Stocking help

[Animallover😍]

I would not consider dwarf gourami due to the issue of disease, which is only non-existent (with certainty) in fish obtained direct from the breeder. Pearls are a better choice, and given the tank size I would do a small group. Two females to one male minimum (this should spread out the male's attention to females) but if this were me I would have two males and four females, or three males and five/six females. Yoou want more activity in the upper half where the gourami live, as the other mentioned fish are all lower half residents.

If you like the pattrn of the dwarf gourami, a similar and safer gourami is the thick-lip, Trichogaster labiosa. Another thread reminded me of this gourami earlier today. A small group, say five or six. Photo below.

I'll have 2 females and 1 male pearl gouramis. Thanks again @Byron!

 

[Animallover😍]

I found out from @Bruce Leyland-Jones that Black Neons swim in the middle to bottom area. So getting penguins instead.

 

[itiwhetu]

The penguins may annoy the Pearl Gouramis. Why did you ditch the Black Phantoms

 

[anewbie]

I found out from @Bruce Leyland-Jones that Black Neons swim in the middle to bottom area. So getting penguins instead.

Won't penguins eat your fishes ?

 

[Animallover😍]

I meant penguin tetras.

 

[Animallover😍]

The penguins may annoy the Pearl Gouramis. Why did you ditch the Black Phantoms

None of my local lfs sell them unfortunately
If they will annoy the pearls then black neons.

 

[anewbie]

None of my local lfs sell them unfortunately
If they will annoy the pearls then black neons.

You might read up a bit more on penguin tetra before making a final decision; not sure you will be happy with them. A couple of fishes that will stay near the surface you might consider include some of the pencil fishes and kubota rasbora. The kubotia rasbora are not SA fishes but asian however the kubota are very active not violent towards each other like some species of pencil and tetra and stay near the surface.

 

[Animallover😍]

Ok. I have a problem. My lfs has plenty of unwanted pearl gouramis in what looks like a 5g tank. The problem is, they only sell juveniles. I'm going to get 3 males and 5 females but since they are not mature what about sex??

 

[Essjay]

I wouldn't keep more than 1 male. I bought pearl gouramis and one female turned out to be an immature male. I had to take one back to the shop as they started fighting. My tank is slightly bigger than yours at 42 x 18 x 18 inches.

All you can do is buy a group and wait till they mature, then rehome any extra males.

 

[Animallover😍]

Thanks @Essjay ! I will do what you say.

 

[Animallover😍]

@Byron , do you agree with @Essjay 's suggestion of getting only one male(the post above)? If more than 1, 2 males, 4 females. If not, 1 male 5 females.

 

[Byron]

@Byron , do you agree with @Essjay 's suggestion of getting only one male(the post above)? If more than 1, 2 males, 4 females. If not, 1 male 5 females.

Yes and no...maybe.

Given the tank size--55 gallons. 39" x 18" x 18"--and assuming a good layer of substantial floating plants, if this were my tank I would have two male and four or five females in the Pearl Gourami. Now, as we all know, fish do not read the scientific literature and may turn out somewhat different from the norm; this is applicable both ways, a fish being overly-aggressive or the opposite. Good environmental conditions and sufficient space without question work to avoid these abnormalities, there is more and more evidence of this. It has been many, many years since I had a group of Pearls, but they presented no difficulties that I can remember, and two males will mean some beautiful displays to entice the females, and 4-5 females will (or should) avoid over-attention from the males to individual females. You might want to have a back-up just in case...another tank or preferably return the fish to the store, worth considering.

I tend to be of the view that if one is going to have species "x" then provide the environment, and the numbers, that are most likely to provide a natural setting and encourage the normal interactive behaviours of the species. This has many factors beyond the perhaps more obvious. For example, other fish species in the tank can significantly influence the behaviour of gourami. Kept with rambunctious fish they will be much more likely to turn aggressive within their own. Provided with a calm environment, low light, low water flow, etc, a quite different scene can be observed. This is a truly beautiful fish, as the photo of a pair below illustrates.

 

[Animallover😍]

Ok thanks @Byron for the help.

 

[Animallover😍]

Um.. a question. Since the gouramis are quite big and should have a lot of waste, should I get 1 at a time, 3 at a time, or 6 at a time?
They are abt 2.5 inches at the pet store.

 

[Byron]

Um.. a question. Since the gouramis are quite big and should have a lot of waste, should I get 1 at a time, 3 at a time, or 6 at a time?
They are abt 2.5 inches at the pet store.

Acquire the intended number of gourami together and add them to the tank at the same time. Hierarchial fish and territorial fish should always be added together so there is no opportunity of individual fish becoming dominant (at least no more than is normal for the species) and bullies forming.