Compatibility Question

[Web Gazelle]

I have a 67 gallon tank with an Opaline Gourami (female), a Pearl Gourami (female) and a Dwarf Gourami (male). I was wondering if anyone has experience keeping Gouramis similar to these with either a...

Male Betta fish

or

Male Paradise fish

I am considering getting one or the other for my tank if their temperament will not be too much for the fish I currently have.

[SecretAsianFish]

paradise yes, they can be as strong headed as most gouramis (because they are a relative)
bettas, ...may..be..sort..of..kind..of..goodluck with that. They can be a pain in the butt but they are to small to go head to head with even a pearl in most cases.

[Windy]

Well from what I've been told and read, Bettas and Gouramis should not be housed together. They are related and a fight can break out. The bigger gouramis can do major damage/kill the betta. Try another type of fish that can be kept with the gouramis. good luck.

[Chrisinator]

I wouldn't risk it. You already have 3 other species of gouramies that he can find and attack or he could get bullied by all 3.

[Jayhawk]

You'd be fine with the paradisefish in that 67 gallon tank. Also, a short finned/wild type betta ought to do fine in there as well.

I've kept paradisefish with dwarf gouramis (a pair of dwarfs) in a 29 with no problems. I've also kept a pair of giant gouramis (C. fasciata) in with a paradise fish in a 33 gallon (36" long) tank and fasciata are similar in aggression and size to pearls.

You have no breeding pairs of any of the species, and years ago in the hobby labyrinth fish tanks like you're setting up were commonly kept.

The usual caveat applies...all labyrinth fish have distinctive personalities and cause problems when not expected.

YMMV,

Eric

[Candychi]

I thought this thread was interesting because yesterday I jsut bought a betta for my 90 gallon tank. There are two dwarf gourami's in there already. But one in particular ,my betta dislikes. When the gouramis gets too close to him he puffs out his gills and rushes at him. The gourami learned quickly after only 1-2times of this happening,to just stay clear of the betta. He/she swam too close to the betta and before the betta noticed, he/she realized where he/she was going, and quickly darted the other way. I thought that was odd that the betta would dislike only ONE fish out of the whole tank and wondered if there was a reason. Now I know :) . Aside from that, this betta is having the time of his little life in this huge tank. After being at petsmart in a little cup of water.

Forgot to mention these two times were only during feedings. The 1st was when he was picking & eating at a flowering plant (which i thought was cute also interesting) ,and the 2nd time was when I fed the fish flake food. Guess he's food agressive. the rest of the day he just swims around hapily with out a care. There are 10 cardinals,1 baby angel (so tiny,he's smaller than the betta) the 2 gourami , a few other tetras,and shrimp.

[jpappy789]

This mix is a recipe for disaster if you get one with a bad attitude...I wouldn't risk mixing in another anabantoid unless you have a back up plan. No sense in upsetting the already delicate balance.