Pearl Gouramis?

I have a lone male Pearl Gourami (I had a female with him, but she died in what I believe was a freak accident with my BN) and I'm wondering if I get two females for him if they will all get along? Or would just the one female be best?

totalrandomness wrote:

I have a lone male Pearl Gourami (I had a female with him, but she died in what I believe was a freak accident with my BN) and I'm wondering if I get two females for him if they will all get along? Or would just the one female be best?

G'day;
Two females will be fine. They are very peaceful fish. This will also allow the male to spread his interest so to speak.
Just make sure you have an adequate sized tank and filtration. 80 litres plus I would say, depending on what else you got in there.
Marty

Ah good to know, thanks If everyone is still healthy next week (I moved house 600km away with the tank last week, so some are still a bit sulky) I'll go buy some girlfriends for him It's a 120L tank with 1 Angel, 1 Bala shark (who is looking for a new home), 6 Serpae Tetras, 4 Guppies, 2 BNs, and for now one lone Pearl Gourami

totalrandomness wrote:

Ah good to know, thanks If everyone is still healthy next week (I moved house 600km away with the tank last week, so some are still a bit sulky) I'll go buy some girlfriends for him It's a 120L tank with 1 Angel, 1 Bala shark (who is looking for a new home), 6 Serpae Tetras, 4 Guppies, 2 BNs, and for now one lone Pearl Gourami

That should be fine. But it would be a good idea to move the Bala shark, they can get to 30 centimeters and even a little big for your tank in the long run.
Are you having hassles with the serpea tetras nipping fins of the angelfish ????
Marty

Yep now I've shifted to Melbourne from the country the chances of me finding the Bala a new home are much better. I'm a bit torn about giving him up, though - I've had him for 5 years now and I'm pretty attached XD I don't really want to just hand him over to a fish store, though I'm not sure what else to do with him, or if he's worth any money or not.

The Serpae don't seem to actually pay any other fish the slightest bit of attention, they're off in their own little world most of the time. The only one who bothers the Angel is the Gourami, which is why I'm keen to get him some lady friends to distract him from that XD

totalrandomness wrote:

Yep now I've shifted to Melbourne from the country the chances of me finding the Bala a new home are much better. I'm a bit torn about giving him up, though - I've had him for 5 years now and I'm pretty attached XD I don't really want to just hand him over to a fish store, though I'm not sure what else to do with him, or if he's worth any money or not.

The Serpae don't seem to actually pay any other fish the slightest bit of attention, they're off in their own little world most of the time. The only one who bothers the Angel is the Gourami, which is why I'm keen to get him some lady friends to distract him from that XD

I know how difficult it is to give away fish. You just want the best for them. If he is big enough maybe a LFS will take him to put in their display tanks. There lots in Melbourne and hopefully you will find one that cares about their fish as much as you do.
Interesting about the serpae tetras, it does not look like they deserve their bad reputation.
Marty

marty14 wrote:

I know how difficult it is to give away fish. You just want the best for them. If he is big enough maybe a LFS will take him to put in their display tanks. There lots in Melbourne and hopefully you will find one that cares about their fish as much as you do.
Interesting about the serpae tetras, it does not look like they deserve their bad reputation.
Marty

I wasn't even aware they had a bad reputation XD I admit I didn't do any research before I picked those guys; I took my Mum along to the fish store with me way back when I was first stocking the tank and she picked them, heh. They really just keep to themselves, playing games I think.

Well I'm heading out to what I think is a good aquarium store on Monday to get those female Gouramis and pick up some free fish food I won on facebook, so I'll ask them what they think about the Bala

Thanks very much for the help!

totalrandomness wrote:

marty14 wrote:

I know how difficult it is to give away fish. You just want the best for them. If he is big enough maybe a LFS will take him to put in their display tanks. There lots in Melbourne and hopefully you will find one that cares about their fish as much as you do.
Interesting about the serpae tetras, it does not look like they deserve their bad reputation.
Marty

I wasn't even aware they had a bad reputation XD I admit I didn't do any research before I picked those guys; I took my Mum along to the fish store with me way back when I was first stocking the tank and she picked them, heh. They really just keep to themselves, playing games I think.

Well I'm heading out to what I think is a good aquarium store on Monday to get those female Gouramis and pick up some free fish food I won on facebook, so I'll ask them what they think about the Bala

Thanks very much for the help!

Fish like Sepae teras like to be kept in schools and that calms them down, so it looks like you have a good number. I have 6 lemon tetras myself and they are cool looking after themselves, sometimes chasing each other but no dramas.
All the best at the LFS on Monday, I hope everything works out with your Bala shark and he finds a good home. Keep us posted on how you go.
Marty

Am heading out to the Aquarium store in a couple of hours Pretty excited. Hopefully they have some girls in stock.

Well, the store wasn't alright, but nowhere near as good as I was expecting them to be. They had a few Pearls, but they were very young and they couldn't tell which were males or females (neither could I, to be honest - there were some that were definitely males, but the others I wasn't so sure on). So I just bought some new plants and picked up my free bloodworms and drove aaall the way back home. Went to another aquarium store not too far from my house, and it was much better. Huge variety.
I got my Pearls, then asked about my Bala shark. They said they do take 'Orphans' to put into a display tank, but I had a look and the tank was barely any larger than the one he's currently in, and was pretty crowded compared to mine. So, I guess I might advertise him on Gumtree or something.

Anyway, I got my two Pearls back and floated the bag in the tank. Jasper (my male) was onto it straight away, flirting at them through the bag XD Jasper is in the first picture, then all three in the others.

totalrandomness wrote:

Well, the store wasn't alright, but nowhere near as good as I was expecting them to be. They had a few Pearls, but they were very young and they couldn't tell which were males or females (neither could I, to be honest - there were some that were definitely males, but the others I wasn't so sure on). So I just bought some new plants and picked up my free bloodworms and drove aaall the way back home. Went to another aquarium store not too far from my house, and it was much better. Huge variety.
I got my Pearls, then asked about my Bala shark. They said they do take 'Orphans' to put into a display tank, but I had a look and the tank was barely any larger than the one he's currently in, and was pretty crowded compared to mine. So, I guess I might advertise him on Gumtree or something.

Anyway, I got my two Pearls back and floated the bag in the tank. Jasper (my male) was onto it straight away, flirting at them through the bag XD Jasper is in the first picture, then all three in the others.

They look really nice. The size seems perfect might have a happy family there. Won't be long until you hae a few bubble nests around.
Regarding your Bala shark I certain you won't have any hassles getting him a new home.
Let me know how you go.
Marty

Interesting about the serpae tetras, it does not look like they deserve their bad reputation.
Marty [/quote]

I too don't have anything but admiration for Serpae and what look like close relatives, Phantom Tetras. I've always had a small school in my mixed 60gal. tank and never seen them bother anyone, including angels, veil and even "super veil". In fact, when I needed some dither fish for a pair of 100% wild Peru Angels I considered Serpaes too passive and went with 5 Skirt Tetras instead (which worked beautifully).

Sarahdd wrote:

Interesting about the serpae tetras, it does not look like they deserve their bad reputation.
Marty

I too don't have anything but admiration for Serpae and what look like close relatives, Phantom Tetras. I've always had a small school in my mixed 60gal. tank and never seen them bother anyone, including angels, veil and even "super veil". In fact, when I needed some dither fish for a pair of 100% wild Peru Angels I considered Serpaes too passive and went with 5 Skirt Tetras instead (which worked beautifully).[/quote]
Hi Another great Tetra to try is the Lemon Tetra. A small school is great as whizz about playing in the water stream. Really fun and they definitely leave all other fish alone. Only small little bickering among themselves on who his top fish but nothing major.
Marty

Lemon Tetras for some reason don't seem too popular around here, but I'll definitely grab a few if my LFS gets some. Right now I'm waiting for more black phantoms, I felt sorry for two lone ones in the store, so I took them hoping they would buddy up temporarily with the serpae, but they only do at feeding time. The rest of the time they hide among the plants, I'm sure they need the security of a larger school.

I keep my BN breeders in a BN only tank, I imagine even Lemons would be a threat to newly emerged fry, yes?

Sarah

Sarahdd wrote:

Lemon Tetras for some reason don't seem too popular around here, but I'll definitely grab a few if my LFS gets some. Right now I'm waiting for more black phantoms, I felt sorry for two lone ones in the store, so I took them hoping they would buddy up temporarily with the serpae, but they only do at feeding time. The rest of the time they hide among the plants, I'm sure they need the security of a larger school.

I keep my BN breeders in a BN only tank, I imagine even Lemons would be a threat to newly emerged fry, yes?

Sarah

You are right Tetras are always happier in schools of at least 5 to 6. It makes them feel more secure and allows them to build they own social structure. You will find that different species of tetras will not mingle. They kow which is which by the distinct coloration that they use as signals to keep track of one another. As you can imagine a little tetra is a nice little appetizer to just about anything else swimming around.
I have had not hassles with lemon tretras and fry, but my tank has lots of hiding places etc. I guess one could always try. If you do let me know your results.
Marty