Honey Gourami

[Barneykirk3]

Hi

I have a 125 litre 80cm tank. I am going to have harlequin rasboras, neon tetras and corys in it. I am going to put in Honey Gourami but not sure how many I need. Is it 1 male to 2 female?

 

[Essjay]

Either a pair or 1m 2 f is fine.

 

[Tony blazer]

I would get the red flame gourami instead of a honey gourami. Their temperaments almost the same and size but in my opinion they are a more beautiful fish with more vibrant orange red color honey and I feel they are a bit more active fish to observe in your aquarium.

1. Dwarf Red flame gourami
2. Dwarf Honey gourami
3. Paradise gourami - more aggressive
4. Dwarf powder blue gourami
5. Dwarf gourami standard - more aggressive

There's a little FYI for you I was very confused for a while on the various dwarf gouramis.

 

[Munroco]

I purchased four "sunset honey gouramis the other week. lovely wee fish but I reckon all the stock in the shop were males. They are getting along fine in a 2 foot tank atm. No aggression seen so far. I've just done a major renovation and replant on my main tank and they will be going in there once the plants grow a bit more.

To be pedantic. The paradise fish isn't a gourami although it is an anabantid.

 

[Tony blazer]

I purchased four "sunset honey gouramis the other week. lovely wee fish but I reckon all the stock in the shop were males. They are getting along fine in a 2 foot tank atm. No aggression seen so far. I've just done a major renovation and replant on my main tank and they will be going in there once the plants grow a bit more.

To be pedantic. The paradise fish isn't a gourami although it is an anabantid.

What type of plants do you have in your tank. Guamese will definitely eat soft air plants for example water Sprite water wisteria and anacharis they will definitely eat.

 

[Tony blazer]

I believe you are mistaken paradise fish are part of the gourami family.

Paradise fish (Macropodus opercularis) are a freshwater species belonging to the Osphronemidae family. They are a type of gourami so they are also known as paradise gourami. ... Here you can find them in most bodies of freshwater. People are often put off this species because of their aggressive nature.De

 

[Essjay]

All the colour varieties of dwarf gourami ( the first, fourth and fifth of your images) are prone to dwarf gourami disease. Unless you can source healthy stock I would leave any type of dwarf gourami well alone.
Honey gouramis are a different species despite some shops calling them dwarf honey or honey dwarf gouramis.

Dwarf gouramis are Trichogaster lalius and the most common colour variants are natural (photo 5), red (photo 1) and blue, also called powder blue (photo 4). The photos show males; females are silver with perhaps a hint of diagonal stripes.

Honey gouramis are Trichogaster chuna. The common colour variants are the natural colour (tan male, beige female), yellow (which often has orange towards the tail) and red - note that the red honey gourami does not have the blue dorsal fin which a male red dwarf gourami has.

Photo 3 is a paradise fish, a labyrinth fish but not usually classed as a gourami. It needs cooler water than most tropical fish.

 

[Barneykirk3]

A shop near me has sparkling gourami. Are they prone to the disease at all?

 

[Essjay]

It's mainly the dwarf gourami that has health issues. Sparkling gouramis are fine.

 

[Munroco]

I believe you are mistaken paradise fish are part of the gourami family.

Paradise fish (Macropodus opercularis) are a freshwater species belonging to the Osphronemidae family. They are a type of gourami so they are also known as paradise gourami. ... Here you can find them in most bodies of freshwater. People are often put off this species because of their aggressive nature.De

Bettas are also part of the Osphronemidae family but I wouldn't class them as gourami's IMO paradise fish are in the same category.

 

[Tony blazer]

This is a very good guide for gourami care

Dwarf Gourami: Tropical Fish Species Profile

The dwarf gourami is one of the most beautiful freshwater aquarium fish, and definitely the most beautiful gourami. Dwarf gouramis continue to rise in popularity among fishkeepers and aquarists due to their beauty and resilience.

www.fishkeepingworld.com

Yes they are all in the same overall genus they are all pretty much the same species with variations but overall the same. You know I know there is such a wide range of information and opinions about keeping dwarf gouramis as well as information keeps changing for for example of Pluto is no longer considered a planet. Scientists always change update downgrade information overtime.

The bottom line it comes down to the individual fish themselves how they interact with other members of its own species and other species in the tank. Yes certain conditions are needed for example hardness or softness of water pH levels but we all know that can be a very wide range. Remember my motto agree to disagree and you can have a conversation with anyone. The reason why I joined this forum is to exchange ideas of other people within the hobby but like my father always told me there is no right way to do something there's only a wrong way especially when it comes keeping fish in an aquarium.

 

[Tony blazer]

Currently, about 133 species are recognised, placed in four subfamilies and about 15 genera. The name Polyacanthidae has also been used for this family. Some fish now classified as gouramis were previously placed in family Anabantidae. The subfamily Belontiinae was recently demoted from the family Belontiidae.


This is a really good article about gourami including her recently the kissing gourami is not really considered a a true gourami like I said scientists keep on changing updating downgrading species all the time.

Gourami Fish Types and Species Aquarium Guide

There are numerous different types of Gouramis and this guide goes through 15 of the most popular species. The thing about the Gourami species of fish is there are so many different traits that follow this genus. One species can grow up to to a foot long with lots of aggression while others grow...

gourami-fish.com

 

[Tony blazer]

It's mainly the dwarf gourami that has health issues. Sparkling gouramis are fine.

Most fish that are raised in fish farms have health issues because of all the antibiotics color enhancement chemicals and over stocking in the hatcheries.

 

[Essjay]

The disease we need to worry about is dwarf gourami iridovirus. Most of the dwarf gouramis coming out of the far east used to be infected with it, and a lot still are. Being a virus, it's incurable.

 

[Tony blazer]

I never had major issues dwarf gouramis alive average is two to three years in my experience for a 4-7 Dollar fish it's worth it because of the beauty size and overall temperament of the fish. Now I think there are more issues with German Rams and breathing issues but that doesn't stop me from getting them and there are a little more expensive 8-20 dollar fish. I have been attempting to get to electric blue Rams blue frost Rams or black Rams you will not find them in your local box stores but every time I go to my LFS the shipment always has issues with diseases ie ick ECT. Still waiting for a good shipment