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Hiya guys,

I wanted to know if Gouramis need to be kept with air pumps. Some guys keep their betta without air pumps and that's supposed to be OK right? Afterall they are labyrinth fish. I wanted to be sure that Gouramis would nto need pumps too before I plunged and got with honeys or dwarves.

Any advice?

If you have a good surface water monement, you don't need any air pumps, but if you have an air pump your fish will also be Ok.



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Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

Hiya Jason,

What do you mean by surface movement? I thought the tank's water is stationery so would that be a problem?

Thanks.

You must have surface water movement, so that air can get it. Sometimes the filter output is above the water level & that makes surface movement. If you want you can have an airstone aswell, especially in summer, as the temperatures will rise.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

They breathe air so as long as the tank's lid/cover glass isn't sat on the water level, they should be no different then any other fish.

So are they able to survive in a tank without a air pump/surface agitation? I mean Bettas seemt to do well without the pumps/surface agitation. I thought Gouramis would be able to do the same.

Thanks.

Gourami can survive without an Air pump placing O2 into the tank. As long as there is room for them to "gulp" air, they will be fine.

The entire "Labyrinth" group of fish can do this. This includes; Gourami, Betta, Combtail, Paradise Fish and Ctenopoma species have this ability.

This is why, Gourami are hardy fish that can survive most drastic of conditions. Also the reason people put Betta's in Vases (cringe) ]

Gary

Hiya Gary,

Thanks for the confirmation. Thinking of just a pair of Honeys or Dwarves. Have a corner of my office which I can't place things anyway where I can fit a fairly sized tank, just that I can't have an air pump, so hit on the idea of gouramis.

One more thing, are Dwarves and Honeys known to be fin nippers?

If I threw in a betta with the pair would it be a problem? Just a crazy idea....

[span class="edited"][Edited by validator 2004-07-07 22:14][/span]

I wouldn't recommend putting a betta in with another labyrinth fish. There could be a lot of agression and either of them could get injured/killed.

I haven't heard of them being fin nippers. However, I should caution you on the pairs. I had a pair of dwarf gouramis, and the male was very agressive and killed the female. It would be a better idea to get a trio (1M/2F) to spread out aggression. Of course, all males are different, so you may find a fish that is peaceful....or not.

HTH

The Dwarf Gourami would definately take out the Betta, and I am putting money on the Honey Gourami as well. Gourami with Gourami is usually an ok thing. Some species are quite "tempermental" about the presence of other Gourami, but the smaller ones seem to enjoy the company.

Placing a Betta in there would create one dead Betta. All 3 fish inhabit the same strata when it comes to going to the surface. The first encounter with either your Dwarf or Honey Gourami would end in disaster.

I've watched 4 Sparking (1 - 1.5" long) Gourami almost kill a full sized Male Betta. The person whom put the Betta in there thought it would be a good "show" fish. Sparklers are showy all by themselves.

My next Gourami purchase is going to be Licorice Gourami. As fish die off in Zen, I will be replacing with Gourami.

Gary

Hiya guys,

Yeah I would stick to one type. Maybe a trio might be a good idea. Thanks for the pointers.

A tank with just Honey or Dwarf Gourami look nice! In fact, I would go with the Honey Gourami over the Dwarf. I've owned Colisa lalia before and was not over impressed with them.

If you have any more Gourami related questions, feel free to ask, the whole Anabantoid genus and subfamilies interest me greatly.

My next 2 on my wish list are Java Combtails (Belontia hasselti) and Mottled Ctenopma (Ctenopoma oxyrhynchum).

Gary

Hiya Gary,

Thanks for the pointers. I was thinking Dwarves because I love the metallic blue sheen on them. I am a sucker for such colored fishes...

yep a gouramie can live like a betta without an air pump. i know this is late but that's what i have to say.

Hiya Bettachris,

Well it's better late then never.

Anyway, might try to convince my brother to drive me to the fish farm this weekend to look around. How do I tell the ladies from the lads? I think I read somewhere that the males had pointed dorsals while the females had more round dorsals?

Gosh I want that tank so much that I even dreamt about it last night that I dropped by this LFS to get a fish tank...

Most of us here dream about fish (kinda sad really... but oh well...) as for the sexing, yes you are correct;

Males on the Gourami generally have more "POINTED" fins (dorsal) and females more "ROUNDED" and less colourful. In the case of my Croaking Gourami (if you can find them, get some, they make the neatest sounds like a cat purring loudly in short bursts) Males have the longer Anal fin tainted with blue on the end.

Croaking, Like Dwarf Gourami only grow to 1.5"! In fact, I think they are truly under appriciated Gourami.

Gary