Trichogaster leeri - ok in these waterparameters ?

K

kvr

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Apr 17, 2001
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I took out my clown loaches since they got too big for my 65g. I would like to replace them now with Trichogaster leeri. I never had these fish and was wondering if they'd do ok in this tank :

65 g bowfront
pH 7.2
GH 11 degrees
KH 6 degrees
temp 77
nitrates 10 - 20 ppm

other inhabitants : platies - oto's - ancistrus - neon tetra's

How many goerami's should I buy, are they best kept in groups ? I read males can be aggresive. The tank is about 20 inch deep, is that a problem ?
 
The pearl gourami (T. Leeri) is a very versitile fish, IMO. They should do fine in your tank, as they are quite peaceful fish (except they can be a little intolerant towards one another). I would recommend getting a just a male and female, or you could probably get a few females with a little less problems. If you cannot tell the difference at the pet shop between males and females you can get a small group, 3-4, and wait until they mature, then keep the dominant male and female, or just the females, while returning the rest to the pet shop. Males are generally darker bodied than females, and they get a dark orangish-red patch beneath their throat when they are very angry or in a breeding situation. I hope this helps.
 
They should be fine in those parameters.

They are anabantids and can be very aggressive, especially during spawning. The male will zealously guard his nest and will chase off anything that gets too close, although he generally ignores everyone except for the female leeri. If you're ok with normal anabantid behavior, they're very beautiful and interesting fish.

The females have a rounded dorsal fin that doesn't reach the base of the tail. The males have a pointier dorsal that extends past the base. Once you see it, it should be fairly obvious, even in fairly young fish. When they're stressed out at the LFS they can be a little blanched and the red throat thing may not be as apparent. Their color gets much more interesting and intense when they're in a better enviroment.
 
my pearls are by far the least aggressive of the gouramis i keep. moonlights are a little more aggressive, and blues/golds/opalines/etcs are much more of a problem.

of course, i only keep female pearls and moonlights, so i'm sure that's a factor, but based on the females of each species alone, the pearls are by far the most placid. they're great fish, very versatile and pretty hardy in my experience. should be fine with those parameters. i plan on adding a male to the 3 females i have now eventually, so i suppose i'll find out if that has a large impact on their behavior, but i don't forsee any significant aggression.

i would think the only problem would be if you kept multiple males. in a 65g, any more than 2 might cause problems.
 
I've only kept pearls as far as gouramis go, a male/female pair in a 30g. Saying they're peaceful for a gourami seems a bit to me like saying "Yeah, its a mellow dog… for a jack russell".

The female on her own is a fairly mellow fish. The male is far and away the most aggressive fish in my tank and the two of them together have taken the larger portion of the tank over on more than one occassion.

I think they're great fish and am planning on adding other gouramis as I add tanks. They are extremely pretty fish that cruise about the the full depth of the tank, sometimes hiding in the shrubbery and sometimes ruling the roost. And most of the time they're content with that. But when the bubble nest goes in all hell breaks loose for a week or two. They don't go after the other fish (no casualties), but they do draw some pretty well-defined lines in the substrate.

IME they are often mellow, occasionally meek, occassionally violent, and always interesting to watch. IMHO they're a great fish and I'm definitely a fan, but they're labyrinths and the usual cautions apply. If other fish are more nuts, then they're more nuts…
 
Thanks for all the info/experiences. I think I'm going to get me two females to start with, then afterwards I can always take one of them back and get a male ... or just keep the two females and add a male.

Would the depth of the tank be a problem for them to breed ?

Thanks again all ! I was hoping I could keep them !
 
Would the depth of the tank be a problem for them to breed?
Click to expand...


Not at all... but the shallower, the better. Many Gouramis breed in less than a foot of water and I've bred gouramis in 8" before.
 
I hope I didn't scare you off a pair.

Part of what I find interesting is the bubblenesting and the wild spawning behavior and of the two, the male's coloration gets more intense -- weird irridescent greens and purples that grace the pearl pattern, you see it in flashes. Very beautiful. I'd get a male and one or two females.

Your tank is plenty big for them, although chasing is part of the game and I think 36"s is a pretty sensible minimum length. Be sure to have some obstacles she can break around and a few places she can go to get away. He'll break off the chase and return to the nest if she can manage a few evasive maneuvers. She'll lie low behind some driftwood or a little cluster of plants until she's ready to approach him again.

They've done this a few times over the last 6 or 8 months and it usually lasts for a week or two. So far I've never seen eggs or offspring.

The aggressiveness is a normal behavior, but not a regular everyday behavior. You should just be aware of it and prepared for it.
 
It's a fairly planted tank with some great hiding places ... maybe I'll go for a pair anyway ...

Here's a picture of the tank :

image005.jpg
 
There is a decent article on many types of gourami in the newest AquariumUSA -2004 Annual magazine. I just got through reading the article today! They have a picture and specifically discuss that fish.
 
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