blue gourami compatibility

i have a 40 gallon, planted tank with 3 oto catfish, 1 yoyo loach and 1 blue gourami. im looking into buying roughly 4 threadfin rainbow fish.. im wondering if they would get along nicely?? ive had this blue gourami for almost 4 years, he hasnt been aggressive with any other fish before hand since ive had him in multiple different tanks. im confident they will get along just fine but my main concern are the threadfin rainbows long fins... im worried that my gourami will nip at them... any suggestions??

Hi and welcome to the forum

What species of blue gourami (do you have a picture of it)?

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

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Yoyo loaches like to be kept in groups of 6 or more and so do rainbowfish. The smaller rainbows do best in groups of 10 or more.

Thanks for replying! My tank dimensions are 32"(length) x 20"(width) x 12" (height). I just tested my water...GH-- 30-60ppm, KH-- 0-40, PH --6.5, NO2 -- 0, NO3-- 0-10. I only have 1 yoyo loach since i was trying to take care of a snail epidemic in my tank.. ive had him for about 3years now. I have pregnant shrimp in my tank aswell so thats why i havent purchased another yoyo since theyre known for eating shrimp.. however my yoyo doesnt mind them at all, he lets them sit right in his hiding hole and even ontop of him and he doesnt have a care in the world for them.. here is a picture of my blue gourami if theres any other info you need just let me know!

The gourami is one of the colour variants of three spot gourami, one of the more aggressive gourami species (we had one member with a female blue gourami which killed every other fish in the tank). I would not trust one of this species with a long finned species like threadfin rainbows.

essjay said:

The gourami is one of the colour variants of three spot gourami, one of the more aggressive gourami species (we had one member with a female blue gourami which killed every other fish in the tank). I would not trust one of this species with a long finned species like threadfin rainbows.

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Ive had angel fish with my blue gourami before and they got along very well, i never caught them fighting or noticed any parts missing from the angels fishes fins

jake carriere said:

Ive had angel fish with my blue gourami before and they got along very well, i never caught them fighting or noticed any parts missing from the angels fishes fins

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Thanks for letting me know!

jake carriere said:

Ive had angel fish with my blue gourami before and they got along very well, i never caught them fighting or noticed any parts missing from the angels fishes fins

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You could try the rainbowfish but watch the gouramis for a few weeks after they have been added because the gouramis might eat the rainbows.

Iriatherina werneri are a bit smaller than an angelfish. They grow to about 1 inch long and are very narrow bodied fish. Think about 2 match sticks (without the red part that burns) held together, that is about how big they get. The males get the long fins and the females don't.

What about getting a pair of Apistogramma cacatoides or another Apistogramma species?

Im a little skeptical about putting chiclids in my tank since they could bully my shrimp, and my other fish.. see, i thought threadfin rainbows got bigger than just an inch.. plus i really like theyre long fins.. are there any other suggestions? Im looking for a schooling fish that will occupy the mid to higher level of the tank..

jake carriere said:

Im a little skeptical about putting chiclids in my tank since they could bully my shrimp, and my other fish.. see, i thought threadfin rainbows got bigger than just an inch.. plus i really like theyre long fins.. are there any other suggestions? Im looking for a schooling fish that will occupy the mid to higher level of the tank..

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And be compatible with my 3 spotted gourami, my yoyo loach, my oto catfish and my shrimp

Apistogrammas don't normally bully anyone but they will chase things away from their babies if they breed. But they only have a small territory (about 12 inch diameter) so in most tanks they are fine.

Your loach would possibly have a go at shrimp.