Dwarf Gouramis and Pearl Gouramis

[Ani]

Hiya, I have a pair of Pearl Gouramis who rock. They have really given me the gourami bug. I'd like to get a pair of dwarf gouramis to share their community tank (fin nippers banned of course!). Will they be friends or will they fight?

xx

 

[sylvia]

I assume the tank is cycled but what size is it, what other fish are in there and how many?

Are your pearls a male and female? Are you thinking of getting 2 male dwarfs, 2 female dwarfs or a male/female pair?

The simple answer to your question is that they will fight BUT a lot depends on your set-up and what you were considering exactly.

Just wondering also - how long has the tank been set up with fish and are there any tall/floating plants (either fake or real)?

 

[Ani]

I have a male and female Pearl Gourami and I would like a male and female Dwarf Gourami. I have a large 350 litre community tank. My Gouramis' tank mates are 9 red eye, 6 cardinal and 6 diamond tetras, 6 platies and one bristle nosed catfish. They all get along fine. My tank is 6 months old and I have tall Amazon sword plants. The large leaves have grown to the surface and have formed an umbrella effect. I also have water wisteria. I have just set up a small 38 litre tank which I had planned to use for breeding. It is a month old and I don't think it is mature enough for Dwarfs - I put some hardy red eyes in there on Sunday to kickstart the cycle. Perhaps it would be best to wait until this was a few months old and keep a pair of Dwarfs in there, separate from my Pearls?

 

[pebbles]

hi ani .... a difficult one , it will depend on the fishes temperaments . I have kept a pearl pair with dwarfs and they didn't get on well at all ,others I know have kept them together without problems .Safest to wait untill the other tank was ok for them so that you could move them into it if they didn't get on in the bigger tank ..

 

[Ani]

Thanks pebbles, that's good advice.

xx

 

[sylvia]

350 litres is about 85 gallons isn't it? That would be plenty (IMO) for 2 pearls and 2 dwarfs. However, a trio of dwarfs (1 male, 2 females) is a better combination to reduce stress on the females. If you keep pearls and dwarfs (well any gourami actualy) in too small a tank, they can't get along. I asked about other inhabitants and the age of the tank to make sure you have no compatibility issues and that this tank is mature enough for dwarfs but it sounds like you already have all that covered.

 

[Ani]

Hi Silvia,

Maths was never my strong point but I think you're right about the gallon conversion. It comes out about 90 gallons in my sum. Thanks for your advice. Interesting what you say about keeping two females Dwarfs to each male. I have noticed that my female Pearl hides quite a bit in the vegetation. Maybe it would be better for her if I invested in another female Pearl to bring her out of her shell a bit. She is only just reached adulthood. I bought her as a juvenile and raised her. My male is getting very interested in her but I think she is a bit scared of him.

xx

 

[trisha1972]

I intially had the problem wiht the males not only bullying their mates, but the other male as well. I took all males back except one. I have 3 opaline females, 2 snakeskin females, 1 snake skin male (because he seemed to be the "boss" of the males), 1 female pearl, 1 female sunset (I think is what it is. Red with a blue top fin.), 7 long finned gold danios, and 4 ghost shrimp in my tank. NO one fights. The biggest opaline tends to get a bit testy at feeding time, but no real problems. My tank is planted with live plants and a few slate caves.

 

[sylvia]

Yep Ani, another female pearl would also make a good addition (or more than one if you wish) but try to get one that's a similar size to those you already have to minnimize any innitial aggression (though pearls aren't too bad when it comes to this).

Trisha, it sounds like your 'female' sunset is actualy a male He's a dwarf gourami (colisa lalia). However, as this fish is not in the trichogaster genus (as opposed to all the other gouramies you have) he isn't as likely to be harassed as the other gouramies have fish of their own genus (trichogaster) to boss around and occupy themselves most with them. Gouramies tend to pay most attention to the fish to which they are most closely related. Generaly speaking though, pearls and dwarfs are not comparable to three-spots and snakeskins when it comes to aggression as, besides being smaller, they are a lot less territorial and much more peaceful. IME it's three-spot males (opaline, blue, gold, cosby, lavender and platinum simply being color morphs of this species) that are the most aggressive (though snakeskins get larger so it's no surprise that your dominant gourami is a male snakeskin. I would never again keep two male three-spots in the same tank once they have reached sexual maturity (they often fight to the death like bettas or stress each other out so much that they sucumb to disease).

 

[Ani]

Silvia, I got a new female Pearl today and my other girl is really happy. She isn't hiding and is busy showing the newcomer around every nook and cranny. The male thinks all his Christmas and birthdays have come early. He doesn't know which one he likes the best but has decided to go as orange as he possibly can

Thanks for all your help. I'm going to wait a while for the dwarfs.

xx