Gourami Vs Betta

[fionah]

Hello,

I have a newly cycled 65 litre (14 gallon) tank with an internal filter, heater, airstone, bogwood and some plants. The pH is about 7.6 at the moment.

I have just bought 4 corydoras who are settling in nicely.

In the LFS, my favourite fish that I have seen are gouramis and male bettas. I have heard mixed opinions on whether it is safe to keep both of these in a tank together. I would be grateful for any opinions of this.

Also, any recommendations of other suitable 'colourful' fish that would fit into the above set up?

Thanks.

 

[nakomis90]

with corys the betta is great....
gouramis may need more space than that

 

[bobross]

with corys the betta is great....
gouramis may need more space than that

... agreed. I can't think of many gouramis that I would recommend for a tank under 20 gallons(US). Also, with gouramis and bettas together in the same tank, you're risking some serious destruction of your betta's tail if you go with males of each. Well, with my experiences with them living together, anyways.


BobRoss

 

[Robotochan]

What about Honey Gouramis? My brother has kept a betta and one of them together for a year now, there was some initial posturing from the betta but they settled down within an hour.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

honey's too big for a 14 gal tank

only options are sparkling gouramis or chocolate gouramis IMHO

chocs won't like the pH of 7.6, however sparklers should be OK. and I don't think they'd bother the betta.

 

[Faythee]

I like the Dwarf Gouramis. Not sure if they can be kept with a betta though.

 

[fionah]

What about FEMALE bettas? Not as nice as the males, but still quite pretty. Would they get on with dwarf gouramis?

 

[Faythee]

According to this link, no to keeping gouramis with bettas

http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gourami

 

[ny2oz]

I actually have female bettas with male dwarf gourami's. The female seem to be afraid of the gouramis, but neither do harm to the other. Just seems unless you have a BIG tank, the females wont be happy and just fear the gouramis.

 

[MermaidMel]

I have female bettas in with a variety of gouramis, admittedly a 55 gallon planted. There is also a stowaway male in there who been there since a baby so the girls just co-exist with him but none of the gourami fight with him. It's a very harmonious happy home. However, that don't guarantee the same for you, especially in a 14 gallon

 

[Snowblind70]

I don't know much about Bettas, but do know about Wikipedia. Wouldn't neccessarily use it as the be-all and end-all of research - anyone can post anything up on that site!

Basically, I could edit it to say Gourami's are members of the Camelid family... It would stay there until someone else edit it out!

Just a warning...

 

[rossyt99]

Had a Male Betta in with some Honey Gourami for a while, without trouble, But then the Betta turned nasty and I had to re-home him...(Just a note of caution, as it may seem fine for months but then the harmony turns to aggression over-night.)

I would go with Gourami, as at least it gives you more options for tankmates in future. 3, or 1 ; as two usually means bullying by dominant one.