Hi, I just wanted to thank everyone who contributed to this thread.
I monitored several LPS this past Month till one finally got in some
medium size 2.5" pearl gouramis. for $10 I got a male&female who get
along well in my tank, and the wide variety of fish in my community.
besides looking nice, they behave differently than my other fish
which makes their contribution to my tank all the more pleasurable.
FYI all the LPS claim they don't usually carry pearls because their
fins often break up in shipping, so they become harder to sell. I
can see how that's possible; fortunately all the fins are intact
my pearls are more active than I expected. they seem very busy
exploring every inch of my tank disturbing other fish in the process.
hopefully once they feel at home, their activities will calm down.