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Honey Gourami question for Hobbit


Alesha
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Hi all!  @Hobbit, I've got a male honey gourami in nesting mode. So we picked up a small clump of red root floaters just for him.  I don't have anything else floating in my tank.

He has pretty much destored the floaters - I think! I hate to "accuse" him when I don't know for sure. 😬😉  

He has moved, poked, prodded, chased and darted through the little clump until they are shredded. The red roots have turned dark, the leaves are separating & dropping to the bottom of the tank where the shrimp & snails have created on them.

What floaters do you recommend for him & does this behavior sound normal? 

Alesha

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On 6/20/2021 at 5:11 PM, Alesha said:

Hi all!  @Hobbit, I've got a male honey gourami in nesting mode. So we picked up a small clump of red root floaters just for him.  I don't have anything else floating in my tank.

He has pretty much destored the floaters - I think! I hate to "accuse" him when I don't know for sure. 😬😉  

He has moved, poked, prodded, chased and darted through the little clump until they are shredded. The red roots have turned dark, the leaves are separating & dropping to the bottom of the tank where the shrimp & snails have created on them.

What floaters do you recommend for him & does this behavior sound normal? 

Alesha

(Looking forward to hearing from @Hobbit) We found water lettuce, duckweed, and floating Catappa leaf to be good nest-building materials for our dwarf Gourami. We had 50-100 babies... then one outgrew the rest, and ate them all. 🤨

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On 6/20/2021 at 5:26 PM, Fish Folk said:

(Looking forward to hearing from @Hobbit) We found water lettuce, duckweed, and floating Catappa leaf to be good nest-building materials for our dwarf Gourami. We had 50-100 babies... then one outgrew the rest, and ate them all. 🤨

I looked into water lettuce, but it's against the law to have here in Florida! 😳 And duckweed quickly blocks my tank. I'll look into the Catappa leaf. Thank you for the info. 

Alesha

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One of the things I've learned about red root floaters is that they are pretty hardy except for any type of water movement.  I can literally grow them outside in 114 degree weather in a bucket of water (so basically boiling water, lol) and they are doing great but if they are touched or moved too much, they fall apart immediately.  What about frogbit, is that allowed in Florida?  I think that's supposed to be less dainty than red root floaters.  Also there is giant duckweed and salvinia that might work well for you.  If local places don't have it, Ebay has some good sellers.

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Good luck finding a plant that works for your little guy! I'd try the salvinia or the frogbit if you can't do water lettuce. I have water lettuce and water sprite and my beautiful golden male is in the quarantine tank right now. I can't wait to try this for my honeys. 🙂 They're currently my favorite fish, along with my sweetie-pie sunset thicklip gourami.

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On 6/20/2021 at 6:26 PM, laritheloud said:

Good luck finding a plant that works for your little guy! I'd try the salvinia or the frogbit if you can't do water lettuce. I have water lettuce and water sprite and my beautiful golden male is in the quarantine tank right now. I can't wait to try this for my honeys. 🙂 They're currently my favorite fish, along with my sweetie-pie sunset thicklip gourami.

Does your sunset thicklip get along with the honeys? 

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On 6/20/2021 at 6:36 PM, Alesha said:

Does your sunset thicklip get along with the honeys? 

She absolutely does. She was given to us as an LFS mistake, I asked for a honey gourami pair and got.......... a honey gourami and a thicklip, which, for some reason, they thought was a male honey but was actually a female thicklip. 🤣 She's absolutely best friends with my honeys, no problems whatsoever. They swim together and rest together at night.

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While not a plant, my honey gouramis (particularly the males) love floating logs.  The sale the betta one at the Co Op which they have liked for me in the past ( https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/betta-floating-log?_pos=1&_sid=6ee6465ec&_ss=r ).


However, the zoo med small and medium floating logs for my honey gouramis work much better.  Mine tend to next in the little air circle at the top of each log.  

Here is the small one:  https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Floating-Aquarium-Small/dp/B000FMWPBK/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=aquarium+log+floating&qid=1624230303&sr=8-1 

Here is the medium one: https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Floating-Aquarium-Medium/dp/B000FMWPCO/ref=psdc_2975452011_t2_B000FMWPBK

 

I so wish the Co Op would carry these. In my personal opinion, they are way better, even for bettas, than the betta version.

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I'm very honored you mentioned me in the title, @Alesha! I think I may come across as the expert on honeys only because I don't know much about anything else. 😄

I don't give mine any floating plants on purpose, but when I reduce the water flow, plant debris will accumulate in the corner. Water sprite that's come loose from the main plant, dead sword plant leaves, etc. My male honey tends to build his nest in the corner of the tank, behind the plant debris. So I don't think they need floating plants per se--just something to slow the water flow enough for their bubbles to stay put. The floating logs that @Ben_RF suggested sound great. I'm sure fake leaves or half a plastic cup like betta breeders use would work as well. Or if there's not much flow to your water, he may not need anything at all!

As for why your male attacked and destroyed the red root floaters... I have no idea! Maybe he didn't like the color...? Perhaps he saw them as a potential enemy? They certainly have personality, so who knows what was going through his head. Maybe if they had been there before he built the nest, he would have left them alone. Just guessing here.

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On 6/21/2021 at 12:52 AM, Hobbit said:

I'm very honored you mentioned me in the title, @Alesha! I think I may come across as the expert on honeys only because I don't know much about anything else. 😄

I don't give mine any floating plants on purpose, but when I reduce the water flow, plant debris will accumulate in the corner. Water sprite that's come loose from the main plant, dead sword plant leaves, etc. My male honey tends to build his nest in the corner of the tank, behind the plant debris. So I don't think they need floating plants per se--just something to slow the water flow enough for their bubbles to stay put. The floating logs that @Ben_RF suggested sound great. I'm sure fake leaves or half a plastic cup like betta breeders use would work as well. Or if there's not much flow to your water, he may not need anything at all!

As for why your male attacked and destroyed the red root floaters... I have no idea! Maybe he didn't like the color...? Perhaps he saw them as a potential enemy? They certainly have personality, so who knows what was going through his head. Maybe if they had been there before he built the nest, he would have left them alone. Just guessing here.

When you mention reducing water flow, does that mean you have a powerhead? I only have two sponge filters, so there isn't much "flow" at all, although there is a bit, of course, and yes, any debris seems to migrate to the front 2 corners. 

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The bubble nest only stays put as long as nothing swims very vigorously around/through it. But sometimes, the male is the one doing the chasing away of all fish, snails, shrimp, etc. I've seen him go after shrimp who dare to land on the debris. It's the funniest thing ever to see them jumping backwards to avoid him! LoL!!!

By and large the bubbles disappear pretty easily, though. He rebuilds it multiple times a day. And he wasn't really attacking the floaters as much as he was constantly rearranging them, as though they didn't quite suit his idea of the perfect nest. You're right - who knows what's going on his head!

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Thanks so much for sharing your expertise! And being an expert in one area is so much more helpful than knowing just a smidge of 10 or 100 subjects, I think! So, I'm grateful that you share what you've learned. Thank you!

Alesha

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Yep, I do have a power head. I can’t imagine the flow from sponge filters is much of an issue. 👍 It sounds like the fish movement is more the problem than the water flow. Is your tank covered? It might be that the humidity is too low and it weakens the bubbles.

On 6/21/2021 at 12:51 PM, Alesha said:

And he wasn't really attacking the floaters as much as he was constantly rearranging them, as though they didn't quite suit his idea of the perfect nest. You're right - who knows what's going on his head!

Ah, I see. Well, maybe he’s just more of an interior decorator than mine! 

@Irene may have some insight here, too.

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On 6/22/2021 at 1:22 AM, Hobbit said:

Yep, I do have a power head. I can’t imagine the flow from sponge filters is much of an issue. 👍 It sounds like the fish movement is more the problem than the water flow. Is your tank covered? It might be that the humidity is too low and it weakens the bubbles.

Ah, I see. Well, maybe he’s just more of an interior decorator than mine! 

@Irene may have some insight here, too.

That's interesting about the low humidity. You'd think it's in the water, how can it be low humidity? But with a closed top and a light burning for several hours a day, there is probably very low humidity in that space above the water. And we're in FL so the a/c runs at 76* and further removes humidity. I'll bet that's why the bubbles aren't lasting. So smart!!!

And, btw, I have 4 males and 2 females. All 4 males are making nests today. 3 in the available corners (the 4th corner has a sponge filter) and one along the front middle. 🙄😏😆

Thanks again for all your help! I am much obliged.

Alesha

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Wow! You have a busy tank! Your females have their pick. 😄 The closed top should make the humidity better, but if there are a lot of large gaps, maybe closing off some of those will help.

Glad I could assist! Let us know who the lucky two boys are. 😉

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