Needing help from the veteran keepers

xDoctor Bob

Hello all fishkeepers,
I have an empty 29 gal tank and I'm thinking of making an " all gourami" tank. I have only had one gourami before and I got most of my info from the internet. This is what I got.

- Gouramis do best in a school of 3-4

-Gouramis are aggressive to their own species, but mostly males.

-Gouramis need hiding places.

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Questions:

1) Can you combine different gourami species? ( ex. opaline and blue )

2) Is it okay if all gouramis are male?

Lupin

Male gouramis tend to rival each other over territories so I wouldn't attempt trying all male group. Females on the other hand will work better although like most groups, pecking order will still be established. I wouldn't advise combining several species in a 29g. The only few species that will work together in small tanks would be chocolates, licorice, sparkling and samurais. All four are ridiculously timid and are often confused when they navigate around larger tanks. The tanks must be densely planted using low light plants, heavy with tannins, leaf litter and plenty of driftwoods. Failing this, they will feel more insecure and starve themselves to death. All except the sparklings will not take to commercial foods readily so be prepared to have a constant supply of live foods and train them to wean on commercial foods such as pellets. Use 'teacher' fish such as some boraras or hengeli rasboras as their attempts to eat pellets may encourage the gouramis to eat as well.

You could try honey gouramis and pearl gouramis together. Another combination that will definitely work. Dwarf gouramis on the other hand tend to be very obnoxious. Males build nests out of bubbles, saliva and plant matter and they guard them viciously so these will not work well in most community setups at all. As far as opalines and blues, they are semi-aggressive fish and will not work well with other gouramis at all unless the tank is spacious.

xDoctor Bob

I thank you for all your help, Lupin.
Much obliged

catfishtabbi

I'll tell you i have several different dwarf gouramis now 5/M 1/F that get along perfectly! I''ll admit i had one serious scrapper, so i gave it to my neighbor Matt, thanks Matt, but theyre all sweet. Maybe it's because i have a 50g heavily planted tank,as well i have a betta abd he chases 1 of the G's. The F is the largest and the only one of her kind, i direct my powerhead slightly to wards the surface to avoid bubble nests, but if they all start bubbling at once a huge nest is made.in that size tank you could try a honey and a powder blue,the neon blue seems especially passive, my PB's swim together, so i think they like thier own kind alot.Perhaps selectivity and the size of my tank, but these guys let oneanother eat first.A pair of honeys would do ,the male puts on a fab color show now and again , good luck

tophat665

FYI, Opaline and Blue gouramis are not different species. Opaline, Lavendar, Platinum, Three Spot, and Gold are all color morphs of the Blue Gourami - Tricogaster tricopterus. Nifty fish for an active or semi aggressive tank. They can hang with botiine loaches and barbs, usually. My best success has been with a single female in a tank with Praecox rainbows and cories (And isn't that a screwed up geography right there.)

doraslilhitman

does anyone know how gouramis will respond to a strong current because my filter is overpowered and it creates quite a noticeable draft.

what do you mean by floating plants in a gourami tank? i have four in my tank 20 gallons lots of rocks and some tall plants not much open space but nothing floating

Lupin

Most gouramis respond well to currents but as they come from stagnant to gentle flowing waters, the currents are best kept at a minimum flow possible. It's their personal taste.lol Gouramis are mostly surface dwellers building bubblenests but some are mouthbrooders and cave spawners. Floating plants are necessary for most so they can be encouraged to build bubblenests there. Dwarf gouramis have the most remarkable way of building bubblenests among the gouramis I had kept. They rip off some plant roots, hair algae or plant leaves and paste them with their saliva and build bubbles to keep the nest afloat. This though turns them to rather obnoxious defenders and will harass anyone that gets in their way. I had one Dwarf Gourami in my pond and I kept getting attacked much to my dismay while trying to hunt for some guppies I intended to feed for my fish.

doraslilhitman

well i dont intend to breed them anyways and the only two females i have are gold ones barely two inches long xD so aside from breeding gouramis won't mind a current? i float fake plants in the tank but i dont keep any real ones or my two plecos will have a field day...an expensive field day.

Lupin

Hmmm...I doubt your plecos will eat floating plants. Most floating plants have nasty taste. Duckweeds, Riccia fluitans, hornworts and Egeria densa will do the trick. Only the hornworts are unpalatable though. I'd just divert the flow.

doraslilhitman

done, i moved the giant 14 inch tall rock structure into the way of the fiter cascade, the swirling air bubbles are restricted to the surface now =)