Dwarf Gouramis

[purplechibi]

I heard a rumor that dwarf gouramis are bad to put with small peaceful fish becuase they are bullies and will bite the other fish's fins. Is this true? bc everywhere i look it says that they are good tankmates for peaceful fish, also do they reproduce quickly if you have a pair? Does anyone have a reason I shouldn't get them? )

 

[akitty6552]

Dwarf gouramis are usually okay, however there are times where they can be a little nippy. It all depends on the fish really. I have found that most gouramis are only aggressive towards other gouramis because males can be slightly territorial. However, it really depends on what you have in your tank whether or not I'd try it as they usually are a fairly peaceful fish. I'm not sure about the breeding...

 

[sylvia]

If you keep 2 male dwarf gouramies and a trio of guppies in a five gallon - of course they will be nippy! Honestly, this is the sort of situation such rumours stem from. If you keep dwarf gouramies in teh correct environment, they are very peaceful fish and will rarely even chase anything (except at breeding time when the males defend their bublenest from all intruders). If you want to keep a single male dwarf in a community, 10 gallons is generaly the minnimum (it depends though - there are exceptions). They like floating plants and plenty of places to hide away and establish a territory. If a dwarf male feels threatened, he will turn aggressive. The best way to keep most gouramies peaceful is by ensuring they are in a peaceful environment in the first place where no other fish is going to challenge their territory or hierarchy. As such, dwarf gouramies tend to be most aggressive towards other dwarfs as those are the fish they compete with most for territory. It is the males that are territorial so if you want a couple of males, for example, a 20 gallon tank at least is reccomended. Also, the males do chase the females somewhat and this can be stressful for the girls so I would say you should keep 2 females for every male. They can also be kept as pairs in heavily planted tanks. If the reason you have in mind for NOT getting a dwarf is aggression, I would say forget that and go for it (provided you have a suitable tank to put one (or more) in). The rumour you mentioned is realy unfounded - probably based one someone's bad experience with trying to keep a dwarf in unsuitable circumstances. A reason I CAN suggest for not getting a dwarf is that they are very inbred, tend to have slightly weaker immune systems than other gouramies and so are prone to itnernal bacterial infections. HOWEVER, with good care and provided you buy a healthy specimen in the first place, even dwarfs can live for up to 7 years and are wonderful, rewarding fish to keep.

As regards breeding, if you get a trio or pair (in at least a 20 gallon realy) the male may well build a bubble nest and they may well spawn BUT the eggs/fry will not survive - they will get eaten, sucked up by the filter and starve. If you are looking to breed gouramies, you'll need a seperate breeding tank. Fry in a community will not survive. Do a search of the forum - there are plenty of threads regarding the breeding of gouramies and I think there is also a pinned topic about dwarfs in particular and I remember StrotiumDog (hope I spelled that right - sorry if I didn't) posted a thread about some dwarf gouramies breeding and all about raising the fry. There were links to pictures of the grown up fish too.

 

[purplechibi]

Well, I hope I made the right decision, but I just went and bought a pair of dwarf gouramies. Thanks for all the advice everyone! (they're so pretty) I wasn't planning on breeding them, so they should be fine in my community.