Dwarf gourami with apistos

[guy_in_a_tie]

Hi everyone,

I have already decided on tank mates for my apisto pair but out of curiosity and for thinking ahead, would a small group (maybe 5) of dwarf gouramis be suitable with a pair of apisto, assuming the tank is big enough (20 gallon long or more). Tried to research it online and most sources said yes its fine but not too sure myself and I cant find any information on here so any help would be appreciated ).

Thanks,

-Ilias

 

[Mike Wise]

I personally would not, especially with 2 apistos that would want to breed in your smallish aquarium. It appears that you need to decide what you want, a community or breeding tank. Breeding cichlids of any size can wreak havoc on a community tank.

 

[guy_in_a_tie]

Yes that makes sense I was thinking that maybe the apistos wouldn't mind them as dither fish but that probably wont work- will have to stick to pencil fish and other nanoish species for the smaller tanks.
Thanks for the help,
Ilias

 

[MacZ]

would a small group (maybe 5) of dwarf gouramis

Besides all that Mike said: Dwarf gourami (Trichogaster lalius) are pretty aggressive little buggers themselves and especially the colourful domestic ones most common in shops are very agressive towards each other. 5 of them will be a lot of violence. I deem them best kept like Bettas, alone, maybe with a small group of Rasboras.

 

[guy_in_a_tie]

Besides all that Mike said: Dwarf gourami (Trichogaster lalius) are pretty aggressive little buggers themselves and especially the colourful domestic ones most common in shops are very agressive towards each other. 5 of them will be a lot of violence. I deem them best kept like Bettas, alone, maybe with a small group of Rasboras.

I read from somewhere that they were similar in nature to honey gourami which is apparently the more docile variety of the species (?). I have learnt to take everything I learn online these days with a pinch of salt so this is all very good to know. Also just checking, sparkling gouramis would be fine as they much smaller than their relatives, right? or am I wildy misinformed again.
Thanks!

 

[MacZ]

I read from somewhere that they were similar in nature to honey gourami which is apparently the more docile variety of the species (?)

Wild ones, yes. But in the trade you mostly get the colourful hyperaggressive ones. They are 1.5 times the size of the wild ones, super colourful and very aggressive. The tanks at stores are often either packed so aggression is dispersed or you see one of them in every tank. Also all the colourful fish are males. You barely get females.
At the same time they are often prone to the dwarf gourami disease, which is able to kill the population in a whole store, as it affects all labyrinth fish. The disease has no known treatment, fish usually die within weeks after the first symptoms show up.
I haven't seen wild (type) dwarf gourami in person in a while. Last time at a specialist's store with a lot of labyrinth fish in 2019. Before that only a handful of times.

 

[Anonymous22]

Hi everyone,

I have already decided on tank mates for my apisto pair but out of curiosity and for thinking ahead, would a small group (maybe 5) of dwarf gouramis be suitable with a pair of apisto, assuming the tank is big enough (20 gallon long or more). Tried to research it online and most sources said yes its fine but not too sure myself and I cant find any information on here so any help would be appreciated ).

Thanks,

-Ilias

I had 4 honey gourami in a 55 gallon tank. I added two apistogramma agassizii fire red and one of them attacked them constantly like CONSTANTLY and the other attacked my corydoras habrosus constantly. So I moved the gourami and cory to a different tank because I really want the apistogramma I'm the 55. So based off my experience I wouldn't recommend that. But dwarf gourami are more aggressive from what I've red and been told so they may be able to hold their own.

 

[MacZ]

apistogramma agassizii fire red

Additionally those have the same colour as Trichogaster chuna females and a roughly similar shape.
Who attacked who? The Apistos the gourami or vice versa?
Because attacking corydoras is not unusual.

 

[guy_in_a_tie]

Wild ones, yes. But in the trade you mostly get the colourful hyperaggressive ones. They are 1.5 times the size of the wild ones, super colourful and very aggressive. The tanks at stores are often either packed so aggression is dispersed or you see one of them in every tank. Also all the colourful fish are males. You barely get females.
At the same time they are often prone to the dwarf gourami disease, which is able to kill the population in a whole store, as it affects all labyrinth fish. The disease has no known treatment, fish usually die within weeks after the first symptoms show up.
I haven't seen wild (type) dwarf gourami in person in a while. Last time at a specialist's store with a lot of labyrinth fish in 2019. Before that only a handful of times.

ok I will stay clear of gourami for now until I can maybe set up a tank just for them. Would sparkling gourami be a possibility though?

 

[MacZ]

No, Trichopsis pumila live a lifestyle similar to Apistogramma but come from different habitats.

"One species per niche" is a good description of what I mean.

 

[Anonymous22]

Additionally those have the same colour as Trichogaster chuna females and a roughly similar shape.
Who attacked who? The Apistos the gourami or vice versa?
Because attacking corydoras is not unusual.

The apistogramma attacked the gourami and the "professionals" told me they would be fine with my habrosus because the cory don't bother anybody (which that part is true) the being fine isn't. I have 20 habrosus in there and I've managed to catch ten so far and move them to the smaller 36 gallon. But, that messed up the look I had in my 55 with them lol. I really want the apistogramma in there though (for now) because if they're just straight out terrors with all the fish then they can go solo in their own tank.

 

[MacZ]

When apistos start getting territorial any fish at the bottom is getting the short end.
There is a reason the consensus here on the forum is to keep Apistogramma on their own or only with carefully chosen tankmates. They are not community tank material. At best a biotope community with them as the only bottomdwellers.