putting together a strictly gouramis tank

[Sky042]

Are there any breeds of gouramis not compatible with each other. This is going to be a tank with nothing other than gouramis in it.
Thanks

 

[Mesome]

My tank is: 1 male opaline, 1 female gold, i female platinum, 2 pearl, 2 paradise, 6 dwarf neon rainbows, 3 julii corys. All are fairly small and will be moved into a 75 gallon soon. I hear that moonlights are pretty peaceful, like pearls. Having a school is nice to add distractions/reduce aggressions. Try and get smaller 3 spot varieties then timid ones. Makes a beautiful tank!!!!!! I love mine!!!! I have been looking everywhere for banded gouramis (colisa fasciata) can't find them, and I'd like to add snakeskins when I get a bigger tank.

 

[dannykerbles]

good choice to set up an all gourami tank...i my gouramis.....

But sad to say i have had a death and a flame has gone MIA...

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Sky042

If you are not planning on breeding gouramis, I suggest you buy all females.

Males gouramis tend to be very territorial, but females seem to get along as a group. I have a 20 gallon tank with nine blue 3-spots and one pearl gourami. They are all females and I have no problem with them at all.

I also have one pearl and one 3-spot male in my 55 gallon and even though it has several large plants in it, they constantly chase each other across the length of the tank.

Contrary to what I always seem to hear, the pearl male is not calm and peaceful at all. He dominates the blue male, although they are about the same size.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Mesome

I have always loved the moonlight gouramis. IMHO, they are the most graceful of the gouramis. And the platinum, which is not to common here, is a beauty too.

Snakeskin gouramis turn up from time to time in the lfs here. They are not really a good choice for an aquarium since they tend to get rather large. In some countries they are raised as a food fish. Here's a link with some information about them:

http/www1.eng.usm.my/redac/html/fishof%2...cods/Sepat.html

 

[Mesome]

OH MY!!!! My LSF told me that they get to be 6-8"max.....Not sure exactly wht that is in cm, but that link said they get 25cm, and that has to be bigger than 8 inches....to late for my brain to do metric/us conversion......hmmmmmm....they always seem to tell you what you want to hear.... Do you ever see the banded gouramis there? I have never even talked to anyone who has seen one...just in books....wonder how they are with other gouramis.....

There is a definate pecking order within my gouramis, and they do occasionally bicker. I found that the more I added, the less intense the fighting seemed to be...

 

[Inchworm]

...I found that the more I added, the less intense the fighting seemed to be...

Hi Mesome

I'd wondered about that. Originally I was going to separate my gouramis by gender to see if that theory held true. After all, you don't see male dwarfs fighting among themselves when they're at the lfs.

Well, my cory cats spawned and that took up the tank I was planning to stock with male gouramis, so I never did it. It's an interesting theory, though it does raise the issue of whether keeping a lot of males together in a small space is unnatural and could be in effect, "breaking their spirit."

I've never seen a banded gourami. It seems like I'm actually seeing fewer gouramis these days than I used to. It's a shame, they are such nice fish, too

 

[Mesome]

That's sad to think of a broken spirited fish.

I think in my tank, and I haven't asked my fish that that everyone scuffles a bit, but with more gouramis it prevents one from getting picked on all the time. I also have some females in there, and they are WAY more aggressive then the males. I think he may like to see the women fighting over him....

 

[Auratus]

I have seen a banded in person. COOL!!!!

My books say they are very timid and will starve if put with more aggressive tank mates. I would do either all dwarfs or all larger gourami and not mix.