Gouramis

[ADFpowell7]

hi guys

i have :

3 african dwarf frogs
3 clown loaches
4 platies
6 cherry barbs
3 pearl gouramis

in a 120 l tank

is it ok to mix different types of gouramis with others, as i would like to get some dwarf gouramis aswell, but am worried that the two types of gouramis will fight ?
thankks

[ady]

hi there

i kept 3 opaline gouramis with dwarf gouramis before.i certainly witnessed no aggression towards the smaller species..

which type are you thinking of getting ??...i had 3 powder blue.royal red dwarfs and they didnt last that long.not thru others attacking them...just weak fish...too much line breeding to get the variety has been the most likely cause...

or are you looking at honey/red dwarfs...others hopefully can give an answer on those.. lovely looking fish....

[ADFpowell7]

well i was thinking about getting dwarf gouramis as they are a nice size and lovely colours but honestly i would be happy to get any other gouramis as they are all lovely, any ideas on which one ?

[Britfish]

This is an odd one. I have read many reports saying "you must not mix male dwarf gouramis". I only have a 125l tank and have always kept a red and blue dwarf gourami pair. Since I started to keep them I have had 2 blues and 3 red, 4 of them have been wonderfully peaceful, while one of the red ones was aggressive so took it back. As mentioned they have only died due to being weak fish, nothing to do with stress caused by aggression.

I have just lost a red male so only have a blue male now. Instead of buying another red I saw some red honeys, bought 2 of them and then 2 yellow honeys. The bold red, blue, yellow colours contrast and compliment each other beautifully.

I also have an Opaline in at the moment but am anticipating that I will need to sell it on when it gets bigger, its ok now but it is relatively young. It may be worth noting that I have zoned my tank up with tall plants and bog wood. These offer separate territories and break up the line of sight if the opaline gives chase, which isn't very often.

[Britfish]

*Somehow duplicated my post. Apologies mods, just getting used to the format here.*

[Carylnz]

I think it depends on the individual fish, as some are more aggressive than others, and the size of the tank, so all have room for their own territories. Plenty of plants to hide 'line of sight'.
I could not keep standard sized gouramis with dwarfs as the big ones harassed the smaller but others have done so with no trouble.