Cant seem to keep gouramis alive!

[blinky]

I have had quite a few gouramis over the last 4 years but they all seem to survive for only a few weeks!! I have had mostly dwarf gourami, they seem fine for a couple of weeks, then slowly die!! I have got some neons,hatchet fish, danios and some things I cannot remember the name but they look a bit like tiger barbs, nice red colour but the guy in the shop really knew his stuff and when i was looking at barbs told me to get these instead as they dont fin nip!
So... I dont think I have a problem with the gouramis being bulied (they are the largest in the tank!), i have got quite a few silk plants for them to hide in, so what am I doing wrong?

 

[sylvia]

What size tank do you have? Maybe try keeping a three-spot (only one though - they can be nasty) as they are a lot hardier than dwarfs. They come in many colors too - blue, gold, opaline, cosby etc. They are the easiest gourami to keep. But before you try that, test your water to make sure you have 0 ammonia, nitrIte and a reading below 40 for nitrAtes and then make sure you have a few floating plants for cover (trust me) and feed a balanced diet but don't over-feed. If you do go for a three-spot, try to get a female (deeper-bodied, rounded dorsal fin) as they are less aggressive. I would actualy go as far as saying three-spots are hardy enough to cycle a tank with so deffinately try one of these before completely giving up on gouramies. None the less though, you should make sure the environment you are trying to keep the fish in is good enough for it as it's not fair on the fish to make it suffer just because it's hardy. Three-spots get to 5" so 20 gallons is minnimum. With the fish you have already, you probably need a 30 gallon or you'll be over-stocked. You should also probably also try to find out what kind of barb you have... it could be a red tiger (just a color morph), a cherry, rosy, checker, gold - there are so many - do a search on google and try to find out. Otherwise, post a pic.

 

[BigFishSmallPond]

i have had two powder blue dwarf gouramis for a month plus and they are doing great. (despite the lfs selling me two males for a ten gallon tank). They are fine in the ten but I have since moved them into the 25 gallon and they seem happier (being the males it gives the room to distance themselves) the tank is well planted and i feed them flake and peas for treats. Sorry to hear of your bad luck with them. They are very nice looking, and unique fish and dont seem to bother the other fish in the tank (3 otto and a small bala), dont give up on em .

 

[blinky]

I am not sure what the fish are I have, they are not barbs, they just look like them. I have got lots of plants etc. I dont have a problem with the other fish in tank , so dont think it is to do with levels etc, jst cannot seem to keep em alive! Are the dwarf gouramis a lot harder to keep than the others? I think the 3spots etc are a bit too big for my tank, it is only 30"X15"

 

[sylvia]

Do test your water to make sure everything is fine. Read the link in my signature about old tank syndrome if you want to see why I'm insisting even if your current fish are fine.

Dwarfs are a little more fragile than some other species but not to a great extent. If you think your tank's too small for a three-spot (how many gallons is it?), then try a trio of honey gouramies. They are quite hardy as well and just a slight bit smaller than dwarfs and very peaceful. Try to get a male and 2 females though young ones can be difficult to sex.