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Dwarf Gourami question...
Badmans Tropical Fish Message Center:
General message area: Dwarf Gourami question...
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Jeff Martin
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Wednesday,
January 23, 2002 - 03:14 pm
I was wondering if anyone could tell me if having two male
Dwarf Gouramis in a 20 gal would be okay. I have one now,
and he is docile. I just don't want to create a "territory"
issue. Thanks.
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William
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Wednesday,
January 23, 2002 - 08:39 pm
I've had two male dwarf gouramis before in a 10 gallon,
and it worked out fine, though i would not recommend that.
As long as each fish is able to claim it's own territory
they should be fine. Gourami personalities are rather unpredictable
though. If you introduce a second one, and there's problems,
an easy solution is to change the landscaping of the tank,
giving both fish a chance to establish their own territory.
However, the smaller one will probably submit to the larger
one, just make sure the smaller one can either hide or have
its own territory somewhere. In my opinion, a 20 gallon
is fine, as long as there are not any other agressive or
large fish in the tank. (see all you experts, like pandora,
joyce and kick, i'm learning)
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Pandora
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Wednesday,
January 23, 2002 - 10:19 pm
Yeah, William had it down pat... it does depend somewhat
on whether you get the 2 together or separately. It also
depends on the individual fish, some are more territorial
than others, and if one is trying to breed with a female,
then just watch out. However, I agree, in a 20 that is well
planted, shouldn't encounter too many problems... these
are small gouramis, after all.
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Nancy
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Wednesday,
January 23, 2002 - 10:47 pm
Jeff, I have 2 in a 20 gallon long. They get along just
fine. One has one side of the tank and the other has the
other. Sometimes they will chase each other out of their
claimed territory, but that is the extent of it. I do have
to say though that both my males are pretty docile and one
is really just a big wimp. The other is not so wimpy, but
basically pretty nice. Maybe watch how they behave at the
lfs for awhile if possible.
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hardra6
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Thursday,
January 24, 2002 - 01:44 pm
Okay, um, i have a 15 gallon tank that's been going
for about 6 months, i have a glass catfish, 2 corys, a pleco
and a betta. my tank has a black cover on the side that's
supposed to cover up the heater and filter and look all
professional but it isn't very helpful. ANYWAY, recently
i decided that my aquarium looked a little empty, so i got
a dwarf gourami and he's done a good job at making my
tank colorful. the problem is: he picks on the other fish,
especially the betta. he keeps my personally favorite fish
hiding INSIDE the black cover with teh heater and filter,
and i can't get him to come out. When he does risk showing
his pretty little self, the gourami instantly comes over
and chases him back into the black cover. i know basically
everything about bettas but not gouramis, except that they're
both labrynith fish. My best guess was that the gourami
didn't like the colors of the betta, but he also chases
my see-thru catfish. I could put the betta in a bowl, but
i really don't want to because he's doign so well;
other suggestions are that gourmais have really varied personalities
(like what everybody's mentioned up there) and
that i might be able to get teh pet store to trade me for
a less agressive fish. What should i do?
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Nancy
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Thursday,
January 24, 2002 - 06:58 pm
If you really wanted to keep the Betta in the tank I would
take the gourami back. I thought I read somewhere (I
could be wrong) that bettas and gouramis are not good
together. That's what I would do. I had 2 Asian upside
down catfish and found out they would become holy terrors.
I took them back to the pet store where I got them - no
problem.
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joycedonley
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Thursday,
January 24, 2002 - 07:19 pm
Bettas are not good community fish and the combo you suggest
is even worse. Either take the gourami back or remove the
betta. Your betta will become stressed and possibly get
sick if these conditions continue.
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Pandora
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Saturday,
January 26, 2002 - 10:34 am
In addition, dwarf gouramies are shy fish when first in
the tank, and will hide in the back for a while. They are
also territorial as all gouramis are, but this won't
be noticeable in a larger tank... 15 gallons with the fish
you have probably won't work out. As the others have
said, bettas are not the best community fish either... they
may come in conflict with gouramis that are colorful (gouramis
and bettas are both anabantoid fish and live in the same
environmental niche, preferring surface territory to let
them come up for air).
Lastly that glass cat is a schooling fish... about as much
of a schooler as you will ever find. He should not be kept
alone, because he would suffer just as much as a neon tetra
would alone. Get him a friend or two of his species or take
him back, they are very shy when kept singly.
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Anonymous
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Monday,
January 28, 2002 - 07:16 pm
Jeff M, I once asked the same question to a pet store employee,
and she told me that bettas and gouramies don't mix,
and neither do two gouramies because bettas and gouramies
are closely related and therefore it's almost like putting
2 male bettas in the same tank.
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chris
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Monday,
February 04, 2002 - 10:43 am
So what would be a good fish addition to a 10gal setup with
two male Dwarf Gourami's. They seem to get along okay,
but there is a bit of nipping at times. I was thinking about
White Clouds, or Harlequin Rasboras, or Tiger or Cherry
barbs. Or should I just stick wiht the addition on some
more Gourami's?
Thanks for the help
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joycedonley
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Monday,
February 04, 2002 - 05:32 pm
Cherry barb are pretty peaceful and might do okay(I
keep them with angelfish and they ignore each other).
The tiger will probably nip the gourami. White cloud might
also work out. Just don't add any more gourami, the
tank is too small!
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Chris
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Tuesday,
February 05, 2002 - 08:47 am
Joyce, do you think the 10 gal is to small for 2 males?
Would I do better to move one Gourami to my 30 gal? I have
1 angel, 1 pleco, 3 platy, 1 rainbow shark in it now. Also,
plenty of rock, wood and plants in the 30gal. This would
allow each gourami to establish a presence in his own tank,
right? As it is now, they each stay on opposite sides of
the 10gal. Each has his own rock/wood/plant to claim as
his own. But there is a definite dominant one, he will run
the other out of his side should he stray over.
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chris
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Tuesday,
February 05, 2002 - 10:44 am
Joyce, I got my answer on the angel + gourami question.
I did a little research in the archive area and found an
old post stating that angels and gouramis don't mix
and should be kept apart. So, I will keep the 2 males in
their 10 gal together and see what happens. I had no idea
these guys were trooublemakers. I read that they wee good
community fish. But maybe they'll co-habitat well with
white clouds or cherry's. Thanks again.
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Pandora
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Tuesday,
February 05, 2002 - 08:45 pm
It depends on the individuals, Chris, some angels and dwarf
gouramis in slightly larger tanks do fine together. People
will have varying opinions. My personal opinion with this
one is with joyce... 10 gallons is small for both gouramis
together, especially 2 males. Was a good thought to search
the archives though... lots of people have different experiences
with the same species of fish, it doesn't mean one thought
is right or wrong.
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joycedonley
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Tuesday,
February 05, 2002 - 09:21 pm
Chris I think gourami are really pretty fish, but I just
had so many problems with them fighting I gave up a few
years back. Maybe someday I'll try again, good luck
with yours.
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Chris
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Wednesday,
February 06, 2002 - 09:35 am
Joyce and Pandora, Thanks for the gourami answers, I will
keep on eye on the little fellas for now and see what transpires.
I agree they are beautiful fish and I enjoy watching them.
Here's a little note to make you laugh, when I got home
last night from work, they must have decided at somepoint
during the day that they didn't like the plants i had
growing in the tank with them...they tore them all out!
Cute little G-Men.
Well, I guess everyone has their problem child, these 2
will be mine. Someone has to love 'em right?
have a good day!
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joycedonley
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Thursday,
February 07, 2002 - 08:07 am
Good luck Chris. Be sure to let us know how things go.
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Pandora
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Saturday,
February 09, 2002 - 05:09 pm
No problem, good luck!
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