Mixing Gouramis Species

L

Lorazoo

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May 17, 2006
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Deerfield Beach, Florida
I have a 125 and I want to add a variety of Gouramis to it. They will be the largest fish in the tank except for an Angel fish that I will try to add last and see how she does with the others. If she's mean, she will be placed elsewhere. Anyway, I have gotten a few Powder Blue Gouramis and also want to get some Flame and Honey varieties. I also want to get some Pearl Gouramis. I know these will be the largest of the group. With so many varieties I was planning on just getting males. I figured that would reduce aggression since they have no females to fight over.

Has anyone dealt with large tanks of gouramis? I love these 4 species and really would like to combine them all.

Looking for suggestions.
 
mixing gourami's is hit or miss..the species in itself tends to be aggressive towards it's kind.

you may be fine but you may find the gouramis to be aggressive toward other gouramis
 
when i set up my 56 gallon originally i placed one male powder blue, with 2 females, and one female dwarf honey..the female honey killed off the others. I still have the honey, she seems quite content by herself. I personally will not put more than one in any tank from now on.
 
so far i have 3 powder blue males in my 10 gallon quarantine tank and they seem very close to eachother. I have not seen any aggression from them. I think having females heightens the aggression. I guess I will try with only males. If any one else has had any experiences with powder blue, flame or pearl, please let me know.
 
Firstly these are very teritorial fish(closely related to the betta) and they can be very variable in thier temperments so at this point in time, there is no yes or no answer as to wether this combo will work or you will end up with an oddball fish that kills every other fish in the tank. You can however dampen any agression, by:
  • having one male to several females(multiple male gouramis of the same species can be as risky as mixing male bettas, depending on the fish,note that flame powder blue and drawf gouramis are all the same species, just bred for thier colour variations)
  • having lots of tall vegitation(will be explained later)
  • allowing lots of space per fish, just like bettas, these are teritorial fish.
  • if you see a bubble nest, take it out and use powerheads/filters to make the water surface more turbulant, the last thing you want is breeding labrinth fish(of most species) in a community situation.

Please do not attempt this combo if you do not have spare tanks to move any *odd ball* agressive gouramis too.
 
I've had a 10g with 3 powder blue dwarf male gourami for 6 months--yes, I'm a relative newb. 2 came from one shop; the other a different place.
In my tank I have both artificial and live plants, a terra cotta pot and a "stone bridge." They all established territories as I watched them very carefully. Harry and Larry shared one side of the tank, negotiating and occasionally playing gentle tailtag (no evidence of physical aggression or stress--I spend hours watching my fishies, and more hours researching online about them). Spike took the other side of the tank, occasionally challenging "the boys," but never in any serious ways.
I believe that if you plan out your space with personality types foremost in the design, and oh, so carefully, observe the fish to see what they will do, you can successfully put gourami together. Now, betta are a different thing; after all, they are also called "Siamese fighting fish." Some may be more aggressive than others, just like any other sentient being.
Good luck!!! Post pix when you get things together!!!!
 
Well, I guess I will try. Like I said I am putting them in a 125. I was thinking of having 5 powder blue, 5 flame and a few Pearl. Do you think this is too much for the space provided?
The only other fish I will have in there are tetras, a zebra danio cross called zebra danio goldfish (still researching this one), a few cherry barbs and a pair of kribensis.

I think I am going to have to give my Angelfish to the LFS, unless she adjusts to her temp home of the 10 gallon fish tank. I hate to do it, but she just layed eggs and is getting so aggressive and has just changed the whole mood in my 55 (which I will be getting rid of after using it for quarantine).
 
I have little experience with gouramis. I know that some are territorial while others are more peaceful. Blue, Opaline and Gold gouramis are territorial. Dwarf gouramis of all colors and Pearl gouramis are of a more peaceful nature. Pearls are the most tolerating that I have seen. They will live together in a shoal very nicely. Don't know much about the others.
 
When researching I tried to pick the most peacful species. Maybe Ill do 3 of the powder blue and flame and get more Pearl? The Pearl are definately my favorite. I also think i am sticking to just males. I wanted to get males and females of the pearl only, but I am afraid the dwarfs might react to the females. No one seems to know if they will or not.
 
I have never owned a pearl gourami but I have considered it and did some research on them. They are the most peaceful of the gouramis and they are even very tolerant when breeding. I think having females may make your males that much happier. Dwarfs are peaceful too so I would suspect that they will mix just fine.
 
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