Feeding Dwarf Gourami and temperature?

It depends. The dwarf gouramies most commonly available are farm raised, often in poor conditions. They frequently have been exposed to a variety of diseases--internal parasites are very, very common in them. But, if you can find healthy stock, or are willing to spend the time treating them and getting them healthy, they are very hardy fish. Lifespan is around 5-7 years for most dwarves, longer for the blue spot color morph and some of the other larger ones.
 
Are the Honey Gourami a more hardy fish or are the basically the same?
 
AquaDummy said:
I was thinking of getting some but have heard they can be difficult (for a beginner) and prone to disease? Also what is there average lifespan? I'm having a difficult time finding that out.
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Dont know about the life span as for prone to disease? Hasnt been my experience yet. 2 of my gouramis never got the ICH and the other 2 got it barely then went away. TETRAS from my experience and talking to others are very prone. You will love the dwarfs and if you can find one the opalines are beautiful although mines personality isnt like the dwarfs.
 
thanks and another few questions.....

Thanks to all for your fine input and information. Glad to know my temp is ok, and that flakes are ok, too.

I have previously fed frozen brine shrimp cubes, but stopped because I thought it was possibly causing my fish deaths.

Is there a certain kind of frozen shrimp that is better than another? Frozen is the easiest for me to deal with.

Also, regarding vegetables, how do I tell if the flakes have a vegetable content? Should I follow the fiber %? Can I feed them Algae wafers? Fresh vegetables? If so, what kind?

Thanks again for the once and future help!

Margaret
 
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I don't feed the frozen brine, but instead get the community mixes that contain both meats (brine and mysis shrimp, some blood worms) and veggies/algae. How do you feed them? How much? A single cube is a lot of food, depending on how many tanks you're feeding. I go with the mixed foods since that way I can use one cube for the tank, and still provide food for a variety of fish. For smaller tanks, a full cube is probably too much.

The ingredients should indicate if the food contains much vegetable matter--look for spirulina. You can also get herbivore flakes from MarineLand-they have several different mixes. Check out the Bio-Blend line.

Fresh veggies are an option as well--pretty well anything, from zucchini to carrots to leafy lettuce--but the softer veggies are better for gouamies.
 
Thanks again, OrionGirl, for the help. My tank is 20g, and I would give them about 1/2 a cube of frozen brine when I was using that. I'll look for spirulina flakes, and community mixes...are these mixes also frozen cubes?

I'll try the fresh veggies, too. The gourami seem happy and are eating the flakes I'm feeding, but we don't want the to get stopped up!

Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.

Margaret
 
A half a cube may be too much--feed based on the size of the fishes eye--it's roughly the same size as their stomach.

There are several options for frozen--it will depend on what's available.
 
Thanks again, Orion Girl. One last (?) question...

I went to the LFS and they were out of Spirulina flakes, and the freezer was broken, so no frozen food. I did pick up some Tetra Freeze Dried Bloodworms. It mentioned they were a good source of roughage. Is this an ok food to feed? Or, use as a treat? I'm still planning of getting Spirulina flakes, and some frozen food, but is this ok for now, or am I better off staying away from bloodworms? I've read about bacteria they can introduce into the tank...

Thanks in advance.

Margaret
 
Freeze dried bloodworms are an okay treat, but they are still very high in protien--not a good staple for herbivores. The freeze dried ones will not introduce any pathogen to the tank--the live ones can occassionally, but IME, that is rare.
 
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