Gourami options

I've found that most gouramis are pretty much the same in temperament and body shape, just different colurs. In 100G you could probably keep a pair of almost all the different gouramis! The kissing gourami has a slightly different shape to the others (such as Pearl, Honey, Blue, 3 spot) and can grow quite lagre but this takes many years. I haven't found gouramis to be shy, in actual fact they seem to get 'hyperactive' at times especially when the male chases the females.

There are a lot of gourami options.

I have a pair of pearls that I'm very happy with. I decided to go with them after reading that the were among the more peaceable of the trichogasters. Not that shy and not that peaceable, but interesting fish. Their colors get much more intense than I'd anticipated, very beautiful irridescents with blue and violet highlights in the male. Still trying to take a picture of it, haven't seen one yet. They do appreciate some cover -- mine use an ambulia grove as base camp.

Moonlight gouramis are very attractive IMO. They get a little bit too big for me (7-8 in) but would be no problem in a 100g. Very elegant.

Honeys or giant gourami will probably go into the next tank. Giants are a colisa species and don't get that big in spite of the name. I've been looking around for a nice natural honey and have mostly been coming across the cinnamon color morphs and dwarf hybrids, which I'm not as interested in. Three-spots are nice but I like the pearls better for the same sort of niche -- personal preference.

Dwarf gouramis are heavily bred for decorative color and don't seem terribly natural to me. I've also read about their being prone to a lot of health problems and have decided to steer clear of them for those two reasons.

Here is a nice link that goes throught the group in some detail. There is also a book called Gouramis and Other Labyrinth Fish in the Barron's series (less than $10) that has a lot of good info on them. The Skeptical Aquarist also has some excellent info on labyrinth fish, including info on some of the problems with "honey" gourami and with dwarfs.

HTH

Gouramis are pretty fish and you have plenty of space to keep several pairs!! I had(unfortunately they died of unknown reasons, maybe stress) a pair of dwarf gouramis that I loved. The male died while I was on vacation and the female died about a week ago and she showed no signs of trouble, I just found her one morning in the bottom of the tank stiff as a board. Enough about that though we are talking about you. I also have a Blue Gourami in my 29G and I love him. He is the master of that tank, he actually protects the smaller fish(my german blue ram mostly) from harm from my Firemouth. My Firemouth is actually afraid of him. I have pics in my sig if you want to check him out. Gouramis are great fish and are easy to take care of. Good Luck in choosing.

I have dwarf gouramis and three spotted gouramis in my tank. Dwarf Gouramis show stunning coloration, albeit a bit 'manufactured', they're hardy, and their tempermaent is USUALLY ok, but this always this changes from fish to fish. They are quite easy to bred. 3 spotted gouramis grow slightly larger (10cm) and will eat practically anything. They are also a bit more messy i.e. poop. Good luck, Im sure the finished product will look great!