and fish like danios may annoy a gourami since they are fast surface swimmers. I've kept large 6in gourmis with same size or smaller SA cichlids, tiger barbs, silver dollars, small pacu, a 6 individual school of albino tiger barbs, bala sharks, plecos, and other community fish in 30 gallon long tanks where I could keep all fish in happy numbers. Dwarfs are compatible with tetras, small barbs like gold barbs or checkerboard barbs, neons, and livebearers if you're looking for a ten or twenty gallon community.
I would stay away from paradise fish unless you have a very large tank. They come in red or albion forms. Paradise gouramis, aka paradise fish are really, really nasty and must be kept in at least a male/female pair.
Happy gourami hunting
~~Colesea
If you only have a ten or twenty gallon, you'll have to stick to dwarf gouramis that don't grow much more than two inches or so. You would only be able to house one since they can be quite aggressive towards each other, and tankmates, if they don't have enough room for -their- territory. Male dwarfs are the most common you'll find on the market since they have the brightest, best color, and come in varieties called Neon (blue with red stripes), Powdered Blue (very vivid blue), Flame (vivid red), Honey (a golden brown) and some others I'm not as familiar with. Sunset thicklip (honey) dwarf gouramis seem to be the least aggressive that I've observed.
If you have a larger tank, 30 gallon long or more, you could do some of the larger gourami species in a 1m/2f ratio and not have a problem. The larger, longer tank allows for more surface area that the gourami will want for territories. Golds, blues, opaline, pearls, Leeris, snakeskins (my fave), pink or green kissers all grow about six to eight inches in length, and in small volume tanks like ten gallons, can wreak havoc with tankmates because they control the entire tank and don't let others feed. Pearl and Leeris gouramis seem to the least aggressive of the larger gourami, but they are also the most delicate and prone to disease in my experience. Keeping them in 1m/2f trios helps reduce aggression.
Gouramis get along with most tankmates provided they have a part of the tank's surface area as their territory. They'll chase tankmates out of their territory, but usually not to stress and death unless in a very small tank. Fin-nipping fish like tiger barbs might harassa a gourami in a small tank, and fish like danios may annoy a gourami since they are fast surface swimmers. I've kept large 6in gourmis with same size or smaller SA cichlids, tiger barbs, silver dollars, small pacu, a 6 individual school of albino tiger barbs, bala sharks, plecos, and other community fish in 30 gallon long tanks where I could keep all fish in happy numbers. Dwarfs are compatible with tetras, small barbs like gold barbs or checkerboard barbs, neons, and livebearers if you're looking for a ten or twenty gallon community.
I would stay away from paradise fish unless you have a very large tank. They come in red or albion forms. Paradise gouramis, aka paradise fish are really, really nasty and must be kept in at least a male/female pair.
Happy gourami hunting
~~Colesea