Adding new fish "Dwarf gourami" afew Q's.

Neo Sithlord

Neo Sithlord

Nerf Herder
Mar 20, 2004
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Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin
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Well since I never get arround to doing my tank setup on this forum again I type out my current setup LOL. I have a 29 gallon tropical community tank with 7 neons, 4 white clouds , 3 bronze corries and one otto(I know I should add more but the one is doing more then enough clean up as is I don't think biologically I could sustain more then one right now algea wise). I have no real plants but a fair ammont of fake plants for looks.
Any ways... I used to have a betta as the center peice in the tank but since he died alittle over a month ago I've been lacking a good display fish in the tank. Well I was at my LFS afew days ago and really took a good look at dwarf gouramies for the first time. I never knew they would stay with in the size I like my fish to be but also that they were so pretty (I got hell at work for calling them pretty but I'm man enough to say pretty LOL). So what I plan on doing since Happychem said I should have room for one or two in my tank was picking one up today 9-23-04. I'd like to get a pair if I can but 1. I don't know if I can readily get anouther after I buy the first 2. I don't know if I can fit two of each sex safely and 3. I don't know if I need a pair (I assume they'd be happier if I had a pair but I haven't read anywhere yet that I NEED one) I think I've figured out how to sex them, please correct me if I'm wrong, one sex has long thread like fins on the bottom and the other doesn't? This is just an observation I made at the two stores I visit. I know they are of the annibantid family yet more peacefull then bettas but I'm concerned about possible preditation and inability to cohabitate with the other species. I know my current feeding setup is fine for this fish plus my water perams are good as well. The specific breed I want is Neon blue or maybe also called powder blue hence not knowing if I can get two of the same breed. So any thoughts?
Thanks as always,
-Neo Sithlord
 
Dwarf gouramis are happy by themself, or a male and females will work well. Both sexes have the threadlike pelvic fins- many of the Gouramis scientific names come from the greek words meaning "hairlike wings." They're for aiding eyesight in their native habitat. Different things can affect their length- age, being nipped at, etc. I'm not sure exactly how to sex them definitively- maybe someone else will. Dwarves are more shy than regular gouramis, but they can still be aggressive to each other if in a confined space- which won't be a problem in 29 gallons.

In a planted 29, you could have more than one male, probably up to four gouramis total- but with the fish already in there, I'd say one male and one female would be good. Planting and decoration is critical, as gouramis do like their own little solitary place, and can be shy. Mixing and matching strains is no problem. There are plenty of colour variations in dwarf gouramis, but they're all still the same species.

hope it helps.
 
I had six for a while and no trouble with them attacking other fish. They would 'dance' with each other once in a while, but they never hurt each other or anyone else. Of course, I might have just been lucky.

I believe I read in a couple places that they should be kept in pairs though I don't recall where that was or how reliable it is.
 
Everywhere I read talks about how territorial they are and that you should only have a pair or one male with two females. (I've been searching for a female locally for so long it doesn't matter any more.) As far as the "breeds" go, most you see in shops are just color morphs of the same species. My lone mail does well in my 55 with my cardinals, rummynoses and resboras.
 
Gouramis are in fact territorial. I have 3 gouramis (pink kisser, 3 spotted blue, and a paradise blue). They are all females. To tell this look at the dorsal fin, if it looks round it is a female, if it is pointy it is a male. Another thing about gouramis is the biggest of the group will always show signs of agression. My 3 spotted blue is always chasing one of the other two, but she never hurts them (thank God). 2 dwarf gouramis might not cause too many problems as long as you get bothe females, and try to get them the same size (the smaller the better, as they only get a few inches). You could also probably add a red fin shark (if you decide to get 1 dwarf gourami). They adapt well with gouramis and only get about 5 inches. I have 1 redfin shark and 1 albino red fin shark and they all get along fine. Well whatever you decide to do just make sure you get the PRETTIEST one. :D
 
Well I have my "pretty" fish :D now. He's doing fine aside from an hour and a half in the bag in the cd holder in my car. Forgot all of the stuff I had to do while out of town so he had to wait 30 extra minutes. I asked about females at my not so local LFS that I buy all my fish from and the lady said the manager has tried to get females often but never can. They can't even place a special order for them. Makes ya wonder what the breeders do with them *shudder*. Any ways after reading abit I'm only keeping the one male since I can't get females but the secound I can I plan on getting a pair LOL. I just like the way they swim vs. the little fish in the tank. So exacting... Now I just need to teach him the Pavlov response to the taps and feeding in the right top of the tank. He missed dinner tonight but he was to busy hiding to really do any thing else but he should adjust soon enough. Oh and they all had the long fins I just didn't notice them.
- Neo Sithlord
 
I have had several dwarf gouramis before (neon blues and oranges) they were perfectly happy in a comunity set up with a betta, corys and mollies. Be warned though male are def territorial with each uther as a general rule. I never knew this at first till I took just two males home and one quickly became domiante over the other and kept him hiding in a corner!
All dwarf colours are just diff strains they will mate with each other. Females are easier to distinguish as they are shorter and rounder in shape and far more drab colour wise the neon blue females being an all over pale silvery blue and the orange females beinga a pale gold colour.
 
http://****************/ sells female dwarf gouramis of different colours.

check it out, it may be well worth it, because finding then in a LFS is pretty difficult.
 
I'll just have to do without or wait until my LFS comes up with some. The shipping alone "is usually $24.75 for one shipment containing any number of items sent to one address. One item or one-hundred items the Shipping Charge is usually the same." So if the fish is $3.50 and I want 2 that is $7.00 and then add the $24.75 you end up paying almost $16.00 per fish.
 
Dwarf Gouramis

I have a moderately (for now) planted tank and 2 male Dwarf Gouramis, 6 neons, 4 corys, 2 otos and a weather loach. (The weather loach wasn't the best choice, but does fine.)


Anyway, the two DG's I have chase each other, but I've not seen any damage on either. There is definately one who is dominant. The (slightly) bigger one is usually doing the chasing. DG's are supposed to be more tolerant of other males than larger gouramis, but I've never had any, so who knows.

Female DG's are very hard to find. I've asked around on here and at all the LFS's in my area, and only found them in one place.. the same as mentioned in earlier posts: ****************

I would suggest only getting the one male DG, as I have no way of knowing how much stress the chasing causes. I plan to separate them once I get another tank to put one of 'em in.
 
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