Could I Keep A Honey Gourami In A 2.5 Gallon Tank?

[MrNiceGuy]

this question is really to those that think its alright to keep a betta in a 2.5 gallon.

the tank is filtered and heated and pretty well decorated. planted with floating plants as well.

heres a picture ^^


you see, i want to keep a couple ghost shrimp in the tank too and everytime i try this with a betta, the betta ends up killing the shrimp or scaring them into constant hiding. i hear honey gouramis are more tolerant. they're also roughly the same size as bettas and theyre a very similar species with very similar needs.

any thoughts?

 

[SlyPolak]

You can keep LOADS of skrimps in there but i dont recommend ANY fish

 

[lilacamy931]

I would say no 5g minimum as it is moving requirements really that are required and not fair on the fish, it is a nice setup and would look great with the shrimp why not go for a couple of cherries for colour? My main concern is with the substrate, filter, heater, two large ornaments that 2.5g has is already less with that lot taking up water and swimming space.

EDIT to say alot of sites recommend 5g minimum for a single specimen though 10+ would be optimum.

 

[Curiosity101]

Just to add I had a pair of honeys in a 33gal and it used the entire tank, didn't stick to one area and in my opinion is relatively active. As an alternative something like a trio of sparkling/pygmy gouramis may be a possibility although I personally wouldn't put any fish in that tank.

 

[MrNiceGuy]

i dont recommend ANY fish

5g minimum as it is moving requirements really that are required and not fair on the fish

I personally wouldn't put any fish in that tank.

lol well, i appreciate the replies but the question was directed toward people that think its okay to keep a betta in a 2.5 gallon tank. i think all of you stated or implied that you do not.

but anyway, i scratched the honey gourami idea. the original plan to keep a nano community with a honey gourami, 5 ghost shrimp, an african dwarf frog, and a snail. but after thinking about it more, i think that'll be too much work to keep everyone fed and to constantly make sure all the shrimp are still alive. so i just went with one male betta. simple and easy. thanks for the replies again.

 

[SlyPolak]

Nice job not listening........... people that think its "ok" to keep something other than shrimp in there are wrong

 

[MrNiceGuy]

Nice job not listening........... people that think its "ok" to keep something other than shrimp in there are wrong

well... thats one opinion. i know how cruel it is for me to take that betta fish from its tiny little cup at petsmart and put him in my filtered heated planted tank, but i guess i'll just have to live with that guilt.

 

[SlyPolak]

GUILTY!

 

[Curiosity101]

well... thats one opinion. i know how cruel it is for me to take that betta fish from its tiny little cup at petsmart and put him in my filtered heated planted tank, but i guess i'll just have to live with that guilt.

^^ I'm not having a go, and so long as it's filtered and heated then that really is the main point. I think I'd rather advise a 2.5gal heated and filtered than say... a 20ltr bowl/unfiltered tank.
However for the record the little cups are temporary so cannot be compared to the permenant residence of the fish once it has been purchased and has become a pet. Also a wrong that is less wrong is still wrong. Not saying you're wrong cause let me just say again, so long as it's heated and filtered sufficiently then it will be safe for the fish long term and that the main thing I would ever want people to do when I give advice. But imo it's not really big enough to give reasonable stimulation and a reasonable amount of space to the fish long term and so I would say that justifying it by saying 'oh well it's better than the temporary cup' isn't good enough. If you want to keep it in the 2.5gal then fine... but just don't use the old 'it's better than the cup it came in' because that has been used so many times and just isn't comparable.

Btw if you'd like to put up pics I'd love to see them, sadly I don't have room for any betta tanks and with the fact I have to move backwards and forwards twice a year I couldn't feasibly have more than one tank. But if I did have room I reckon I'd be the betta worlds equivalent to the crazy cat lady. lol.

 

[Newguy122]

hi

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

well... thats one opinion. i know how cruel it is for me to take that betta fish from its tiny little cup at petsmart and put him in my filtered heated planted tank, but i guess i'll just have to live with that guilt.

It's more than opinion...it is fact.
The detail that too many fish tanks appear to confine their male Betta to tiny cubicles doesn't make it right. They do it to deliberately place male Betta next to each other, to make them flare at each other and hope that each fish is bought before they stress themselves out and die.

 

[Guest14017]

It's more than opinion...it is fact.
The detail that too many fish tanks appear to confine their male Betta to tiny cubicles doesn't make it right. They do it to deliberately place male Betta next to each other, to make them flare at each other and hope that each fish is bought before they stress themselves out and die.

Necro thread from over 10 years ago revived by a new user.

 

[Back in the fold]

There is an excellent article in the September / October 2021 issue of Tropical Fish Hobbyist about Betta care and the author tells why people think that Bettas can be kept in small containers. The same reason, in addition to the fact that anabantids take in supplementary atmospheric oxygen, applies to mistaken beliefs about Gouramis. In nature these fish become stranded in small pools after the rainy season and usually die there as the pools evaporate. The Honey Dwarf Gourami is an exquisite little fish that will thrive and show itself to its best in a well planted aquarium of at minimum ten gallons and preferably as a species only tank as it is a shy creature.

 

[Myraan]

Mine are kinda the opposite of shy. I mean they don't terrify the tank like my dwarf gourami used to, everyone basically ignores them but they only hide from each other and even then only for the 2 seconds it takes for the male to turn around and do something else.

A gourami is still a gourami.