Two dwarf gouramis in a 29gal?

[andytwite]

Hi all,

Well, with the sad loss of my 6 white cloud minnows (thread over at MFT), I am wondering what to finish out my tank with.

One thing has crossed my mind and having done some research, the answers to the question vary considerably.

I already have one powder blue dwarf gourami and wondered if a flame red could also go in my 29 gal without too much fighting? It's reasonably planted and plenty of hiding spaces.

Honest opinions please....and not 'it depends on the temperament' if you can help it.

As always....thank you!

 

[vato]

29 gallons is more than enough for fish of that size to co-exist peacfully. As long as ther is enough hiding places,and well planted there should be no problem. I've had 2 bettas in a 15 gallon and they've been fine, and they are more terrirotial than gouramis.

 

[snakeskinner]

well the truth is, it does make a difference on the fish themselves. like vato said, 29 is more than enough. we had 4-5 dwarf gourami's in a 10 gallon at one time and really didn't have any problems until one got sick and died so we replaced him with another of the same species and that one ended up being very aggressive towards the others. We had a pair of "evil congo tetras" as the LFS has called them that must have been killers in the night because we started having dwarf gourami's torn up and dying. We were down to two when we moved the congo's and the dwarf's to a 29. We had a redfire and a powder blue. once in the 29, the redfire became aggressive towards the powder blue and we moved the powder blue to our 55 community. Point in case, it depends on the individual fish. Kyle

 

[silentskream]

We had a pair of "evil congo tetras" as the LFS has called them that must have been killers in the night because we started having dwarf gourami's torn up and dying

the lfs called them that and you got them anyway?! oops.



anyways, i think getting a NEW gourami is probably not gonna be the best idea, cuz the older one has already established territory. (but of course it depends on the gouramis.) HOWEVER, you do have lots of room for the little guys. so maybe it'll work.

perhaps you should get the new gourami from a place that will let you bring him back if it doesnt work out. that way you can try it out, and keep an eye on them for a few days, and then you'll know better what to do.

 

[vato]

It is probably also important to say that if they have been (or are being) introduced into the tank at different times that, you should rearrange te decorations. This way both fish are unfarmiliar with the tank and aren't prone to being territorial. It also allows them to set up their own territories, sensitvie to where the other fish is located.

 

[silentskream]

^ good idea, and you might also want to do a large water change to dilute any hormones that might establish territory.

 

[andytwite]

Thanks all, I will probably go ahead and try it out then. The store were I get my fish has a 15 day return policy, even if it's a compatibility issue.