Autumn8504

I saw a blue Gourami (said 3in max growth) at the store and now I have it in my head to get one eventually. My main question is: Do they do better alone or in groups? I have a 5 gallon tank that I was thinking I might be able to put one in if they do better alone (at least for now). In the future, however, I'm going to set up a 30 gallon community tank. Should I wait until I get the bigger tank set up and get a few, or do you think it would be okay to get one as the sole occupant of a 5 gallon hex tank? Thanks!

Nutter

One alone will be fine & is much easier to deal with than a breeding pair if you only have one suitable tank as once they breed you need to remove the female while the male tends the eggs. Don't have them in any numbers as they are quite aggressive towards each other most of the time. I would still hold off on doing any though until you get the bigger tank. It won't run short on oxygen obviously but it would still be a bit cramped I would have thought.

aquarist48

Hello Autumn. 1 Gourami would do fine in your 5g until you're able to upgrade to a larger tank. It is best to have only one per tank as they can be very aggressive towards members of their own species. You could possibly have a male and female in a larger tank but not two of the same sex.
Best of luck and keep us updated on your progress.
Ken