Gourami

[Moe]

I have been looking at gourami, either blue, flame or honey but my LFS only sells males. I was hoping to get a pair. Is it ok to get one male of each species or keep a male alone?

 

[Alien Anna]

That would be fine - gouramis aren't wild about their own kind, unless it's a mate anyway.

 

[flyhockey1037]

i kept a male powder blue gourami and a male flame gourami together in a 20 gallon for quite some time. there was the occasional tussle but nothing serious.

 

[AquaNut]

If you're talking about putting all three of them in the 20gal in your sig, I'd say it highly depends on how many other fish are already in there and how densely planted the tank is. Gouramis are very territorial and, although they seem to have varying personalities, some of them can be downright nasty. Although not written in stone by any means, it would not be out of the ordinary for a mid-sized gourami to claim most of the 20gal space as his own territory. This could lead to fatal turf wars. Sadly, this is not information I received in a book or from helpful staff at a lfs... it's information I base on my own trials and tribulations with gouramis in my first year of fish keeping. It all comes down to terrritory - if gouramis feel they have adequate territory, they are quite peaceful fish and very tolerant of one another. If not, they can and will kill one another and other fish. Just my humble opinion.

 

[Moe]

Thanks for advice. So far I have 4 german blue ram and 2 lelupe which are going back tomorrow due to more bad advice from LFS. I am never going to buy another fish on what they tell me. That's why I'm trying to research the gourami before I buy. All info I read talks about M/F pairs. I may just wait until I can find a pair or try to order online. I don't want to take a chance that males of different species will fight.

 

[Inchworm]

Moe,

Gouramis are scrappy fish. Right now I have a pair of blues (three spot) and two pearl females along with a bunch of other fish in a 20 gal. community tank. It is well planted and each gourami has its own territory staked out. They ignore the other fish.

True they chase each other, but, they do no harm. Perhaps that is because they are all mature and used to the situation. I have had pairs that fought until they had to be separated, though.

I have a lfs that only sells males of certain dwarf gouramis. When I asked why he said that's the only way he could buy them. I've also read that males in a group were peaceful with each other.

Try other stores in your area even if you might have to drive a ways. The standard size gourami should be available, by the pair, somewhere; they are by no means rare fish. And an auto trip with you will be easier on them than being shipped all around by strangers.

 

[Moe]

OK I got one flame gourami. He is absolutely beautiful. I think I 'm going to leave it at just one. In a few weeks I'm planning on adding some cory and a bristlenose or small pleco and call the tank done.

 

[Inchworm]

Oooooohhhh Nooooooooooo!

I hope I did not discourage you about the gouramis, Moe. They are really nice fish. But, every kind of fish has its own characteristics and gouramis tend to be possessive of their own territory.

If you put plants or other decorations to create individual "neighborhoods" for them they will be fine. They are beautiful and worth the trouble it will take to create a happy environment for them.

 

[Alien Anna]

OK I got one flame gourami. He is absolutely beautiful. I think I 'm going to leave it at just one. In a few weeks I'm planning on adding some cory and a bristlenose or small pleco and call the tank done.

I think that's a good decision - I had a pearl gourami in my livebearer tank for a while and before that she was the only fish in a snail breeding tank and she was lovely. Sadly, she died during the heatwave when her water quality plummetted

However, I have a pair of pearls in my community tank still and I'm very fond of them.

 

[Moe]

Inch - No I think your advice was prudent. It's better to have one happy fish then a bunch of cramped unhappy fish. So far the gourami is great. Its only been one day and he is already my favorite fish.