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gourami vs betta

Delta_Raven

Member
Joined
17 May 2013
Messages
38
hello all...
so this is my conundrum, I have recently joined the aquascaping hobby and have started a beautifully planted tank. now it's time to start adding some fish, but I can't decide between a pair of dwarf gouramis or a pair of bettas? so I wanted to ask you for your favorites and maybe some pros and cons...
thanks peeps.
Delta
 
by Betta do you mean Betta splendens (Siamese fighting) if so you can only keep one male Betta in a tank (not sure it goes for all Betta species though)...
but you can have multiple male gourami = more colour in the tank.
 
yeah I meant siamese. when I said pair I also meant 1 male 1 female.
so would you go for color nutty?
 
hmm, i suppose it depends on the size of the tank and the colours in your scape.

there are so many colourings for betta that you could chose one that would give a good contrast to it and would pop out at you when you looked at the tank and be a nice focal point. and i've seen a lot more females around lately with good colours too which is nice!

But i have a soft spot for the Dwarf Gourami :p so probably a little biased, and i think they look great shoaling especially if you can fit 4+ in the tank :)

its a difficult one, if i could i'd have two tanks and go with one set in each :D ... you've got me wishing now eheh, sorry my helpfulness has disappeared!
 
How big is the tank? If it's big enough you could have both. :)
If it's small, I would be cautious about more than one male Dwarf Gourami (with one or more females). They can get quite territorial when in breeding condition. Several in a large tank should be OK, as the aggression gets shared out, but two males is risky.
What other fish are you thinking of having? A Siamese Fighter would be a prime target for anything with fin-nipping tendencies, but Dwarf Gouramis much less so.
 
I bred betta for many years and have seen similar questions no end of times, betta are not a pair fish and should never be kept in groups of pairs, other people will give a different opinion but honestly it will end in either a dead fish or a badly beaten fish if your set on the betta species look into betta simplex these are extremely well suited to a planted tank and can be kept in groups of say 1 male to 2 + females, failing that a lone male betta would be a fantastic fish to choose although other tank mates would need considerable thought and research

Mark
 
i have had guarami's and there cool but i think the siamese is one of the nicest looking fresh water fish about if you decide to go with the siamese fighter get a lone one. there not great even with the females also their terrible for attacking guppies too
 
Thanks for all the feedback...
I have a Fluval roma 90, and was thinking of having a nice school of about 20 neon tetras and a centre point fish to catch your eye.
I don't want anything to big as I already have some red cherry shrimp so I don't want them getting eaten.

I bred betta for many years and have seen similar questions no end of times, betta are not a pair fish and should never be kept in groups of pairs, other people will give a different opinion but honestly it will end in either a dead fish or a badly beaten fish if your set on the betta species look into betta simplex these are extremely well suited to a planted tank and can be kept in groups of say 1 male to 2 + females, failing that a lone male betta would be a fantastic fish to choose although other tank mates would need considerable thought and research

Mark

I never knew they would fight with their females too, very helpful info. Guess I may just go with the Dwarf Gourami's.
Unless someone else can sway my mind again, I used to be indecisive...know I am just not sure anymore!
 
Might Google.. Irodovirous among Dwarf Gourami before choosing fishes.
Honey gourami or Pearl gourami are said not to be as suceptible to the virus.
 
What sort of water do you have in your area,hard or soft?
Not sure what filter you are using but 20 neons is going to put you at around 70% stocked and that's not taking into account any water displacement from decor so you'd need to think carefully about what else you want to put in :)
 
wow, MirandaB you're using some real big words there. 70% stocked with displacement???
So I have a 90L and after the bogwood and substate I think it's around 80L.
I didn't think that neons would put a big strain on anything, they're so small.
As for Honey & Pearl Gourami's how big do they get roadmaster?
 
Lol sorry didn't mean it to sound complicated.
I have a planted Roma 90l too and it's only stocked with little fish but even though they're small it all adds up in terms of waste :)
 
I feel like I am hijacking my own thread here, but how do you work out stack capacity MirandaB? Also do you have tank pics and specs somewhere in the forums, I would love to see the set up you're using?
On that note, do you vote for Betta or Gourami? (or was it neither?)
 
I tend to use AqAdvisor site for stocking...it's not perfect but it does give you a rough guide and advice on compatibility of the fish you would like.
My stock is 17 celestial pearl danio's,9 Rosy Loaches,4 endlers,cherry shrimp and a few nerite snails.
I love Betta's but as has already been mentioned they don't like much flow and are best kept on their own so Gouramis would be better (excuse the pun lol) but as has also been mentioned it is difficult to get healthy stock
 
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.
 
Sparkling gourami could also work.
The few I have kept,(scarce around here) were very secretive and seldom ventured out from the plant's for viewing.
But they are pretty in stained water.
 
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