Mixing Gouramis?

[abarnswell]

Hi, All

I am setting up a species tank with Gouramis. I'm starting with Honey Gold Dwarf Gouramis. They tend to be rather shy and very peaceful. The ones I have my eye on at the LFS spend all their time hiding in the plastic plants.

Can they be mixed with larger Gouramis species, such as Opaline or Gold, or should I stick just with only dwarf species of Gouramis?

FYI -- I am using real plants in my aquarium, too. I read that Gouramis like plants.

Thanks for any advice!

April

 

[AquaNut]

Hi abarnswell and welcome to the forum

Opinions on gouramis (like everything else in fishkeeping) vary greatly. In my experience, most gouramis are extremely territorial fish who can be quite aggressive, particularly towards other gouramis. How big is your tank? Opalines, in particular, are pretty nasty. Also, golds are a colour variation of the same type of gourami. You can have a male/female pairing of one of the blue varieties (opaline, gold, three spot etc), but unless you have a huge tank, I wouldn't recommend putting two males into the same tank. In fact, my largest opaline gourami killed any gourami I tried to put with him (I was a newbie at the time and since the lfs said it should be okay, I just kept trying more gouramis). Some people claim that you can put lots of dwarf gouramis in one tank, but I didn't find that to be the case, either. Before I had my opaline, I had two dwarf gouramis. One promptly killed the other, then the second was obliterated by the opaline upon his arrival. I would recommend that you add gouramis with great caution, and be prepared to remove them quickly if they are being harassed. This can be difficult to determine, however, as a certain amount of territorial behaviour is natural and to be expected.

 

[nene]

Pearl Gouramis are very peaceful. I have two in a community tank with White Clouds, Platys, and Corys. They sometimes chase each other but no harm is ever done. I have never seen them chase or harass any of the other fish.

 

[Inchworm]

Hello, abarnswell

I'm always happy to meet someone who likes gouramis!

In a community tank. gouramis are usually good citizens. But among themselves they tend to be somewhat territorial. That is why it is good to have plants to divide the tank into little areas so that each one can claim a space if his or her own. Plants also provide hiding places when needed.

Opaline, Gold and Blue(three spot) gouramis have the worst reputations for aggression, but I've had a Platinum male that was so unruly that to get him away from the others I had to send him to live with the goldfish. Others, though, are said to be peaceful, even timid. These include the Moonlight and Thick lip gouramis.

What I might suggest you do, is either introduce them all into the tank at the same time or take out the plants and replant in a different pattern to rearrange the tank when you add new ones. This breaks up established territories and makes them all think they are in a new place. Then they can all claim their own places.

Now, this all makes sense, and I've seen it myself, but, I've also seen gouramis in the fish shops crowded into tanks with no plants and these fish were not fighting or having problems of any sort. Go figure!

Good luck with your tank. Please let me know how it works out.