Jeff Varszegi

I have recently had to get rid of our stunning opaline gourami. It was my favorite fish, but when it got to a certain size turned more aggressive. The local fish store was happy to give it a temporary good home. Now we have nothing but confirmed peaceful community fish in our larger tank.

The current contents of our larger tank are in my profile, and include two true honey gouramis (Colisa chuna / sota). I know that sparkling and honey gouramis are both supposed to be among the most peaceful types, but still wanted to confirm that they will co-exist peacefully before I place an order.

I have done some web research, but found a few notes of caution from some owners and just wanted to be sure. I tend to sort of take a cautious average of diverging aquarium info out there (but I will almost certainly just do what is recommended here).

I am really liking the look of these engaging little fish, and can't wait to keep a couple. If they won't go in the larger tank, I will probably add a couple to a tank I'm setting up for my son. Thanks a lot.

Gouramiguy17

I wouldn't risk it just to be safe but if you want to try it you can but just make sure that you have a back up plan just invade something goes wrong

iloveengl

To answer your question, honey and sparkling gouramis are indeed very peaceful fish and do well with easy going tank mates; I see no problem keeping them together.

However, I would caution you when adding honey gouramis to your tank if you haven't already done so. The colisa chuna are extremely shy and skittish fish; fast, semi-obnoxious fish like danios will stress out the honey gourami. They will hide and may not feels safe enough to eat. If you decide to add them, make sure at least one section of the tank is very heavily planted with tall plants - surface floating plants are also helpful. If they have dense vegetation that they can relax in, then after a few months they'll get used to their tank mates. You'll also want to watch very carefully that these dudes are eating and not being overpowered by more aggressive eaters.

If you're willing to baby them a bit, I think they're totally worth it. They are incredibly sweet fish and are really fun to watch. I know that was more than you asked, but hopefully it's helpful info.

Edit: Just noticed you already have the honey gourami in the tank....

Lucy

I'm sorry, I can't answer your compatibility question.
In Oct. I bought a trio of Sparkling Gouramis for my 30g. They're great little fish, friendly and so pretty.
The store couldn't sex them, but I soon found out I have 2 males and a female. As peaceful as they are, once two paired off and spawned the father relentlessly chased the other male.
I just now separated the harassed male.
My advise is, get a pair unless you are prepared to separate them, if need be.

In hindsight, a pair in 10g with some pygmy cories would be great.
I even think a pair would do well in a 5g.

I hope someone can answer your original question.
Best of luck, I know you'll love them just as much as I do.

iloveengl

Agree 100%. About the only time these either of these fish become aggressive is during spawning. Two males get along really well together if there are no females present. Honey gouramis are easy to sex (the females are dull grey, the males a bright yellow with some orange tips on their fins), but I'm not sure about sexing sparklings. How did you sex yours, Lucy?

Lucy

I didn't they did. lol
I suspected one was female because two stayed together since I bought them.
The third would get chased away if he was vying for the gal's attention.
I read that if you put a flashlight up to their bellies the females would be a little yellowish inside.
Wish I could find where I read that.
I've also read that you can tell by line or spots above the strip, but to me, I can't see a difference between my M/F.
One thing I did notice is that when the male approached the female to embrace, he clamped his tail fin and the tip took on a very reddish tint.
Not sure if the female did this or not.

Jeff Varszegi

Thanks for all of the advice. I am definitely going to get exactly two of them, and will feel safe adding them to the 47 gallon (although my son also seems excited to have them in his new 20 gallon we're setting up for him, so we may choose that instead).

iloveengl, our 47 gallon is a tall tank, with plants reaching up to the top and lying across the surface. Our two honeys are pretty happy, even though we have some danios in the tank. I think it helps that the danios are on the less skittish/aggressive side (danio roseus). I will post a picture later so you can see what I mean... plenty of hiding places.

We are going to do something similar with the 20 gallon, except for with a different centerpiece (driftwood) so the sparkling gouramis should be pretty happy if they go in that tank.

Thanks again for the advice, everyone.