Female Betta And Sparkling Gourami

[windandfire12]

My niece has a female betta. She's had her since last year after her male passed away. I got it for her after she had same day surgery as a surprise.

I want to get her a Sparkling Gourami if I can find one. Will these 2 species get along, or is this going to be a disaster?

Should I just keep the female alone or will the female betta attack the gourami?

 

[sylvia]

Yes, the betta will almost definitely attack the gourami. I have seen female bettas in sorority tanks kept with croaking gouramies - but croakers are larger than sparklers and the female bettas were in a group to begin with so used to having other gouramies around. At the moment, even if you just added another female betta, a disaster would be almost inevitable. But even in a group, I wouldn't risk it.

 

[VampirePlec]

female bettas are best kept in groups of 6, if they are they can be kept easily with other fish, i have kept them with dwarf gouramis fine, but alot of people will disagree what i have said, i am just going by my own experiance.

 

[fishlette]

i dont mean to contradict everyone but i keep twp female bettas in my community tank that contains gouramis and various tetras. NEVER have i seen the bettas attack or even show aggresion towards anyone else. in my experience only the males show agression. this is the first time i have ever heard that female bettas should be kept in groups of 6.

even at work we keep female bettas in a tank with gouramis. we dont sell many females so we usually only have about 3-4 at a time and even at work there are no signs whatsoever of agression. i understnd people may have had probs before but i dont think this should be taken as 'you cant keep bettas with gouramis cause they WILL fight'. i guess if you get a grumpy girl on a bad day she may show some signs of agression but all in all i find them incredibly peaceful in a community tank

 

[sylvia]

The concensus amongst betta keepers is that the minnimum for a female group is 4. The more the better.

The reason is obvious - the fish form hierarchies and the more you have, the more the aggression is spread out. With, say, just two, one will inevitably be more dominant than the other and will therefore be likely to bully her.

It is also agreed that keeping bettas with other gouramies is a bad idea - not necessarily because the bettas will attack. In many cases the problem is that the bettas will provoke an attack - and consequently be injured or even killed. This is more an issue with larger species. With smaller ones like sparkling gouramies, the danger is for the sparklers and in the case of fish like dwarfs, the problem is their susceptibility to disease brought on by stress. Even if the bettas don't attack it, mild bullying or chasing can actually lead to a dwarf's death.

I think there are many cases when you can go against generally agreed guidelines and things will work out fine. But the reason they are generally agreed is because, in the majority of cases, they apply. It is not worth the risk to try something new and play with your fish's lives when it almost certainly won't work out.

 

[VampirePlec]

i have heard between 4 and 6, 6 being better but i have kept them in 2s n 3s n had no problems. i have also kept male bettas in community tanks, even with gouramis, and had no problems. just hope i have the same luck with the Paradise fish male i have wiht my angel atm, btw i do hvae a tank on standby incase anything happens.

 

[fishlette]

i have heard between 4 and 6, 6 being better but i have kept them in 2s n 3s n had no problems. i have also kept male bettas in community tanks, even with gouramis, and had no problems. just hope i have the same luck with the Paradise fish male i have wiht my angel atm, btw i do hvae a tank on standby incase anything happens.

hi vampire

where in brissie are you? im i brissie girl too ever fell guilty these days when you do a water change lol

next bit isnt aimed at you vampire....

anyhoo, my view is, no matter how much people jump up and down saying this that and the other, is that you learn from your own experiences. people can sya this has worked for me and that has worked for me and bettas keepers say this and that (what am i, i just keep bettas and arent a betta keeper) anyhoo, some things work for some people and some things dont. as long as you have a tank you can move anyone to in case f emergencies then you can work with such expereinces. i know there is one person in particular who is probably going to have issues with me after this but i feel as though some people on here go this hasnt worked for me and someone else says it doesnt so this is a rule of thumb. i dont believe in this. while listening to advice is invaluable sometimes i think there are some expereinces that can surpass other things. ive said it before and ill say it again...i have 2 bettas in a tank with 7 gouramis, a mix of tetras, kuhli loaches, bn plecs, endler guppies and standard guppies and NO ISSUES AT ALL...EVER...NEVER HAVE BEEN. my bettas are the sweetest quietest ones in the tank and dont suffer any ill effect from it. no one fights...i am so happy i have a harmonious community tank and would i have that if i had gouramis and bettas fighting...i think not!

find what works for you. listen to experiences and take it on board yet at the end of the day if something works for you dont stop it because someone else says 'oh no, dont do that'

for those who are up in arms right now, im sorry but this is how i see things. i may have limited posts and be new here but there are certain things i have seen for myself and these include the fact that female bettas (ALL that i have owned) are sweet little things. they dont provoke nor do they EVER become involved in tank spats. i can be told as sternly as anyone likes that this wont work but on more than one occasion i have proved to myself that this just isnt the case.

*prepares for an onslaught of backlash*

 

[VampirePlec]

i so agree with that, people learn from there own experience statement! just cause it says in a book or on the net that it cant be done means it cant be done, this is just a guid line, i kept fighter fish with gouramis with no problems. unfortunantly my paradise fish didnt last in the tnak, but it was cause of the angel attacking him. all fish keeping is trial and error, sometimes even the best 'combonations' dont work out as expected either, plus every one has their own opinions on wat will work and wat wont, i never give out tank info like tank size because i know there will be one person that will snap about it.
hi Fishlette, im north of bris, work in the city, where bouts are you? yes i do feal guilty but my fish are my babys n will do almost anything for them, even if its using more water than i should, lol wont the councel be happy when i finally get my upgrades lol, but hey there are all these buissness that cauld be using recycled water for concrette or watever but are to lasy to go get it, thats a waste, but a fish ( or heaps hehehe) are living things n need water to survive so then how can that water be a waste? most of my fish i had before most of the water restrictions took place and i do plan to upgrade, for my fishies sake.

 

[fishlette]

i so agree with that, people learn from there own experience statement! just cause it says in a book or on the net that it cant be done means it cant be done, this is just a guid line, i kept fighter fish with gouramis with no problems. unfortunantly my paradise fish didnt last in the tnak, but it was cause of the angel attacking him. all fish keeping is trial and error, sometimes even the best 'combonations' dont work out as expected either, plus every one has their own opinions on wat will work and wat wont, i never give out tank info like tank size because i know there will be one person that will snap about it.
hi Fishlette, im north of bris, work in the city, where bouts are you? yes i do feal guilty but my fish are my babys n will do almost anything for them, even if its using more water than i should, lol wont the councel be happy when i finally get my upgrades lol, but hey there are all these buissness that cauld be using recycled water for concrette or watever but are to lasy to go get it, thats a waste, but a fish ( or heaps hehehe) are living things n need water to survive so then how can that water be a waste? most of my fish i had before most of the water restrictions took place and i do plan to upgrade, for my fishies sake.

thanks for the support on that

im southside. holland park. i work at amazing pets and aquariums in sherwood. i feel the same about the water thing. ive had some issues in the last week in my 160L tank and have been doing 25% water changes daily and as much as i feel a little guilty i wouldnt not do it because of the water restrictions.

 

[VampirePlec]

think i have been there a few times ( pets and aquarium sherwood), my bf lives over the southside, so many more fish places there than near me.

 

[fishlette]

think i have been there a few times ( pets and aquarium sherwood), my bf lives over the southside, so many more fish places there than near me.

thats one thing the southside boasts...lots of good places for fishies

getting off topic now i suppose and im sure someone will tell us off soon hehe however, you should come in and say hi sometime

 

[sylvia]

Fishlette, no one has denied that there are exceptions to 'guidelines' (I don't like calling them 'rules') but that is beside the point. Generaly speaking, guidelines exist in the first place because they work for the majority of cases. Any one of us may be an exception (I, for example, owned a very aggressive pearl gourami - amongst other oddities). BUT, you have to ask yourself, is it worth the risk? When you decide to ignore or stretch a guideline, you are bargaining on you being the exceptional case. I suppose to answer that question you need to look at all possible outcomes and then decide whether what you stand to gain outweighs the risk of the worst outcome (probably the fish's death). It's very subjective from that point on and, of course, depends on the particular situation.

 

[VampirePlec]

yes you look at all possible out comes, but your never gonna know if you dont try, and when, if you do decide to try it, you keep a very close eye on everything and make sure you have a back up that can be used straight away if a problem occurs. Fishlette u have a beautiful tank, are those real plants? i have wanted to go into real plants ( mine arer fake) but for the life of me cauldnt keep them little weedy ones so thought i mit give real plants a miss this time. i have a pearl gourami and she is the most placid thing i have ever seen, but she is getting old and now relay starting to show it.

 

[fishlette]

yes you look at all possible out comes, but your never gonna know if you dont try, and when, if you do decide to try it, you keep a very close eye on everything and make sure you have a back up that can be used straight away if a problem occurs. Fishlette u have a beautiful tank, are those real plants? i have wanted to go into real plants ( mine arer fake) but for the life of me cauldnt keep them little weedy ones so thought i mit give real plants a miss this time. i have a pearl gourami and she is the most placid thing i have ever seen, but she is getting old and now relay starting to show it.

when i look for my gouramis to help insure tank peace i watch them all for a while. if someone is a bully he has no chance. if i see one or two that are quiet and staying out of the way these are the ones i get. maybe this helps. i resent the thought that i would put my fishes safety at risk. what ive been trying to say all the way through is that until recently i had never heard about not keeping bettas and gouramis together. even from breeders i know. i have had many different ones over the times and no issues so you cant blame me for encouraging monitored trials of these things. if people watch closely and step in before issues get bad then no fish should die. every pet shop i know will take a fish back if he/she is causing issues. anyway i am not going to go abck and forth over this anymore. i have said what has worked foir me with different ones all bought at different times from different shops and still no issues and thats what it comes down to for me. maybe we breed them friendlier in australia

anyway thanks vampireplec. it looks different to that now. i have swapped the gravel for sand which has made a huge difference. yes all the plants are real. i just use a special globe in my light and some plant food and the grow like mad especially since i put sand in

 

[VampirePlec]

lol i laughed at my bf when he baught plant food for his plants, lol guesse he isnt as crazy as i thought.