# Dwarf Gourami?



## tsoto80 (Nov 26, 2010)

Can a Dwarf Gourami be put in a community tank and with female bettas? I have a 20 gallon with 3 female bettas, 4 neon tetras, 2 ADF, and a few ghost shrimp. I thought they looked cool cause they spit out water. lol


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## bettamaniac (Jan 6, 2011)

That depends on the betta but the females might attack it because of the similarity in their body shapes. But dwarf gouramis have pretty specific needs that can be hard to meet. When I say that I mean things like how they dont like loud noises. There are a few other things but I forget them.


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## Sweeda88 (Dec 6, 2010)

I've heard that you should never keep Bettas, male OR female with Gouramis because they are both very territorial. I would say no.


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## tsoto80 (Nov 26, 2010)

hmmm well the web site said they are gentle and shy....


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## Sweeda88 (Dec 6, 2010)

You can't trust everything you read on the internet. They are from the same family as Bettas (anabantoids), so they are just as territorial.


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## Alex09 (Aug 9, 2010)

Dwarf gourami's are also surface dwellers. The females may have claimed the surface as their territory by now...


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## tsoto80 (Nov 26, 2010)

well I decided not to get any because the store guy advice me not to however I am extremely peeved on what he said about bettas! hmmm.... they need to put an angry face icon with steam coming out of the head cause that is how I feel right now :evil:


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## baylee767 (Nov 5, 2010)

What did he say?


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## LittleNibbles93 (Feb 7, 2011)

Yeah, Dwarf Gourami's and bettas don't seem to get along to well, I had some with my betta, he scared them into a corner, we suspect he also killed them while we weren't looking.


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## tsoto80 (Nov 26, 2010)

baylee767 said:


> What did he say?


 Well I told him how I am starting a sorority in my 20 and have 2 females and 4 danios in my five gallon so I was asking him if he thought my five was overstocked. He basically said "PPsshh bettas can live in small bowls. just take them out of there" I then said well yeah maybe but you still gotta do water changes he then said "no they are hardy fish and thats what they are made for" I then started spacing out cause I became very angry so only heard bits and parts but I think he was saying he put a betta a betta in a martini glass and only changed the water two times a month and the betta lived just fine. He was saying something about his mom was going to get mad but he did it anyways "to show her" he called the betta his drunken fish or something like that to his friends he even said that he sells customers the small bowls to put the bettas in....he seemed to care about all the other fish but not the bettas. What makes bettas less important?


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## Sweeda88 (Dec 6, 2010)

Wow, I would be pissed. What an idiot!


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## tsoto80 (Nov 26, 2010)

he is the same guy that gave me problems when I first started betta keeping just like before I swear he smelled like alcohol and he was acting kinda strange I dunno maybe Im being paranoid


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## jcinnb (Dec 5, 2010)

In my first community aquarium, back in early 90's (before widespread internet and information) I had a betta with some dwarf gouramis and some other, common LFS stuff, too.

For awhile everything was fine. One day, one of the dwarfs was dead, the next, a second was dead, and a third had his *eye trailing alongside its body*. It died later that day.

I then went to library did some research and learned the two don't mix due to being in same family/genus or something. Do not do it.


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

You should report that guy. He is the LAST person the store owners want representing their store.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I agree with Turtle. I'm surprised his co-workers didn't report him.


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## tsoto80 (Nov 26, 2010)

Maybe they all fel the same as he does....what is the likelyhood of me going to PetSmart on two different occasions weeks apart and he was drinking on the job both times? Even if I reported him what would I say to the manager? Is there anything else that would make a person smell like alcohol? That day he told me I was doing the right thing by asking him a lot of questions. He said many other people come in and blame him and yell that their fish died and it is not his fault they did not ask question. I told that to my BF and he told me that right there proves he was giving out wrong information.....


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## ChelseaK (Oct 23, 2010)

I would say definitely report him. I don't think very highly of the people that work in the chain pet stores ( due to an experience that I had with someone at PetLand), but I know that at my LFS, the guy in the fish department is VERY knowledgeable and is always helpful. He will tell you the honest truth even if it means he won't get a sale. I cannot go to any chain store to buy fish anymore because I know that no one takes care of them as well as this guy does. 
Especially if the guy is coming in to work drunk, in a customer service job, that is not acceptable (nor is acceptable anywhere else, but more easily hidden). I'm a bartender, I know .


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## tdiaz (Feb 23, 2011)

I used to have a tank with two dwarf gourami, three female betta, a young pleco, and a spotted molly. 
The biggest/only problem I had was between my three girls--two of them ganged up on the third. Once I took the bullied one out, the other two were best friends and I never had an issue with them. I thought it was weird, but there was never a fight--and the two girls I left weren't sisters. I had to take one of the sisters out. @[email protected]


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