palnted betta and Gourami tank

[rED O]

i was thinking of diging my 30 gallon tank out of the back and setting it up agen. i was thinking of a planted tank with 1 male or a few female bettas and some gouramis. i dont know much about gouramis, how many could i have in a 30 gallon tank with a male betta that would not be over stalking?

[thegrandpoohbah]

I believe you cannot mix bettas and gouramis as they are aggressive towards each other. I'm not 100% sure though so maybe someone else could verify that.

[rED O]

i have seen it done before. i just would like to know how many gallons for a blue gourami

[BlackMumba]

Both species are territorial, hence the nature of the beasts... You could effectively put a pair of blue gourami in a 30 gal tank, but with female betta's would be my recommendation, they are less aggressive then their male companions.

You also could have just a female betta tank... I have a 10 gal tank, with 4 females living quite nicely together, they have their moments of aggression but nothing serious. They learn quickly who is the boss and where they are allowed to be... once they determine that, all is peaceful...

I would not recommend a male betta with a bunch of females.... once one female is ready to mate with the male, she will hunt and kill the other females to keep him to herself... if you are looking to breed the bettas then keep the females together, and get a smaller tank for the male, and breed them in the smaller tank.

:thumbs:

Edited October 27, 2007 by BlackMumba

[Slough Shark]

Hi rED O,

Here is some info I gave to another user a while back:

Here is a list of scientific names (much more accurate than common names) you can get loads of info on, many Gourami species will have different colour morphs and names, you will see nearly all of them in the links at the bottom I will post for you:

Very Small

Trichopsis pumila (Pygmy Gourami)

Trichopsis vittata (Croaking Gourami)

Small

Colisa lalia (Dwarf Gourami)

Colisa chuna (Honey Gourami)

Mid-sized

Trichogaster leerii (Pearl Gourami)

Trichosgaster trichopterus (Gold, Three-spot, Opaline Gourami)

Trichogaster microlepis (Moonlight Gourami)

I did not list the very largest, simply because they are too large for that tank (Snakeskin Gourami, Giant Gourami and a few others if you care to know). I also didn't list the very difficult Gourami (Chocolate and Licorice Gourami + Relatives), some have said Chocolate Gourami are harder to keep than Discus...

So for a 30 Gallon tank, I would reccomend:

a trio (1M/2F) of the small Gourami and a school of Rasboras or Trichopsis sp. with 5 Kuhlis (black or banded)

or

a pair of Pearl Gourami... same as above

or

a single Moonlight, Gold, Three-spot, or Opaline Gourami (these Gourami could be paired up, but if you want to have a natural, uncramped look, keep only one)... same as above

Mix up the "dithers" if you like, the Gourami would probably be the centerpiece fish in this tank, so you want to have a school of fish that compliment the colour of the Gourami in the tank (ex. Harlequin Rasboras with Gold Gourami). And the benthic fish are up to your tastes to decide. I think kuhlis are perfect for the tank though.

I also reccomend you do not do a river-type setup if you go with the Gourami, as their natural habitat is swamps and low-movement forest streams.

Here are some great links for Gourami and general anabantoid/fish research:

http://fishbase.org/search.php

http://www.aquahobby.com/e_freshwater_trop...uarium_fish.php

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/

And of cousre... http://www.google.ca/

As with all research, you should get info from 3-5 sites, then compose the information and you will know all you need.

Like BlackMumba said, go with female bettas and gouramis if you must, but keeping them seperate will be better. IMO, you should just have a pair of Gourami (or Betta) and some small schooling fish as well as some Loaches. Perfect Southeast Asia Biotope!

Good luck!

Taylor

[Nauticus]

I have kept all of the above listed fish and it is my experience that the Pearl and moonlight tend to be a little less aggressive and more beuatiful than the other mid sized gouramis. If you plant the snot out of the tank and keep the flow nice and gentle you should have a sweet tank with a pair of female bettas, a couple of croakers, and a pair of pearls or moonlights.

Surface floating plants and thicker growing bushy plants are the way to go. That or some mosses with some drift woods and the floating plants. They give the little guys places to hide and territory to stake. Have fun with them they are all great fish.