# Gourami tank mates?



## pj1218 (Jun 11, 2011)

Hi everyone 
So today I finally took back all the mollies and babies in my 10 gallon and got a dwarf gourami and 5 neon tetras. At my LFS they said the gourami doesn't need to be in a group but I read that they like groups. Would just having one okay or should I get 1 more? And any ideas on a name for the gourami?


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## mpfsr (Jun 22, 2011)

dwarf gouramis are mean little fishes if you get another 1 will surely be killed. theres not enough space in a 10g for 2 dwarfs


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

I don't know much about gouramis so don't trust me, but they're relatives of bettas. they aren't mean fish though. At the petstores, they keep em together unlike bettas so that tells you something. I had one when I was little. It died.


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## pj1218 (Jun 11, 2011)

Well at my LFS they had them in like a 15 gallon with one live plant and their were around 7 or 8 of them in their. they had this other type of gourami with the entire tank to itself. They said some of them can be really aggressive and some can be really calm. Mine hasn't bothered the neons at all


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## jlpropst00 (Jun 12, 2011)

They are funny fish. Mine has been in with all his tank mates neons, danios, rummy-nose since the beginning and has got along well. I tried putting in my black skirts to free up my 5 gallon and he went psycho on the them. I'm mean he was ruthless.
So, I think its all about territory with gouramis. If they are established in their space and you add a threat or someone new don't expect them to be so kind. That is just my experience. You might be alright with a female but I haven't been able to find any locally.


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## mpfsr (Jun 22, 2011)

I'm not talking about any thing but the Dwarf gouramis..Males are VERY territorial. i wouldn't put to males together in anything smaller than a 29g and thats even pushing it. there is just not enough space for them to establish there own territory. I say this from exp. with them. I breed them and have raised several broods. Powders and blues. When there young they can be kept together or in a fish store when there stressed to start with and they are not together long. no fish store will keep fish how they should be kept, as there in the selling fish business, not the makeing them happy by providing the enviorment they need to live long lives business. some of the other gouramis can be kept together and some need company. But none that will fit in a 10g tank...


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## pj1218 (Jun 11, 2011)

well the one i got doesn't seem to be aggressive at all but its only an inch long. my lfs normally keeps their fish in good condition if it isn't a extremely difficult fish to keep. any ideas on a name though? so far i have elmo , red , or sparkey.


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## PostShawn (Dec 22, 2009)

I had 3 dwarf gouramis. One was clearly younger then the other two. It died first. It didn't look like it was getting picked on but it did stay away from any other fish and hide in corners. The other two would fight and the meaner one would beat it up. I found this too late and tried to separate the less mean one to another tank but it died. Now I have the 1 dwarf gourami and he lives happily as the only one. He does live with other fish and a few smaller fish then it but it doesn't pick on the other fish, it only picked on other gouramis. So I personally say one gourami to a tank unless trying to mate them. But the one in my tank looks great in there and he seems happy. I've even got plans to put everything in my 20g in my 55g when the goldfish get rehomed. But I'm still going to keep the one dwarf gourami as the only gourami in that tank. 

If you have one gourami and 5 neons in a 10g I would stop at that. You really need more space for anything else. You can maybe do about 3 of the smallest bottom feeders like a small variety of cory catfish but they like groups too and really like having a good amount of space since they only use the bottom. If your current group seems happy I'd say stick with that for a while. If you can ever upgrade to a 20-29g then you can add more fish. 

Good luck.


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## pj1218 (Jun 11, 2011)

they get along great. the gourami seems more shy than anything. he like to hide in the plants. tomorrow i had to go get some more crickets for my pet toad and while i was at my lfs i wanted to get a live plant. i wanted to replace a big fake plant in my tank for a real one because it keeps falling apart  what are some easy ones but are big though?


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## PostShawn (Dec 22, 2009)

anubias are some plants with big leaves and supposedly easy to care for. They start short but the leaves are a good size. I haven't ventured into the live plants much and plan to in my next tank setup. Good luck with yours.


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## Ladayen (Jun 20, 2011)

Java fern are great beginner plants. Durable and tolerate a wide variety of parameters. You will have to tie it to a piece of driftwood or a rock or something at first though. Make sure you know what the plant species is if you buy from a store, many simply order them in bundles that have random plants in them. More often then not the plants are land plants not aquatic plants and will die, rot and cause ammonia spikes in your tank.

As others have mentioned. In a 10g you are fully stocked.. probably overstocked. Most gouramis in general should be kept alone or in a sexed pair only. Few will tolerate other gouramis in a tank.


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