Dwarf Gourami

[gmen5681]

Right now i have a 90 gallon fish tank with many caves built with rocks and plants. Now all i have in it is a 12" pleco (soon to get rid of) and today i bought 15 Dwarf Gourami along with a blue lobster (the Hammers colbalt blue lobster, so actually a crayfish) and of course i want more fish. i have a 300 gallon per hour filter on it and do water changes once a week (25% water changes) So my question is, is 15 to many? they are all full grown (2-2.5 inches long) I was hoping to get more to fill up the tank a little bit better.

PS: Ol' Blue is amazing! (that would be my lobster)

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Too many, IMO.

They are aggressive fish and I normally suggest a pair (less aggressive towards one another, and less territorial) per 30 gallons. If you have hiding places and the like, you could have a few, but I would think that 15 is a lot.

Are they all male?

 

[gmen5681]

Too many, IMO.

They are aggressive fish and I normally suggest a pair (less aggressive towards one another, and less territorial) per 30 gallons. If you have hiding places and the like, you could have a few, but I would think that 15 is a lot.

Are they all male?

they are both male and female. more male than female?

 

[evilbunny]

gosh u bought 15 dwarf gourami ?
i'm too scared to even put in one more with mine, i've read so many horrible things about having more than one in a space that's not big enough to accomodate them, that and i can't get females

so i would say too many, but that's just me with not enough fish knowledge and the big scardy cat in me that thinks even with one more they'll start fighting and kill each other

 

[gmen5681]

i dont understand. ive had the fish for over 24 hours now. they seem very comfortable, and i have never seen any of them fight. i do see they are territorial tho. but there are soooo many places for them to go they are fine. there are tons of plants, tons of rocks, and i have floating plants as well to accomadate them. everyone has their own spot, and everyone is doing fine. im sure everything will be alright.

 

[Phantom Thief]

Well, wait a while until they have fully settled down, and if they still do fine, then it's ok.

Doubt it though.

P.T.

 

[sylvia]

I'm going to disagree with everyone and say that it is manageable but don't get any more. Dwarf gouramies are not as bad as say three-spots, and though the males are territorial, any fights are quick and usualy harmless. I do reccomend replacing some of the males with females though as males, besides territorial disputes, will chase the females constantly and you should try to keep about 2 females for every male to devide aggression. That should also even out any limmited aggression the males display over territory. Do keep in mind that, though they like the top layers, dwarf gouramies will spend time lower down in the tank and 90 gallons is plenty of room for 15 2-inch fish. Provided that not all fish are male and that the females out-number the males, you should not encounter any serious difficulty with them. providing adequate cover - particularly tall-growing and floating plants, will help too. Having said that, you may find that you have a fish that is very aggressive or that is very often picked on. Gouramies are like that - within one species you get so many individual characters - so exactly how some of those individuals will act can be unpredictable. If you do find this, replace that fish with another until you have a compatible group.

 

[gmen5681]

I'm going to disagree with everyone and say that it is manageable but don't get any more. Dwarf gouramies are not as bad as say three-spots, and though the males are territorial, any fights are quick and usualy harmless. I do reccomend replacing some of the males with females though as males, besides territorial disputes, will chase the females constantly and you should try to keep about 2 females for every male to devide aggression. That should also even out any limmited aggression the males display over territory. Do keep in mind that, though they like the top layers, dwarf gouramies will spend time lower down in the tank and 90 gallons is plenty of room for 15 2-inch fish. Provided that not all fish are male and that the females out-number the males, you should not encounter any serious difficulty with them. providing adequate cover - particularly tall-growing and floating plants, will help too. Having said that, you may find that you have a fish that is very aggressive or that is very often picked on. Gouramies are like that - within one species you get so many individual characters - so exactly how some of those individuals will act can be unpredictable. If you do find this, replace that fish with another until you have a compatible group.

thank you so much. you are the first one to actually give me information rather than just saying "no you cant do it" there is a way to do everything. and i fiugured its a big tank with lots of hiding spots they will be fine. but thank you very much. i do need to switch out some of the males tho...even though they are the good looking ones. but once again, thank you so much.

 

[FanOFish]

I agree with Sylvia, especially important is to know that dwarfs have individual personalities and sometimes some may need to be replaced with others.