What's up with the weirdly conflicting info about Sparkling Gouramis?

[Thermal]

Requesting help from someone who's familiar with keeping Sparkling Gouramis, or knows alot about Gouramis in general.

I was watching the video series from Foo the Flowerhorn where they set up a 5 gal planted tank for a small group of sparkling gouramis.
I never really got into these fishes, but I wanted to search them up anyway because I never knew/wasn't sure that you could keep them in a 5 gal? I mean they're very smol fish but I've never really seen a lot of peeps include them in lists of "fishes for 5 gals" other than bettas, so this got me a bit.

The first thing I looked up was "Sparkling Gourami care" on google, and looking at websites and some forums. I haven't checked up on yt videos yet, but I wanted to get this posted out to clear all the confusions I got wayy too early when I tried to research this.
More research on sparkling gouramis is on-going.

But firstly I would like to get the only consistent info I found out of the way:
1. All websites were consistent about the requirement of keeping them in highly planted/dense tank set ups ✓

2. All were pointing out that the gouramis like low flow ✓

3. The water parameters they tolerate fall between Moderately Acidic, to Neutral, and Slightly Alkaline, between 6.0-7.8pH ✓

4. Info about water temperatures were consistent too. Being tropical SeA fish, they prefer temps of 77-83°F (25-28°C) ✓

And then all of the consistency got thrown out of the window once it was time to talk about behavior and tank size.
Going back to the 5 gallon Foo the Flowerhorn video, a lot of the sources were going against keeping them in those tank sizes. Which made sense to me when I first read it, but their reasons as to 'why' gave me back the confusions.
1. Sparkling Gouramis are social and should be kept in small groups, therefore they need at least minimum of 10, or 15-20 gallons of space.

2. If you're adding one more sparkling gourami to the community, add another 10 gallons of space to the tank. So if you have 3 gouramis, the tank size should be 25-35 gallons.

3. Sparkling Gouramis, should NOT be kept in groups as the males are highly territorial and would cause dispute when more than one males are added.

4. Sparkling gouramis can live solitary due to their territorial nature.

5. And then there's a "Yes keeping sparkling gouramis in a 5 gallon is fine" then back to the info about having dense plant load.

6. There was also some dude in reddit keeping three males in a 5.5 gal and all they did was "croak at eachother."
Even the peeps that were asking about tank size where getting conflicting info in the comments, "yes 5 gal is fine for one or a pair" "no, minimum is 10 for individual or a small group"??


I'm not sure if I'm allowed to send links to the websites, but I'll just say that I checked the first few that appeared after searching "Sparkling Gourami care"
I'm still doing more research on this, but would appreciate if an expert can help clear the early-found confusion.
Many thanks!

 

[Essjay]

The first thing is to look at who owns the websites. Anyone can set up a website and post utter rubbish on there. When researching fish, it's important to distinguish between the people who really do know what they're saying and the ones who don't have any real knowledge.

For most species, the most reliable website is Seriously Fish. FishBase is also a good site, though that deals with water parameters rather than tank size etc.
There are good sites for catfish in general, corydoras and loaches for specific types of fish but I don't know of any for anabatids, which includes gouramis.

 

[GaryE]

Maybe there is no one right way. I kept Trichopsis pumila in 15 gallons, but could have used a 10. I would have preferred to use a 30 inch tank, simply because I believe you see a wider range of behaviour in a larger tank. So question one when you look at these sites is what do you think the author wanted from the fish?
Was it to look at them as ornaments? A 5 would work.
Was it to breed them, and keep them longterm? Then a larger tank.

Every writer, especially one with no editor, has an agenda. Most who don't have editors may think the whole world thinks just like them. That makes them feel like experts.

The key is to see whether you are into behaviour, or ornament. Different sites are written for different interests. There are people who see a small fish and are convinced they must be in small tanks, because having small tanks is convenient for them. If you put the fish first, then a 5 gallon can never be more than temporary quarters. If you want to watch the fish, and not just take it for granted they're social (they are, btw) then a larger tank with Cryptocorynes is best. Part of being social may involve a little fighting sometimes, but part of having a larger group is to allow those flare ups to burn out with too many opportunities to squabble to want to bother anymore. If you have no tolerance for fish getting mad at each other for short periods, I guess you could think pumila males are aggressive. To me, it's a stretch.

In a properly set up tank, I have never seen worrisome male aggression with pumila. In a tank with plastic plants and little cover, maybe. I don't know from experience.

The writers you're reading are going to reflect the fishkeeping philosophies out there.
1) Cram fish in small tanks for short ornamental lives. Do it because you own small tanks.
2) Put fish in tanks to watch them for a while under better conditions, but with the idea you'll change them out.
3) Set up the tank for longer term keeping, just to enjoy the fish.
4) Set up the tank to keep them for generations as you breed them, so you can really learn what they do.

Plus a lot of us fall between those 'sets', and change as we gain experience.

I'm not an Anabantoid expert. I kept pumila for about 10 years, and co-wrote a long vanished commercial book on gouramis. I went through peer editing with the ideas I proposed back then, and so I have been fact checked. I keep thinking I'll get a group of these fish again, but they work like an entry drug to licorice gouramis and wine Bettas, and I'm not sure I want to take that on again. All those wee Anabantoids are fascinating, but pumila is the easiest to keep by far.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

What Gary said.

I've kept this species, so here are some observations. They are quite social if given the opportunity. And yes, they do croak and creak at each other...it is very entertaining. They are a bit territorial, but not aggressively so. I'm sure you could keep one alone--they aren't like schooling fish. But to me it would seem like a shame to deprive them of the social interaction.

Their behavior is more like a perch or badis than a typical gourami. They tend to sneak up, pause, look things over before acting. I had mine in a shallow, 36"X10" tank. They did use the whole space, but not quickly. Could they have been happy and healthy with a smaller space? Almost certainly. But I like to er on the side of more space so the critters can choose where to be. Golden rule, I guess: I'd almost always have more space than less.

So, can you keep them in a 5g? Probably. Can they thrive? Maybe. Is it the best option? Maybe not.

 

[seangee]

I don't claim to be an expert but I added 6 juveniles to this tank. Its a 22G long with plenty of hiding spaces. I later added floating plants. Once the sparklers reached sexual maturity the fighting was relentless and I lost a couple. I separated them and they lived for sevaral years in separate tanks (and they looked much better once the tails / fins grew back).