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gourami vs betta

Ok, so now that all the votes are in I have made my decision.
(insert drum roll here)
I am going to go with sparkling gourami's, I love that they'll stay small enough to live happily with the neons and shrimp and that I can keep them in a small group of 4-5.
Thanks all for the suggestions, but especially to Michael for the sparkling idea, you win 20 ukaps points or something!

Michael W said:
I'm shocked no one has mentioned the sparkling gourami. It stays relatively small and can develop a nice red and blue hue around the fins. They can also be kept in a little group of say around 4-5, they can spar at time especially before breeding but no harm is caused, at least when I kept them they didn't. If you tank and its environment is quiet you can hear them make clicking sounds.

Michael.
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Not necessarily, it is very hard keeping most fish with shrimps. As far as I know any gourami or betta will treat shrimps as snacks. If you really want to keep some shrimps with fish you can either try some of the smaller rasboras like galaxy rasboras or even otto catfish. You like the looks of Sparkling Gouramis why not try to plant more heavily with plants like mosses to ensure a higher survival rate of shrimps. Alternatively keep the shrimps first, let their population build before adding fish.

Michael W.
 
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thanks again Michael, I think that's a good idea. Let the tank run grow plants and breed shrimp till the tank is established. After that give the gourami's/betta a go.
I may just have to restart the thread once the tank is ready then. Thanks everyone for your input!
 
Delta_Raven said:
thanks again Michael, I think that's a good idea. Let the tank run grow plants and breed shrimp till the tank is established. After that give the gourami's/betta a go.
I may just have to restart the thread once the tank is ready then. Thanks everyone for your input!
Click to expand...

No problem Delta. Give it a shot, I have been keeping red cherry shrimps with my pearl gouramis even though they will occasionally find the shrimps to eat but I have a breeding colony of them so I don't worry too much. At the end of the day its natural for them to prey on things that are smaller than themselves.

Michael.
 
If you are planning on getting Neon Tetras, a beautiful Betta would be an excellent centerpiece fish. Especially if you can find a red, blue, or red and blue one. I have a Red Devil Betta in with my Neon Tetras and they are the perfect compliment to his coloration. Don't ever put in two males or a male and a female, though females can be kept in groups of uneven numbers. Also, take care when purchasing your Betta and either buy from a reputable breeder, or from a fish store that has the Bettas housed in suitable tanks. Bettas bought in cups or bags are in terrible condition and typically die soon after buying, not to mention you can get better quality fish (both health and aesthetic wise) from a breeder. Try aquabid.com to find the perfect one. 🙂 I also keep my Betta in a high tech planted tank with no problems with the flow. Just make sure there are lots of plants where he can rest, and consider investing in a "Betta Log," which they LOVE. Bettas are also very good in terms of shrimp. Mine has pecked at them, but Bettas are much too slow to catch a healthy shrimp. They are opportunistic feeders though and if a baby shrimp were to swim by it may get eaten, though, I find this helps to keep shrimp populations in check, as my Betta eats some, but not all. I'll attach a few pictures of my boy so you can see how Neon Tetras are the perfect compliment to his coloration. I definitely recommend a Betta as your centerpiece fish!
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I haven't finished reading replies yet tso this might have been said already but betta splendens will also eat red cherry shrimp. I had one in a 60 l and put a few shrimp in as I thought they'd be okay - lots of rocky nooks to hide on. The fish managed to get just about all of them 🙁

Viv
 
None of my betta touch the shrimp in my tanks. Just saw two dragon betta at my lfs today........

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
 
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