Hello,

I am gradually stocking my 50-gallon bowfront, and today I purchased 3
female "Dwarf Flame Gouramis" to go with my two established males.
However, when I got home, and I could see the new fish in better light,
I can see faint stripes on ONE of the females. She isn't a Flame
Gourami- she's a normal dwarf gourami. (The store had them all housed
together.) I can see how they could be confused - the differences are
very hard to detect.

I don't really mind, but I was really trying to have a 3-2 ratio of
females to males. Will this mess it up? I don't want the 2 poor
female Flames harassed by my established males. (One of the females is
quite tiny.) Should I try to replace the striped one with a real
"Flame" female, or is my current one "close enough" in the male
Flames's eyes to not bother? They are all Colisa lalia, aren't they?
I am not interested in breeding them, but I wanted to establish some
interactive pairs.

Thanks for any info,

- Lisa in Central CA