Gourmai and silver tip tetra

[Tuppins]

Hello I have a fully planted established 36 bowfront with a 10 gallon sump and was wondering if I could add a gourmai to my tank with about 15-20 silver tip tetras. If so what kinds of gourmai’s would be best and if not what would be a good centerpiece fish for the tank?

[Cinnebuns]

36 is right between being big enough for the larger gourami or not so I would stick with the smaller ones and maybe do a group of them. You have a few options but I want to suggest thick-lipped first. They are slightly larger than most of the smaller gourami. You can often find them labeled as "red honey gourami" but they are a different species as honey gourami. I have had 5 different species of the smaller gourami and they are by far my favorite. They aren't as colorful as some but they have more personality. They are peaceful without being shy. The one I have right now is my favorite individual fish I've ever had. He always comes up to greet anyone who approaches the tank and is happy to see you. You could easily do a trio in there although it can be hard to sex them in the store. Often they are too young to tell. 

Another option is honey gourami. They are very peaceful and sometimes can be shy. I have had them twice and had 2 different experiences with them. The first time I had a trio who hid 24/7 and never came out of the corner. Right now I have 2 males and they are always out. They aren't as active and personable as the thick-lipped but they can be very pretty. I was lucky and found ones with the orange tail and white belly. Sometimes they come all yellow. 

I'm sorry I couldn't find a picture of this next one, but another option is dwarf gourami. This is a specific species. It can be confusing and easily mixed up with describing a gourami as small. They are by far the prettiest option. They have been heavily line bred to create different color morphs including powdered blue, flame and neon. They can be a gamble on temperment. Some are entirely peaceful while others are aggressive. Because of this, it's best to go with just 1 but some people do have success with multiple. If you do try more than one, have a backup plan.  

There are other options as well like sparkling, samurai, chocolate and licorice. I have kept sparkling but none of the others. 

[CorydorasEthan]

On 10/26/2023 at 8:13 PM, Tuppins said:

Hello I have a fully planted established 36 bowfront with a 10 gallon sump and was wondering if I could add a gourmai to my tank with about 15-20 silver tip tetras. If so what kinds of gourmai’s would be best and if not what would be a good centerpiece fish for the tank?

Hi Tuppins, welcome to the forum! I've never actually kept silvertip tetras before, but from what I've heard, they may tend to get a little nippy, or outcompete with slower moving fish when it comes to feeding time. This Aquarium Co-Op article says something similar as well. https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/silver-tip-tetras. Nonetheless, the article also recommends dwarf gourami as a suitable tank mate. In my experience, dwarf and pearl gourami are always fairly quick to food. I've kept them with guppies, not quite as boisterous as the tetras, but something to compare to at the very least. I would say as long as you moniter the inhabitants during feeding and make sure that everyone is getting enough food, it should work out fine.

I hope this helps!

[Tuppins]

Hey just posting an update thanks again for the advice! I went with a dwarf blue gourami, loved the way the fish looked and it was on the short list of (non monster) fish I have kept so I went for it. It’s in quarantine now and the tetras are at least a week behind him since they are on order but once everyone is in the same tank I’ll let you know what happens! 

Thanks Again!