Sparkling Gourami

[Kurt Brutting]

Does anyone in this forum keep Sparkling Gourami’s? Can you keep them alone, as a center piece nano fish? If you were housing them together how many M to F would you keep for breeding? 
Any insight is appreciated. 

[JettsPapa]

I had a group of them in a 20 long.  I don't remember how many.  They were with celestial pearl danios, emerald dwarf rasboras, and Corydoras pygmaeus.  I don't know why, but over a period of several months one species at a time would die, one at a time, until finally there were only three or so of the corys left.  By that time I had added guppies, and they've done fine.

Maybe it was just that they didn't like my hard 8.2 pH water, but I'm not sure.

[Kurt Brutting]

I was also thinking about Licorice Gourami’s if I could ever find them. 

[Lennie]

I have 3 in a 33g tank.

They are social so I would say no to keeping them alone. Also, the way they sometimes defend their territory, croak vs each other, etc is a joy to see. With one, you wouldn't witness any of these.

Males are territorial. They are hard to sex, so I ended up having 2 males and 1 female. Even in a 33g planted tank, males swim around each other croaking around 😄 They are hard to sex, but if you can, I def would recommend 1m:2 or3f. I would not crowd a small space tho, you may face issues I think.

What size is your tank?

On 6/9/2023 at 12:14 AM, Kurt Brutting said:

Licorice Gourami

They are very needy for that very low ph

[Kurt Brutting]

@Lennieits a 40 breeder with Panda Cory’s and Pseudomugil Luminatus. 

[Lennie]

On 6/9/2023 at 12:18 AM, Kurt Brutting said:

@Lennieits a 40 breeder with Panda Cory’s and Pseudomugil Luminatus. 

Very cool

 

They would enjoy that big space A LOT. Mine are never shy and always curious about their surroundings

Here are some pics of mine:

 

If you have any questions, I'd like to help. I haven't tried breeding them yet tho, but maybe I may try sometime

[Kurt Brutting]

I’m really looking for a nano center piece  fish for my pandas and blue eyes but I’m torn because both are breeding like crazy. 

@Lenny they are beautiful!

[Lennie]

On 6/9/2023 at 12:26 AM, Kurt Brutting said:

I’m really looking for a nano center piece  fish for my pandas and blue eyes but I’m torn because both are breeding like crazy. 

@Lenny they are beautiful!

 

40B is big enough for many centerpiece options.  Sparkling gouramis would be a great addition, however they are pretty small in size. So they would be lost in a 40B as a centerpiece fish I think.

Also sparkling gouramis may go for the eggs or maybe even fry I think. They are always acting like hunting mode on 😄 Never tried them with fry or eggs.

 

As a centerpiece fish, I would go for something bigger myself. Considering you wanting licorice or sparkling, what about pearl gouramis? They alo have that greyish wild type beautiful look. I think they are super pretty. Also pearl gouramis are known to be calm and peaceful in general.

Another peaceful option might be honey gouramis! They are sweet. I have one in my 42g tank