Sparkling Gourami + Heterandria formosa in a nano tank?

[PedroPete]

Hello, quick question - I have 8 Heterandria formosa in an 8 gallon tank. I wanted to add shrimp, but then I remembered sparkling gourami as a beautiful nano fish I haven't kept yet. Do you think these 2 fish species are compatible in a seasoned / cycled planted nano tank? Any tips welcome!

[Native Keeper]

I can see 2 problems with this stocking:

1. H. formosa is really small, the females max out at 3cm, while Sparkiling Gouramis can get 6cm, meaning that the Sparkling Gourami might end up eating the younger livebearers.

2. H. formosa prefer harder water, since they come from the Southern US, while Sparkiling Gouramis come from Southern Thailand, and therefore prefer softer water.

a fish that I'd recommend for this is Elassoma evergladei, or any Elassoma species for that matter. They stay small, and ca handle harder ph.

 

[Patrick_G]

Are the H Formosa fully grown? I think you might be ok in that case, but I think the Gourami will eat the fry. Mine is a tiny super predator! 
Have you considered a Kuhli loach or Pygmy Corydoras? 

Edited January 19, 2022 by Patrick_G

[PedroPete]

Hi folks, Thank you so much for your input! I really appreciate you sharing your perspective and experience. I hadn't realized the sparkling gourami were such voracious micropredators. I had thought the water parameters might be an issue. I have hard water here, which is lovely for my livebearers...but sounds like less than ideal for the gourami. @Patrick_G I love pygmy corys, and I have them in another tank (11 gallon cube with vienna guppies)! Makes me wonder if I might be able to breed both pygmy corys and H.f. in the same tank at some point down the road. Kuhli loaches would be interesting, but I think I prefer to go with Neo shrimp. Anyway, have a great rest of your day!