Pearl Gourami?

pearls are great, they leave all other fish alone. with that said, you should know that they have their own personalities and I have read about some being bullies.

Most times the male pearl will pick on the female pearls which is why it is suggested to have 1 male and 2-3 females.

My male is big and a bit of a control freak but with 3 females is the tank he has calmed down alot. Too busy showing off his colors to the ladies to pick on em now

they are my favorite out of the gourami family, males are just stunning!!

How big is your tank?

Pearl gourami can grow pretty large.

Yes that is true. 4-5 inches and they love to swim all over. Mine are very active fish

lauraleellbp said:

How big is your tank?

Pearl gourami can grow pretty large.

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30g. It is cycling now and I am trying to decide what I want in there. I love CPD's and want a nice size herd of them but would also like a centerpiece fish that would be compatible.

How about a pair or rams or apisto? Would probably be more suitable for that size of tank

philipraposo1982 said:

How about a pair or rams or apisto? Would probably be more suitable for that size of tank

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That is another option I am looking at.

You'd have to be kind of careful with centerpiece fish... CPDs are teeny food fish.
Maybe you could try a dwarf gourami. Just one, though.
Another option would be a peaceful betta, if you can find one.

philipraposo1982 said:

How about a pair or rams or apisto? Would probably be more suitable for that size of tank

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Betta132 said:

You'd have to be kind of careful with centerpiece fish... CPDs are teeny food fish.
Maybe you could try a dwarf gourami. Just one, though.
Another option would be a peaceful betta, if you can find one.

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I've had CPD's before and really love them. They were in a shrimp tank with themselves and some Daisy's ricefish along with the cherry shrimp. This is why I was wondering about the pearl gourami: is their mouth big enough to chow on a cpd and are they aggressive towards smaller, timid tankmates?

Pearls ignore everything in the tank except their own kind

My tiny male ram pushes them.out of his territory all the time

I have three pearls in my 29G. One male and two females. They are great. They don't bother the guppy fry I have in that tank, so I don't see why they would go after CPD. I have leopard danios in the tank too, and they are considerably more aggressive than the gouramis.

Pearls are absolutely Fantastic with CPD's and all sorts of small micro fish. The small micro fish help the Pearl's feel comfortable in the tank and make them roam about, im currently working on breeding up a school of endlers to make mine feel more at ease in their 40. I recommend you get a pair of Pearls. They don't really like being alone, although they can tolerate it. Also look for a pair, male and female. Males usually are more colorful then the female is as well as smaller

Thanks everybody! I am still not sure what I am going to do but I now have more information and real life experiences to help with the decision.