Starting a Gourami Tank need advice

coolwade

coolwade

Experienced Novice
Sep 24, 2003
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www.users.tpg.com.au
Hi Guys,

Long time no post!

I have since moved and re-established my Tanganyikan tank, no problems, now I have an empty 4 foot tank and I was thinking of putting some Gouramis in there as like a species tank.

I need help with tank composition, I have been told 5 pairs of various smaller Gouramis would be a good idea, is 10 gouramis too many, will there be a fight?

I am not familiar with SE Asian fish, except for fighters so any help, tips or advice would be appreciated.

:dance:
 
Too many gourmais depends on which gourmais you choose. Keep in mind that gourmais can become territorial and most or all of them will claim the surface as thier territory more than anything else. This will lead to fighting. In my opinion, ten regular gourmais will be too many for a four foot long tank. I'm guessing that it is probably like a 55 gallon tank(I had a 55 gallon tank that was four foot long). Or maybe you want to consider dwarf gourmais. In that case, you could possibly get away with seven or eight. Again depending on which ones you choose. For example, a powder blue dwarf gourmai gets larger than a cinnamon or a honey gourmai. Just make sure that when you choose your fish that you take into account the adult size of your fish and the territory issues if any with that particular fish. Also gourmais wheather they are the regular ones or the dwarf variety,really like lots of plants in thier aquarium as well as surface plants. This makes them feel more secure and much happier fish. I'm sure that you will find the right ones for you aquarium so you can sit back and enjoy them. I hope this helps.

Marinemom
 
Thanks for that.

I was thinking, upon your advice, that I would go with:

1 x Pair Dwarf Gourami (Neon Blue ones)
1 x Pair Dwarf Gourami (Flame variety)
1 x Pair Coral Blue Gourami
1 x Pair (<insert variety here>)

I am not sure of what else I can get. At the LFS I can get the following other than detailed above:

Honey Gourami
Kissing Gourami (No thanks)
Pearl Gourami
Blue Gourami (Or Three spot)

I think thats it.

Yeah its a 55 gallon tank.

Check out my other tank in my signature.
 
Kissing gourmais are way too aggresive for the dwarfs and could kill the dwarfs. They also get quite large. Pearl gourmais are a little more peaceful and can even be shy, however that would not be my first choice. Out of those listed, I would probably go with the honey gourmais. I also like the cinnamon dwarf gourmais and that would probably be the ones I would choose. You may like the honeys because they are very peaceful and will contrast nicely with the others. In the end it's your choice. I hope this helps.

Marinemom
 
I ended up getting 3 pairs,
Coral Blue
Flame
Standard Dwarf

I was thinking of putting some sort of schooling fish in there, any ideas?

Can I put anotther pair in?
 
coolwade said:
I ended up getting 3 pairs,
Coral Blue
Flame
Standard Dwarf

I was thinking of putting some sort of schooling fish in there, any ideas?
Can I put anotther pair in?
Click to expand...

Info--Only the Males are territorial, so extra females are always OK.

Schooling fish--- Barbs (cheery, golden, ect--Tigers are a little too aggressive), rasbora (did I spell that right??) are all OK, or zebra danios are all good.
 
I'm told male gouramis have the same problems getting along as male bettas, but I didn't have that experience at all with mine. I kept two male power blue dwarfs in a 29 gallon. They spent as much time together as apart. Females supposedly won't fight, but they can be harder to find because they're not as colorful.
 
See if you can get some more females. More females than males helps keep everything cool with them.
 
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