Honey Gourami + tank

[beastie]

So it has been two weeks since adding the new "pair" of honey gourami to the tank, they are doing well and deserve their own journal.
Tank dimensions are 60x30x30cm. It is super low tech, sponge filter, an ikea clip on lamp with one bulb above the tank (+some light from a nearby window) and a heater set to 25C with a glass cover and large gap for the humid air to be at a stable temperature
Due to low light, low demand plants, anubias, java fern, naias, stargrass, some salvinia.

This tank houses my tylomelania snails, it may be a bit small for them, but I feed well and basically the whole substrate is opened, only few rooted plants, the rest is a roaming space for them. I add eggshells and cuttlebone for their calcium needs, feed mineral supplements and they breed, so it seems it is working. There are plenty oak leaves and alder cones that I keep adding and I feed the snails every other day.

I was looking for a fish that would work with the snails the best and settled on the honey gouramis, as they will appreciate the temp spikes this tank may have in summer (due to its window proximity), they inhabit the upper part of the tank, they are not aggressive and their behavior is just adorable.

They seem to have divided the tank, the larger, suspected female, hangs in the front near the open area, while the suspected male hangs near the sponge filter and in the background. They do not interact that much, sometimes they will go take a look, feel each other out, chase each other, sometimes they just hang.

I wonder at what time can I say it is working between them or not working, and how to determine if the fish are too shy from being without other dither fish. At this moment one of them is not shy at all, the other one is in the back, so less visible. They dont glass surf, they dont spend time hiding or under covers, they feed well and they utilize the whole tank. If you have any tips for me, I would appreciate them.

 

Edited March 21, 2023 by beastie
added another picture

[Theplatymaster]

@Lenniehas some experience with rabbit snails and honey gouramis.

[Lennie]

On 3/21/2023 at 1:27 PM, Theplatymaster said:

@Lenniehas some experience with rabbit snails and honey gouramis.

She is my friend, I told her to join the forum 🙂 So she already knows my opinions but,

 

@Guppysnail has a big group so she might help!

[Guppysnail]

On 3/21/2023 at 4:10 AM, beastie said:

at what time can I say it is working between them or not working, and how to determine if the fish are too shy from being without other dither fish

I say they are fine. I do not have dither fish with mine. From what I have experienced (I’ve only had mine a few months) if they are visible they are happy. I attempted to separate 2 of mine and everyone went into hiding and staring at the tank I moved the 2 over to. I could tell everyone seemed tense and there was some glass surfing. 
I put them all back and each returned to their territory in the tank. I have 5 boys and 1 girl. 
One has a territory behind the outflow on a hob. They do come out to feed and I often just feed them in their area. 
If they are not engaged in fighting or surfing or other obvious distress signals I would not worry. 
I did get 2 small zoomed floating betta logs. The boys love them. I’m going to get more when my LFS has them in stock so they each have 1 in their area. 
Mine are not the most active fish in the world. They hang out in their own selected territory but I have never seen them engage in aggression. Very peaceful beauties. 
I placed a flat log in 2 stones to create shelter for my bumblebee cats in that tank. I find them swimming under it. 
I do try to interact with them daily. They seem to be intelligent curious fish. They love live white worms and seem to enjoy chasing them as much as eating them. I’m also looking for ways to entertain them and provide more environmental enrichment. 
My girl is the most outgoing and is constantly investigating things but spends long periods just hanging out in her spot. 
I think betta in terms of personality minus any aggressive tendencies. 

Great looking tank and adorable new babies. 

Edited March 21, 2023 by Guppysnail