Anyone Know Compatability?

[Elise]

Hey,

I just found these adorable, shy little pumilus gouramis at the LFS. Special order I quess (I hope the person who special ordered already bought hers because I took almost all the rest ).

Anyone have any experience with these little guys (also called Sparkling Pygmy Gouramis) in a community tank w/female bettas?


Edit: piccy off the net

 

[jollysue]

I have Sparklers and honeys. I asked about putting them together in a pygmy community and was told it was a bad idea. Just something about the fins. I guess the pygmy breeds get to squabbling over territories and nest building. But that's just what I've been told by one person.

I have 1m/2f honeys, 4 sparklers (not sexed yet), 2 otos and 7 diamond head neons in an eclipse 12. I might trade the neons for harlequins.

 

[Synirr]

I sadly don'y have any experience with spankling gouramis (I've been looking for some for a while now,) and while you normally shouldn't mix bettas and gouramis, I think it would be worth trying, so long as you watch them very closely. I've had male bettas living with my honey gourami before, and while that's not something I'd ever really recommend doing, neither party seemed the least bit bothered and there was no nipping or fighting whatsoever... I guess it just goes to show that sometimes it depends on the individual personalities of the fish

 

[Kiarra]

It's a bit risky, and you'd need some pretty mild females. I have about 9 (I think) female Bettas and 2 Croaking Gouramis (quite similar to Sparkling Gouarmis, except less colorful) living together, and they've all done fine. But the females are very, very peaceful, and both Croaking and Sparkling Gouramis tend to be very peaceful species of Gourami, unlike many other varieties.

 

[jollysue]

What Synirr and Kiarra are saying sounds much more reasonable to me. Frankly the sparklers are liable to be in more danger than the bettas. I would like to try to put a male betta in a sparkler/honey tank without the neons

I have heard that the male sparkler will get testy when spawning and nesting, at least when other sparkler males are around. I haven't learned to sex them yet. It involves seeing the ovaries through the transparent female.

But I think a sparkler and betta tank would be awesome. I may try a fin damaged male sometime.

As a matter of fact I'm dying to find out what most male bettas with house well with.

How many sparklers did you get, Elise? How old are they?

Frankly your pic is prettier than any of my sparklers, although mine don't really hang out for me to get good looks at them.

 

[Elise]

Mine, I have no idea on the age because I got them from the lfs and they know NOTHING! But they are less than an inch. They also are not as colorful as that pic above. Mine are irridecent brown with red and blue but very light. I don't know how to sex them either .

I have three. There was 4 total in the tank, but I only wanted one...my friend who works there slipped me the other two without me knowing. Quite the fun surprise when I got home! (She slips me a deal a lot because she hates the way the fish guys don't care if the fish live or die--I have to agree ).

I am so addicted to the little guys already! They look so adorable! Only one of them is less shy and will actually stay in the front of the tank.

Yesterday, I was feeding the guppies and cories in that tank some bloodworms. The guppies come up and eat off my fingers and the one bold sparkler zoomed up and grabbed a huge worm off my finger and was so excited! Hehe, only problem is not only was the worm longer than him, but also it was too big to fit in his mouth. One of the guppies ended up stealing it from him!

They are so cute! They would look so cute in a 35gal aquarium with lots of plants. I saw one in a website and they just fit in so perfect because they like to hang out together.


Edit: Piccy of my bold little guy added

 

[jollysue]

Elisabeth and I did a whole big long search and a thread on sexing the little beauties. In the end it appears that the female's ovaries can be observered in the right light. They are said to be a very distinctive shape, like an arrow. My minitures community doesn't have a close up observing chair, so I haven't seen it yet--if I even have a female.

They are probably young. The color develops in the tail fringes as they mature. So far mine (I have four together) have developed to different sizes. A couple are just slivers, but one is over an inch and has developed quite a tail and thickened body. He doesn't really come out to be observed, but he's big enough to be seen slipping around in the plants. The neons like the open spaces, the honeys like the top plants, and the sparklers lurk around in the murky background ( I just added potting substrate. It hasn't totally subsided yet.) They make a good mix, occupying different areas. I think the sparklers will want to spend more time at the top as they start nest building.