# Can you mix and match types of Gourami?



## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

No. 

Gouramis are not social, nor pair bonding. 
They are solitary, territorial, especially the males. 

Pearls are about the most tolerant of each other, though I have seen one thread about some aggressive Pearls. 

Honey, Snakeskin and Moonlight are probably next most tolerant. I would not mix these with other Gouramis, though. 

Beyond that they are increasingly aggressive, with Dwarf Gouramis and 3 spot about as aggressive as some Bettas. 

I have kept all of these (including Bettas).


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## Ben Diss (Mar 1, 2016)

(total newb here)

I had a pair of Gold Gouramis that were very aggressive in the tank. I think they ate the eye of a blue danio and they ate some of my plants. Traded them for a pair of Flame Dwarf Gourami and all is well in the tank again.


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## SpaceLord (Feb 29, 2016)

Ben Diss said:


> (total newb here)
> 
> I had a pair of Gold Gouramis that were very aggressive in the tank. I think they ate the eye of a blue danio and they ate some of my plants. Traded them for a pair of Flame Dwarf Gourami and all is well in the tank again.


OH MY GOSH!!! :surprise::surprise::surprise::surprise:

That is some messed up stuff there. Sound like a Buenos Aires Tetra.

Is a Gold Gourami the same as a honey Gourami? 

I had a friend who told me that she had a pair of Drawf Gourami which killed every fish in her aquarium then she look them out and put them in their own tank which the proceeded to kill each other. I told her that Perl Gourami is a great fish but she does not believe me which is understandable after the massacre she experienced.

Bump:


Diana said:


> No.
> 
> Gouramis are not social, nor pair bonding.
> They are solitary, territorial, especially the males.
> ...


The 2 Pearl Gourami I have seem to stick together except one occasionally chases the other one. Strangely its the smaller one that chases the bigger one from time to time. 

Just so I understand what you are saying 100%, are you saying that a Aquarium with Pearl Gourami should only have other Pearl Gourami or that peaceful gourami should only be houses with other peaceful Gourami ? 

In other words, you listed as somewhat peaceful being " 
Honey, Snakeskin and Moonlight" So may those be housed with a pearl Gourami or are you saying that even if they are somewhat peaceful, they should still not be housed with the pearl gourami? 

A funny story, over 20 years ago when I was a little kid, I had an aggressive Gourami in my community fish tank and I don't remember how the old fish died but the only 2 fish left were this Gourami and a single zebra danio and all day the Gourami would chase the Zebra danio around the entire tank. 

My father walked in the room and was like " why is that bully fish always chasing little fish nonstop" ! 

Also, what is your opinion of a pearl gourami and a female betta in a 75 gallon planted tank? 

Thanks.


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## adive (Oct 30, 2013)

I have kept a female pearl and a powder blue dwarf together for 1 year in a heavily planted 3ft tank. They enjoy (need?) an occasional confrontation with each other. Tank space & hiding spots matter. The weaker guys should be able to get away from the bullies.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Female dwarves have an interesting dynamic. Although not as aggro as the males, mine used to be the force that kept the peace in the tank. Even fishes that were normally confrontational with each other would duck for their own corners when the missus swam by. She never hurt anybody though. Except for fishes that form long term bonds, I don't believe in keeping less than 3 females to a male.... when everybody is paired up, there should be at least two females spare, regardless of numbers. Otherwise the loner left over female gets picked on, by both sexes.


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## fishyfishy101 (Nov 12, 2014)

The smaller gouramis are very peaceful i.e. licorice, sparkling, chocolate, and samurai.
Sparkling gouramis are fairly common and cheaper then the others I mentioned.


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## irishspy (Oct 22, 2007)

Space Lord:


> Is a Gold Gourami the same as a honey Gourami?


No, those are two different species. The Honey Dwarf is Trichogaster Chuna (formerly Colisa Chuna). It's about the size of a Dwarf Gourami and is usually mild mannered.

Gold Gouramis are a color variant of Trichogaster Trichopterus, which includes Blue and Opaline Gouramis. They can be pretty aggressive, especially when they're in a breeding mood. I'd only keep them in a larger tank (40g and up) and with tankmates who can stand up for themselves. :fish:


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## Grah the great (Jul 3, 2013)

Can you mix different gouramies? Frequently, yes...IF you have a largish tank (what is 'largish' depends on the fish in question...I think a 75 counts for Pearls, which are relatively docile) and lots of cover, and are prepared to remove any irate individuals. From my experiences keeping multiple paradise fish (which are significantly more aggressive than most other species) together, this works best if there are at least four or five anabantoids in the same tank...smaller groups result in a lot of fin nipping (particularly noticeable on paradise fish). Interestingly, at pet stores with multiple gourami species (more specifically a tank with several PF's and honey gouramies) and more than one specimen of each, I have found that each species directs most of its attention to its own kind and seldom bothers other species.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

I would not mix Anabantoids in one tank. Period. 

Sometimes you can get either 1M + 1 or more females, OR several females without the male of:
Pearl- Trichopodus leeri

Almost as peaceful- Try 1M + 1 or more females, but watch it! Some individuals may be pushier than average. 
Honey- Trichogaster chuna (note- there are crosses with this or a similar species that are more scarlet-red. I have seen them labeled Honey Gouramis, but they are not the same. I do not know the personality of these cross breeds)
Snakeskin- Trichopodus pectoralis
Moonlight- Trichogaster microlepis
I would have a large tank (especially for the Snakeskins- they get big) and have a back up plan in case it does not work out. 
I have had problems with Honey and Moonlight Gouramis. 
Some of the 'other' species of Betta are much less aggressive than Betta splendens, and are worth researching.
As noted above, most of the lower tank Anabantoids are OK with more than one fish, some are social. 

Much more aggressive. One fish one tank. (unless it is a really big tank)
3 spot and all its colors- Trichopodus trichopterus- Gold, Platinum, Blue, Cosby, Opaline. I have had a Cosby male claim all of a 125 gallon tank, 6' long. The only fish that stood up to him were Cichlids. 
Dwarf- Trichogaster lalius- several colors including Flame, Powder. I have heard of some being so aggressive to all other species of fish that the Dwarf Gourami ended up in a separate tank all by himself. These are also subject to Iridovirus. 
Betta splendens- Some females can be as aggressive as some males. On the other hand, some males can be pretty mellow toward many other species of fish that swim lower in the tank. Betta females seem to get along OK, but watch out for the more aggressive one, and remove her from the tank. 
Paradise fish- Macropodus opercularis


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## Oso Polar (Apr 22, 2015)

In 75 gallon tank you can definitely mix pearls with many other types of gouramis. Gouramis in general are far more aggressive within their own species, they pay much less attention to other fish species, including other gouramis (unless other fish has similar appearance or male gourami is protecting its nest). Putting together multiple males of the same species in one tank will cause much more problems - though even this should be easily achievable in 75 gallon. Buy one male and two-three females of the same species and they'll be much less concerned with other fish in the tank. Avoid keeping single gourami (even if it is a female). Surface agitation prevents nesting.

Honey gourami (Trichogaster chuna, not red-orange dwarf gourami that is sometimes sold as "Flame Honey Gourami" or something like this) will definitely work, for tank of this size you can easily keep 6-8 of them, including 2-3 males. Trichogaster labiosa and Trichogaster fasciata are also very peaceful to other species (but don't put these species together and don't put more than 2 males in this tank).

There are other types of small gouramis that are not aggressive to other species but they may be not good candidates for general community tank - it all depends on what other fish you keep and water parameters.

In my 50 gallon tank I'm keeping together pearl, honey, banded, sparkling and chocolate without any conflicts *between different species*.


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## AWolf (Jun 13, 2014)

I've tried mixing dwarf powder blue, flame, and neon G's without much luck. Too much fighting in any kind of arrangement for me. They got along for about a month or two, then all hell broke lose. They've been separated ever since. I've never had pearl G's.


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## Oso Polar (Apr 22, 2015)

These are not different, they are all just different color varieties of dwarf gourami. And all are males.


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## thegirlundertherainbow (Aug 12, 2004)

In my experience Pearl Gourami are very peaceful. I've mixed them with betta splendens (a group of females and a male) and other gourami (Gold/Opaline/Blue).. MOST of the 3 spot types were good (I only had one each of them) but sometimes.. one of those can be not nice. My tank was heavily planted.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Technically You could mix all gourami's in a nice curry. Giant gourami's are a significant food source in parts of India.


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