Re: Can Bettas and Dwarf Gouramis get along?

[Anna Hayward]

In article >, hello
> writes
>I have an Eclipse 12 from Marineland. I would like to stock the tank with a
>Male Betta and a pair of Dwarf Gouramis. Will they get along? Is this too
>small a tank for this combination? Could I add a small school of Tetras or
>something to the combo?
>
>Also can you have two male dwarf gouramis together in the same tank?
>
>Will I need a heater for the above combination and if so what wattage? I
>have read that a 25 watt would be enough for an eclipse 12.

Bettas will often regard gouramis are direct competition and vice versa.
If you have tetras with a betta you need to be careful to avoid fin-
nippers - generally male bettas are not easy community fish. That said,
I have a betta with black neon tetras and a couple of cherry barbs.

Fish that do OK with a betta IME include cherry barbs, gold barbs, white
cloud mountain minnows, danios, rasboras, corys and otos. The only small
tetras I've had success with have been Black Neons.

I'd consider a male betta *or* a pair of dwarf gouramis, a school of 6-8
small schooling fish such as white clouds or corys, plus a couple of
cherry barbs. Try to go for slight *under* stocking if possible - it
looks a lot better and is much easier to manage.

Bettas, danios and white clouds are all OK in unheated tanks. The other
fish could really do with a heater, unless you live in a hot country.
--
Anna Hayward, Alien Visitor
Email me at: alienvisitor AT ratbag DOT demon DOT co DOT uk

[NetMax]

"hello" > wrote in message
...
> I have an Eclipse 12 from Marineland. I would like to stock the tank
with a
> Male Betta and a pair of Dwarf Gouramis. Will they get along? Is this
too
> small a tank for this combination? Could I add a small school of Tetras
or
> something to the combo?
>
> Also can you have two male dwarf gouramis together in the same tank?
>
> Will I need a heater for the above combination and if so what wattage?
I
> have read that a 25 watt would be enough for an eclipse 12.

It's 12g. A Betta, a couple of Dwarf gouramis and a little school of 6
rasboras (or something similar) would all fit in there. Whether the
Dwarfs will be ok together and with the Betta, really depends on their
individual personalities (especially the Betta), so ymmv. Another option
is an Apple snail and an African Dwarf frog instead of your school of
tetras.

I always recommend using a heater to stabilize the temperature. The
eclipse will add a few degrees to your water through it's lights and the
pump. Keeping the water heated to a slightly warmer temperature will
decrease the total temperature swing the fish will be exposed to on a
daily basis. A 50W heater would be more appropriately sized, using the
5wpg guideline. hth

NetMax

[Runner]

"hello" > wrote in message
...
> I have an Eclipse 12 from Marineland. I would like to stock the tank with
a
> Male Betta and a pair of Dwarf Gouramis. Will they get along? Is this too
> small a tank for this combination? Could I add a small school of Tetras or
> something to the combo?

If you put a male betta with a dwarf gourami, I'll place my bet on the
gourami. I don't think one or the other would survive that encounter very
long. I would guess that the betta would keep harrassing the gourami until
the gourami kicks his butt.

As for tetras, you should be able to place most tetras with a male betta. A
guy at work had a male betta and 6 cardinal tetras in his desk-top eclipse.
They all got along.

> Also can you have two male dwarf gouramis together in the same tank?

I've done it before in a 40G tank. It was heavily planted and had lots of
hiding spaces. The dominant gourami harrassed the other male.


-Scott

[TYNK 7]

>Subject: Re: Can Bettas and Dwarf Gouramis get along?
>From: sexandcheerios
>Date: 8/31/2003 3:54 PM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: >
>
>in article et, Runner at
wrote on 8/30/03 10:58 AM:
>
>> "hello" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> I have an Eclipse 12 from Marineland. I would like to stock the tank with
>>> a
>>> Male Betta and a pair of Dwarf Gouramis
>
>I have a male sunset gourami in a 55 gal with a male red paradise and while
>they do display to each other there is no overt violence. Since paradise are
>so close to bettas I assume this would be about the same behaviour that
>would be witnessed with a betta and gourami.
>S&C
>

Not Always the case.
In regards to the Gourami..it all depends on the variety of Gourami. When it
comes to Paradise Fish..absolutely no way!
Paradise fish are even closer related than other Gouramis. Same reason why male
Paradise Fish shouldn't be housed together, they'll fight.