Gourami and schoolers

J

jeninok

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Sep 3, 2008
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I used to have a lovely large pearl Gourami that was very peaceful but still kept the little guys in their schools.

I have not been able to find any more pearls, but at my LFs today they had opaline, blue, lavender and what they were calling leopard. They all were about the same size as my pearl but I am wondering if they are peaceful as well. I love the way they look and would like a centerpiece fish but I don't want them to harass my other fish.

I also picked up 7 rummynose and plan on getting 7 more next week. But I was also interested in the Blue tetras and Threadfin rainbows.

Any suggestions or recommendations between the three of those?

I have a 20 gallon that will soon be empty so I have room for three schools total when all is said and done.
 
What they're callling a Leopard Gourami is probably Ctenopoma acutirostre, which is an African cousin of the "true" Gouramis. They get to about 6"and are very good predators, so I wouldn't think they'd be a good match for smaller schooling fish.
 
I have heard that mixing different gouramis isnt really recommended as they tend to fight for territory etc. i have kept dwarf gouramis with schooling fish and in no way have they been aggressive, only a little bit when breeding which is usually just to chase other fish away from the nest
 
dwarf gourami are peaceful but timid fish so they would get along as long as your schooling fish aren't too aggressive. They don't do well with more than one in a tank that size.
 
The Gourami would be going in my 75 gallon with a school of rummynose, and either blue tetra or threadfin rainbows, along with Cories, a few dwarf platies and a trio of peacock gudgeons.

I had what people usually call Dwarf Gouramis, a flame red and a blue one at separate times, they were both jerks to all the other fish as well as being unhealthy and dying of columnaris.

The pearl Gourami was a trichogaster Leeri, and was MUCH larger than the dwarf gouramis I kept before, and also very peaceful.

He is one of the favorite fish that I have ever kept, unfortunately a long power outage killed him.

The ones at the store today were all color variants of three spot Gouramis I believe or Trichogaster Trichopterus.
I wasn't sure if there were behavior differences between the two.

I am also doing some research and reading that Blue tetras can be a little nippy, anyone have any input on them?
 
I kept a 4 inch long female blue gourami in my 55g and a 20g with schools of otos, cardinals and neons with no issues. The only fish she ever had issues with was my female bolivian ram. She would constantly corner the ram and feel it with her feelers which really stressed it out, so I had to separate the two.
 
They also had snakeskin gouramis, or Trichogaster Pectoralis. It seems like they get much bigger than the others, but I also really like the way they look!
 
Upping the cory school from 4 to 8 and adding the Rummynose to the tank already looks so much better.I was so tired of looking at a tank that seemed so empty and barren. These all came from a source I trust and had been there for quite some time, so I knew they were healthy and went ahead and added them right in.

The cories are no longer hiding and are out and about leap frogging and exploring and being cute, and the rummynose seem to have settled right in and are schooling tightly all over the bottom and middle of the tank.

I do think a gourami will be perfect for the top level of the tank, which is still mostly empty.
 
I think you'd be fine with any of the 3 spot color morphs (blue, gold, crosby/opaline, lavender). I have a 3.5 to 4" gold in with 2 ten year old cherry barbs, 5 (one 1/4" baby) variatus platys, and 4 african glass catfish. He leaves them all alone and helps the catfish school (the platys just do what they want...always do anyway - variatus are tough little fish).

A pair could have issues, and like cichlids, anabantoids can be very different, but in general single gouramis in tanks larger than 24" long seem to do fine with schooling fish based upon my experiences.

YMMV,

Eric
 
maddie said:
I have heard that mixing different gouramis isnt really recommended as they tend to fight for territory etc. i have kept dwarf gouramis with schooling fish and in no way have they been aggressive, only a little bit when breeding which is usually just to chase other fish away from the nest
Click to expand...

I find pinks to be a little aggressive but recently just added one in with thre dwarf males, four blue males and a pair of three spots (75g many plants, caves etc). The single pink seems to know his place. I'm amazed that the three dwarf males hang together like old buddies.

Maybe gouramis get territorial if they are in breeding pairs. When I used to breed dwarfs the male was very aggressive once he had his nest set up, therefore I totally agree with you on that point.

I guess there is so much for me to learn yet.....:shakehead:
 
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