Mixing Dwarf Gouramis

[oneponygirl]

Hello all! I just treated myself with a new 29 gallon tank, still small for a lot of you I know but fun for me. I'll be moving my neons (7), dainty corys (4 or 5), cherry barbs (3) and single male dwarf gourami into it today. Given time I would like to add just a few more inches of fish and was wondering about a different colored dwarf, like the sunset/flame gourami. Any input on compatability, numbers and male v. female would be great!

Also, if anybody has any other recommendations for additions besides the gourami I would welcome that too. I'm open to getting something else entirely and want to consider what else would be fun and colorful. Thanks!

 

[pokagon55]

IMO, just make sure the tank is well estabilished. Dwarf grouamis are terrtorial and will disput with each other and sometimes will kill each other. They will stake out their own and will chase out others. I have two,one red and one blue, in a 46 gal. and they give chase to one another so be careful. Rasbora's are colorful fish so are they serpea tetra's. I have a yellow guppy and a blue guppy. (not dyied)

 

[sylvia]

All dwarf gouramies are the same species (Colisa lalia) so the color of the fish is irrelevant.

Male dwarfs, as was said, are territorial fish. When they are kept together, particularly in twos where the aggression can't be split between several fish, one will tend to be dominant over the other and can realy stress the subordinate male out if the tank is small.

While 29 gallons is a good size for dwarf gouramies, you ahve to consider that the one you already own will be settled down and have established the tank as 'his' territory. Any newcomer gouramies will be treated as 'intruders' and they won't have much of a chance to settle in. This is extremely stressful and, particularly with fragile, vulnerable fish like dwarfs, can lead to serious disease and, potentialy, death.

You can sometimes get round this by re-aranging the tank's content just before you add the new fish. That way, the established individual also feals as if he is a 'newcomer' to the, now unfamiliar, tank. However, this doesn't always work long-term and you still have the problem of having only two (so aggression will be concentrated on the less dominant fish as opposed to being split between several less dominant individuals).

What I'm getting at is that, if you realy want some dwarf gouramies to complete your tank, you could get yourself a couple of females. Females are not territorial and will be welcomed by the male (though he will chase them around) as potential mates. By having two, the male's attention is split between them so neither becomes particularly stressed. re-aranging the tank before the addition of the females is still a good idea as it'll give them more of a chance to familiarise themselves with the new environment before the male makes an impression on them.

The obvious downside to females is that they are not colorful and that they can be difficult to get hold of.

As far as different species of fish go, I'd suggest some colorful livebearers - a trio of swordtails or platies for example (avoid mollies though - they tend to dislike gouramies). For something more 'unique', perhaps a pair of rams or a trio of american-flag fish. There are also many mid-dwelling species of gourami you could try - the most obvious being the croaking gourami and sparkling gourami. Both species do well in groups of 3+ with 2 or more females per male. Croakers grow to about 2-2.5", sparklers to half that. Because of their different habits, they won't clash with your existing dwarf gourami.

 

[tarheel]

I just finished getting rid of a dwarf gourami because I had two males in a 20G. It was planted and I added them together but, one fish was dominant and was beating the tar out of the other so I had to give one up.
Stick with something else, or get females. Just my opinion

 

[oneponygirl]

Thanks for the info. I rather figured the colors made no difference, kind of like my bettas being all different colors. But I also know my bettas can't be mixed so I just thought I would check. I am looking into other fishes too but my research is stymied by the fact that we just moved (we haven't even been here a week) and I made a deal with myself that I can't go to the library until we're unpacked. I set up my new tank yesterday but now I need to get cracking on boxes again. I did my new tank before I even unpacked my kitchen. At least my fishes are settled in their new home. My cherry barbs are exstatic and my dainty corys are swimming all over and they only hid in my last tank. Anyway, thanks again!

 

[DazedNCoNfUsEd]

Hey I just wanted to reiterate about the 2 Male Dwarf Gouramis. I have two in my 29 Gal and they do fight. It seems like its getting worse, I have a picture a few posts down of where it looks like one took a chunk out of the other one during a scuffle. So right now I'm trying to find one of them a new home. Point being I wouldn't risk it.

 

[oneponygirl]

No problem. I am currently shopping for other types of fish I'm just waiting for my guys to settle in my new tank and for my problem with my dying neons to work itself out before adding anybody else. Thanks!