I am tempted...talk some sense into me! (Samurai Gourami related)

[Inka4040]

Mine are doing beautifully in a quiet blackwater community. They share their tank with a school of hyalobagrus cats, a pair of betta channoides, a few badis buxor, and some assorted kuhlis. Got them as adults, and some of the males have now been in my care for over a year without any signs of advanced age or slowing down, so I'm not sure if the short lived nature attributed to these fish because of their relation to chocolate gouramis really holds up. All told, a species tank is far from necessary, and it may even be beneficial to have some small dithers with such a shy species. In terms of fry collection, brooding males should probably be segregated from the crowd any way.

 

[angyles]

While I've never had this specific species, I have successfully kept Chocolate gouramis and they do great in a community tank. While they are happier with more of their kind, my lonesome male (lost his girlfriend a while back) is still seemingly happy and healthy all by himself. As for short lived, I think that's all relative. No you're not going to get 20 years out of them, but 4 years is reasonable. I've had my male chocolate for well over 2 years now.
If I were you, I would consider getting this guy, and looking for more as they turn up. Chances are pretty great, if you don't, someone else will get him and stick him in a 10G with a bunch of clown loaches anyway. I would get him, upgrade to a 29G, keep the gudgeons and corries, give hte otto to the LFS, and then work on getting MORE vailllanti and creating a happy group. There's some on Aquabid right now ;-)

 

[boet]

I think you're overstocked if you add them. Nevermind that you need more otos for yours to be happy (need at least 6).

Plus, reading Lupin's species profile (found here), it looks like you'd need 6 of them in a minimum of 20g, so they'd need that tank of your for themselves. If I were you, I'd upgrade your current fish to a new tank (30-40g at least to accommodate the cories and BN) and get a group of 6 samurais. IMHO, it's better to pass up a rare opportunity than provide a less than suitable home. Especially if that less than suitable home could end up with their death which not only causes you to waste money but to lose a very cool fish.

I have 5 of these Samurai Gourami and found that I cannot keep them in a group as the article states. I started out with two in my lightly stocked soft water 50 gal moderately planted and they paired off (although the male is not brooding yet). I tried to add another female and two males but had to rescue them and put them in a similar 29 gal setup. I was afraid the smaller new female would be killed and the two males were hiding constantly but the pair would search for them. I think a group works only if you start them together and not after 2 pair off.

The 3 smaller female and males are OK together in the 29. I agree however a species setup would be best.

 

[Anubias Design]

I get this species in on a regular basis when they're in season. They're by far the easiest of the chocolate gouramies to maintain and spawn. A group of 6 will do fine in the tank you have, though of course a species tank would be preferred. The only concern I have is the water conditions as IME T. ocellicauda does better in hard water and the gouramies prefer their water a bit on the soft side. That said, they are quite adaptable across a range of water conditions. I feem them a diet consisting almost entirely of dry foods: Ocean Nutrition Community Formula flakes, NLS pellets and Betta Pro. They do quite well on these foods and take them readily. Be sure to provide some hiding places and vary the diet as much as possible. Expect only one female to show full color. Interestingly, it is fairly common for both male and female captive bred fish to show the color pattern of a dominant female. I don't know why it works that way but it does so if you raise them successfully your next generation may be more colorful.
HTH,
Mark