Betta And Gouramis - A Good Match?

[fobofobiac]

I was wondering if anyone could help me with the problem I'm having. I just got a 5g hex tank about a month or so ago and for awhile I had about 30-40 baby guppies in there (trying to save them...that's another story) and I recently moved my male betta in there because his tank was getting too cool (too small for a heater) and he was fine with the babies. He never flared up at them or anything. Then I took all but 4 guppies out because they weren't growing and put them in my husband's 30g. Then I realized that I wanted another tankmate for my betta so I just got 2 red flame gouramis and put them in there. I read on another reputable website that bettas were ok with gouramis. But now Jasper (my betta) is flaring up and going after the gouramis but they're doing nothing to antagonize Jasper. They mind their own business. They don't retaliate either. They're really handling it well. So what can I do? Can I take Jasper out for awhile and then introduce him back into the tank? Should I rearrange the surroundings? Or should I just take Jasper out all together. I am planning on breeding him soon so he will be in another tank for awhile. Any thoughts?

 

[sylvia]

Returning the gouramies is your only option (or moving them to another tank). The 5 gallons is too small for the two anyway (realy, it's not enough for one either as dwarf gouramies need good water quality and, as both yours are likely to be male, they also need enough space to set up a territory) so moving the betta won't do any good. Bettas and gouramies are the worst possible mix as far as betta tankmates go. No matter how friendly they may act towards each other at first, one almost invariably changes its mind and goes on a killing spree. Taking the betta out and then re-introducing him may have one of two effects: solve the problem for a little while (a couple of days to a week) while he settles down again or trigger even more aggression as the betta attempts to re-claim a territory. Either way, the fish will all get extremely stressed for no good reason and the solution is not permanent. What I suggest you do is move the betta out for tonight (or temporarily anyway) until you can return those gouramies. Don't leave it too long as the gouramies will settle in themselves and start fighting between them as well.

 

[tekknocolor]

I agree with sylvia. Normally you should not keep too many top dwellers together in such small quarters.

 

[fobofobiac]

Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately, I can't return them. Looks like my husband's getting an addition to his tank. So what about tetras or Kuhli loaches? I really wanted to get the loaches in the first place. Any thoughts?

 

[Synirr]

You *might* be able to cram a couple of khulis in there as long as it's just them and the betta (no guppy fry), but African dwarf frogs are the best tankmate option for a 5 gallon in my opinion. Khuli loaches do like to move around a lot and really need more surface area than a 5 gallon can provide.