Decision Time

[AllenLeicester]

Im trying to get my stock list complete and deffinetly want Gouramis in there, Just dont know what type. Been told Thick lipped are the most easy and peaceful,But i love dwarf gourami but also read that they are a nightmare to keep?


Advice ?

 

[poopsydrew]

Im trying to get my stock list complete and deffinetly want Gouramis in there, Just dont know what type. Been told Thick lipped are the most easy and peaceful,But i love dwarf gourami but also read that they are a nightmare to keep?


Advice ?

Dont get Dwarf Gouramis they are all diseased as you have read. There are all kinds of different gouramis that would be suitable just look in the fish species index. I always reccomend the pearl gouramis.

Drew

 

[matt295]

what size tank as that is an impact on the species you can keep. i love pearl gouramis, they are very beatiful. also chocalate gouramis are nice but are difficult to keep. sparkling gouramis are also very beatiful.

 

[Biulu]

Yes, dwarfs are very prone to stress related diseases, and many have had problems with them (including me). HOwever, there is a big choice out there: the least agressive are the pearls, thick-lipped and honeys (basically the same size as dwarfs and many colour varieties). Sparkling gouramis are also not difficult to keep and relatively small. They make a croaking sound, just as the croaking gourami. Chocolates are more difficult, then there are the kissing gouramis, which are bigger and more agressive, just like the blue spot, which is hardy, but also very agressive.

You see, there is a choice for everybody !

 

[-germ-]

Yeah i'd leave the chocolates alone, i know of 2 people in the past week who've had these die on them after putting them into fairly new (but cycled) tanks.
IMO they need perfect water and a fairly mature tank. I wouldn't consider them an easy gourami to keep.
Dwarves can be shockingly aggressive, even the females. Plus they are liable to die on your for seemingly no reason at all, or worse, with iridovirus.
Honeys are a good choice as well, thick lips i've already spoken to you about, don't know about pearls i'm considering getting one myself in the near future after all the good things i've read about them.
Sparklings should be straightforward but i rarely see them stocked at the LFS.

 

[Scotch_Egg]

I keep both honey and thick-lipped and have had no problems. i once had a pair of blood red honey gouramis and they about ripped eachover to peices so stay away from the red ones.

 

[-germ-]

Yeah, with both honey and dwarf gourami, you need to keep a ratio of 2 females to every male.
2 males alone together with either of these species is not a good idea. If you have more than one male in the tank with these species make sure there is plenty of cover, hiding places. I'd advise against it.
You can always mix gourami species though;
In my gourami tank i have 4 thick lips m+f, 2 f honeys, 1 m honey, 1 female dwarf (one died recently)....