# Help with stocking a 20 gallon ( Dwarf Gourami)



## JadaNae27 (Sep 24, 2012)

I would like to have 3 dwarf gourami, 1 male, and 2 female in my 20 gallon tank. But I am not sure whether they would fair well in this group, or in a sexed pair only.

And also, I need some suggestions for tankmates for them


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

If you click on the shaded name Dwarf Gourami it will pop up the profile for this species, and in there it mentions that keeping this fish in a sexed pair (male/female) is best unless the tank is large enough for a small group, which a 20g is not. The profile also mentions the difference between male and female, and there is a photo too.

Tankmates noted in the profile need to be fairly quiet and sedate, with any gourami, so active swimmers are out. The medium-sized rasbora like Trigonostigma hengeli, Trigonostigma espei, or Trigonostigma heteromorpha all work well, a small group of 7-9 of one of these species. For the substrate, a group of 5-6 of one of the dwarf species of loach--two in the profiles are Dwarf Loach and Banded Dwarf Loach--would be nice, or a group of one or two species of corydoras.

Byron.


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## JadaNae27 (Sep 24, 2012)

Would the mosquito rasbora be a good choice to go with two Gouramis and a small group of Corys? I couldn't find anything in the profiles on its activity level.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

JadaNae27 said:


> Would the mosquito rasbora be a good choice to go with two Gouramis and a small group of Corys? I couldn't find anything in the profiles on its activity level.


I wouldn't. Boraras maculatus, and any of the other five very similar species in this genus, are very tiny fish. Tankmates must be small and unlikely to eat them And as it notes in the profile, larger fish may likely intimidate them and this can cause stress, refusal to eat, etc.. This rasbora works well with the sparkling gourami, licorice gourami, eyespot gourami...in fact, I have had all of these together. But in spite of its common name, the dwarf gourami is not a small fish, with males attaining 3 inches possible. And the medium to larger gourami species will all eat or attempt to eat smaller fish.

The Trigonostigma species really are ideal with these medium gourami, such as the dwarf, honey, chocolate, pearl, and even blue.

I have a group of 10 B. maculatus now in my 33g with a group of Nannostomus mortenthaleri, Paracheirodon simulans, and the dwarf loach and banded dwarf loach. Well over a year now, which really pleases me for the Boraras as they are extremely delicate fish and not always easy to maintain. I only put them in this tank when I acquired them because I had the Boraras brigittae in another tank and didn't want to combine them for the reason mentioned in the profile. I wasn't expecting trouble, but the pencilfish was something of an unknown as this is the first time I've had them but the two groups are frequently together as when feeding, and seem to regard each other as family.


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## JadaNae27 (Sep 24, 2012)

Congratulations on keeping them going great  

I think I'll go with the harlequin. I would choose the dwarf loaches, but I think my gravel is just a tad too large for them.


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## JadaNae27 (Sep 24, 2012)

Here is a guestimate of what my 20 gallon will look like when I get the fish in about a week or so  I know everything is sized horribly, my 20 gallon is not this small XD


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

That should work very nicely.:-D B.


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## JadaNae27 (Sep 24, 2012)

Thank you ^_^ I'm also pretty happy, because the tank is completely cycled ^_^ Ready for everybody! now
* Sits for the long wait for the expensive prettys to get here*


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