Cinnebuns Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 It's so frustrating all the conflicting info out there so I want some advice. I currently have 1 honey gourami. I believe it's a male but idk tbh. I'm considering adding 2 more honey gouramis. Here's the questions arising from conflicting info: 1. Is red honey gouramis also honey gouramis? 2. Does sex matter? If mine is a male do I have to get females? Pic of my gourami for reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ange Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 I have sparkling gouramis and they're a fair bit more aggressive, but in general it's a very bad idea to keep trios with semi aggressive fish. It's very common for two of them to pair up (even pairs of the same sex) and bully the third. Again, I have sparkling gouramis and the only way that I can semi-reliably sex them is by checking females for ovaries. It's not perfect because females can have their ovaries shrink when under stress. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will reply about this. From what I'm aware of, sunset gouramis are a morph of honey gouramis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewzero1 Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 (edited) I can't find a solid source at the moment, but I've seen a lot of speculation that the "red" (often "robin red" or "red sunset") honey gourami may be a hybrid with dwarf gourami (chuna x lalia). To add to the confusion there's "sunset" (not red) which is a school bus orange color morph (not hybrid). @laritheloud did a thread a few months ago comparing the different varieties: In my experience it can be hard to reliably sex honey gouramis because their color can change a lot depending on their situation. Someone might be able to tell by the fin shape, possibly. (I won't make a guess because I've kept pearl gourami more recently and it's clouded my memory for honeys.) Edited March 31, 2022 by drewzero1 added link 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 (edited) @Cinnebuns, this is a gold-type honey gourami and she is a female. Adding a couple more will be just fine, but be aware that males can be feisty little turds sometimes and like to chase females around the tank. It's not violent, but it might make you look twice. What size is your tank? If it is 20 gallons or more I'd feel totally comfortable adding two more honey gouramis. EDIT to add: Red Honey Gouramis tend to be 'trichogaster labiosa' (thick-lipped gouramis; they grow to look like the fish in my profile photo). If the fish in the shop has a CLEAR tail and not a colored tail, that's a tell that you're looking at a thicklip and not a real honey gourami. Edited March 31, 2022 by laritheloud 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted March 31, 2022 Author Share Posted March 31, 2022 On 3/31/2022 at 7:53 AM, laritheloud said: What size is your tank? It's a 29 gallon which also includes 3 guppies, 7 panda cories (with some juveniles) and snails. On 3/31/2022 at 7:53 AM, laritheloud said: If the fish in the shop has a CLEAR tail and not a colored tail, that's a tell that you're looking at a thicklip and not a real honey gourami. I was considering getting these. Keeping 2 and my friend would take the other 4. If it's less likely to be an issue i would get the yellows. https://aquahuna.com/products/red-honey-gourami Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 On 3/31/2022 at 11:52 AM, Cinnebuns said: It's a 29 gallon which also includes 3 guppies, 7 panda cories (with some juveniles) and snails. I was considering getting these. Keeping 2 and my friend would take the other 4. If it's less likely to be an issue i would get the yellows. https://aquahuna.com/products/red-honey-gourami The red honey gouramis on Aqua Huna's page are thicklipped gouramis. My first thicklipped was purchased as a honey and it was a mistake, but I ended up loving her best of all. I initially kept her in a 29 gallon tank with honey gouramis. Long-term, honey gouramis and thicklipped gouramis can be rough to keep together. My thicklipped female terrorized my honey gourami male by chasing him all over the tank. There was no outright violence but a lot of stress on the honey. She never bothered my female honeys-- ever. I would strongly suggest sticking with the same gourami species in one tank. In a 29 gallon tank, you can fit 4 to 6 honey gouramis. I have 4 honeys in mine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnebuns Posted March 31, 2022 Author Share Posted March 31, 2022 On 3/31/2022 at 12:09 PM, laritheloud said: The red honey gouramis on Aqua Huna's page are thicklipped gouramis Does that mean the yellow ones on aqua huna are thick lipped as well? They gave them both the same scientific name. If that's the case I might need to look elsewhere. I also need to verify what I have IS a honey gourami probably. Although sounds like it is Also, would 3 be a mistake? 2 and 3 usually are avoid numbers for most species unless breeding pair. So is 4 better? I would prefer 3 but I ultimately prefer peace lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 On 3/31/2022 at 5:03 PM, Cinnebuns said: Does that mean the yellow ones on aqua huna are thick lipped as well? They gave them both the same scientific name. If that's the case I might need to look elsewhere. I also need to verify what I have IS a honey gourami probably. Although sounds like it is Also, would 3 be a mistake? 2 and 3 usually are avoid numbers for most species unless breeding pair. So is 4 better? I would prefer 3 but I ultimately prefer peace lol I didn't notice any big differences between 3 and 4 honey gouramis. I'd get 3. Also, the yellow ones on Aqua Huna are definitely honeys, so don't worry! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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