Golden Gourami Grr...

[Newf0rm]

I used to have two golden gouramis but one of them decided to repeatedly pick on the other one, thus leading to its death. My wife is the one that picked the fish out and now she wants fish that are more entertaining... I dont wanna get rid of the gourami cause its pretty nice lookin. Was wondering if I could maybe throw in some neon tetras or something. Ive read alot of horror stories about these fish since it happened. thats the last time I get my wife what she wants in a aquarium lol.

[freddy5]

I had gouramis with neon tetra's ,platy's and some other small fish they did fine,if you have live bearers the gourami will keep the babies in check.

[Newf0rm]

Thanks man thats good to hear!

[HighDesert]

I have rasboras in with my gourami and they do fine. Too little and too fast, I think. ;-)

[Newf0rm]

yeah I think fast would be a good choice just incase the gourami is feelin antsy

[LB79]

How big is the tank? How much cover is available? Golden gouramis do better alone or in large groups as they tend to have a somewhat brutal pecking order. Anything from black neon tetras to Australian rainbowfish should be fine with the gourami, though.

[Newf0rm]

ok Thanks, It's just a 10 gallon and theres stuff to chill around on the lower, not anything near the top of the tank.

[LB79]

Gold gouramis have the potential to get up to 6 inches. A little big for the ten gallon. He may claim the whole tank as his territory. A much better gourami would be one of the dwarf gouramis, as they are smaller.

[Newf0rm]

Looks like I'll be finding this fish a new home.

[LB79]

Yeah, that would be the wise thing to do.

You want fun fish? Get a 125 gallon aquarium and 50 mbuna. These fish have taken simply existing to a whole new level.

[Diana]

A good Gourami for a 10: A single male Honey Gourami. Colorful, does not grow too big, usually fine with fish that swim lower in the tank.
Then add some lower swimming fish. Not too many, though. The Harlequin Rasboras are a good idea. 3-5 are OK, and are not too much for a 10 gallon tank.

[LB79]

Harlequins usually frequent the upper areas... In a ten, I don't know that there is much of an upper area to stay in though (tens are a little small).

[Diana]

Harleys are all over the place. But they are not territorial, and are more often mid tank rather that right at the top. They visit the top, but not enough to bother a territorial fish like Gouramis or Bettas.

[Slippryrock]

For what it is worth, i have beat my head against the wall trying to keep more than one dwarf in my 29 gallon and it always ends up being just one left standing... err swimming. the aggression is not that noticeable to me but it is enough to stress them out until death. I used to keep African cichlids and didn't think the amount of harassment between them was anything to worry about. But after several attempts to keep more than one I have learned they are very peaceful fish but delicate when it comes to stress from the alpha. Creating natural boundries for them eludes me at this point. until i can get a better idea of what they like for territory I'm only able to keep one. I never would have thought that the peaceful and highly passive little dwarf gouramis would be a ninja.

[Newf0rm]

yeah im in the process of trying to trade the gourami for some smaller non agressive fish and if that doesnt work I'll be giving it back to petco