# Gourami Thread!



## Elsewhere (Dec 30, 2012)

I don't know if we have one of these or not, but I thought I might as well make one :-D I figured this could be a place for new and old owners alike to ask questions and talk and share pics!

I only have one Gourami, her name is Soleil and she's a Golden Gourami. She's camera shy, but loves to boss around her tankmates, sometimes a little too much.


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## PetMania (Mar 28, 2013)

I don't own a gourami, but I have always wondered...what are they like?


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## Elsewhere (Dec 30, 2012)

Bipolar XD Mine is either happy and confident or angry and shy. She picked on the Cories so much that I had to rehome them, but she loves the Barbs... She also huge. She's a pretty great fish and usually isn't too hard to catch when need be; an all around good fish, and I would suggest one to anyone with the space


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## PetMania (Mar 28, 2013)

I have heard that dawrfs are awesome. I'll add them to my fish bucket list.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I really like liquorice gourami. They are very similar in care/appearance/behaviour to my wild bettas and I did used to own a trio of them in the past. 

Unfortunately, the strains I like seem to be non-existent in Australia. The ones I had were very lovely fish. The only reason I sold them on was that I needed the room for my wilds and they were three males rather than a breeding pair. 

This was my three when I had them.


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## Indigo Betta (Sep 27, 2012)

Here's Garry he's a Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami and he see's himself as the king of the tank.


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## zombieaddict (Nov 11, 2013)

I'm new to the world of fish keeping and the first fish I got were a male and female dwarf gourami and a blue gourami of unknown gender. Someone told me that they would tear one another apart but they all seem to get along pretty well. Once in a while the male dwarf goes after the female but the tank is well planted and has a lot of hides so she just gives him his space and all is well. I think I'd like to add another female dwarf if I happen across one because I've read that this will ease up on spousal abuse but for the time being I don't think that anyone is really suffering.

Who else has slurping gourami?! I love the sounds they make when they gobble their food.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

LBF, those licorice gouramis are stunners!

My local pet shop has started selling chocolates.


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## Elsewhere (Dec 30, 2012)

Great fish, guys! They're all so pretty! And I wouldn't keep them together, Zombieaddict, but mainly because I'm already overstocked in the tank! I've heard both sides of the story, and am still not sure which is true.


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## zombieaddict (Nov 11, 2013)

Yesterday I caught Red, my male dwarf, using a piece of java moss wrapped around his water sprite like a tow line to drag the sprite to a different corner of the tank. Afterwards, he started gathering pieces off the moss strings from around the tank so he could put them up in the sprite where he wanted them. It was too funny to watch.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I think it's the dwarf gourami that add bits of plants to their bubblenests. Very odd behaviour. Sort of reminds me of a bower bird. 

Too bad you didn't get a video!


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## zombieaddict (Nov 11, 2013)

I know! I was painting the stand for the 65gallon tank I'm working on when it happened and my hands were all mucked up or I would have. If I catch him at it again, I'll definitely have to get a video. He's definitely claimed that clump of water sprite as his own though.


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## zombieaddict (Nov 11, 2013)

I got a video of him messing with his nest today but he's not moving the java moss around like he was. He darts out of the shot a couple times to run off the girls when they get too close and notices me once, so he comes to the front of the tank expecting food. But otherwise this is a video of a happy nest making dwarf gourami:

http://s45.photobucket.com/user/straponwings/media/VID_20131116_131112_765_zpsddf186d2.mp4.html


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## Elsewhere (Dec 30, 2012)

Aw, that video was so adorable! You have a very cute little guy, Zombieaddict!


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## zombieaddict (Nov 11, 2013)

He is pretty cute. I'm thinking of naming him King of Hearts to continue the Wonderland theme that I've adopted with my bettas Cheshire and Absolem. 

I love the first time King darts out of the video and then you see bubbles come up from where he runs one of the girls off. I want to add some more plants and I'm waiting for the ones in the tank to grow so the ladies have a cozy place to call their own. They stay out of King's way well enough but at feeding time the filter pushes the food toward his nest and everyone pecking at his doorstep makes him very flustered.


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## sponge1234 (Oct 29, 2013)

Hello! I love gouramis! I have 2 titanium, and 1 gold. They are so full of personality! Anybody know about licorice gouramis with H.formosa? Both of these are on my bucket list and I have a spare 10 gallon hanging around.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

If they can adapt to quite soft and acidic water (SeriouslyFish is saying a preferred pH of 7-8.0 while liquorice gourami are most likely going to want a pH below 6), then they may make an appropriate tankmate for liquorice gourami. However, liquorice gourami can be quite shy and reclusive so I'm not sure if the presence of other fish will make them more confident or even more retiring. 

Usually those kinds of fish that are sensitive and have specific needs are recommended for species only tanks as that way you are not trying to compromise between the needs of one species and the needs of another.


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## sponge1234 (Oct 29, 2013)

Oh. Then the liquorice gouramis are not for me, I have very hard water and can't dilute with RO water:-(


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