Non Aggressive Bettas?

I will be looking to purchase new residents for my 5gal tank soon (a bout of nasty Ich took out many, sigh) and I heard in a fish chat some talk about a new kind of Betta which is non aggressive to others, including other male Bettas.

I do not recall the name they gave me, but I did bookmark a picture of one:
The link calls it Parosphromenus Deissneri, but google has given me little help locating what it is.

Has anyone heard of these fish? I'm quite intrigued!

Or, for another option, I may try a few female Bettas together. All I've ever kept is males. Anyone had success with 2-3 females?

 

This is a Chocolate Gourami, I'm pretty sure.

I had a "King" Betta, and all they are are 4 inch long Plakats. Nothing non-aggressive about them. There are wild Betta species (that I couldn't tell you) that can be kept in groups.

All females may or may not work. Its hit and miss


*edit* I lied, its not a Chocolate Gourami. I'll have to look it up LOL

*edit2* Its a Licorice Gourami

 

Interesting, a search on Gourami shows somewhere along the line they're related to Bettas. Learn somethin new everyday!

 

Wow it is a Licorice Gourami! Thank you

So, do you know, if I were to get two males would they be aggressive to each other? Or can they be hit and miss?

 

Yes, licorice gourami.

Some of the smaller species of wild Bettas can be housed in pairs in a 5 gallon. One example would be Betta rutilans. There are others, but I don't have experience with them. I have other wild Bettas, housed together in pairs or trios, but I have larger species in larger tanks. The downside to wild Bettas is that they can be hard to find.

I would NOT recommend a Betta splendens sorority in a 5 gallon tank. Based on my experiences with multiple females in a 45 gallon community, I would not recommend it at all. JMO.

 

Ok.. Nix the idea of the female Bettas then. I'll have to give my LFS (Small local place) a call, I've seen wild Bettas on their species list. Betta Rutilans.. Check!

 

And what about the Gouramis? Aggressive like Bettas? (Would they even work in a 5gal tank?)

 

According to most of the 1st page of Google a pair can be kept in a 5 gallon tank. Can't find anything about male to male aggression, though.

 

Yea.. same. I'll have to ask the LFS when I call them

And I'm never one to trust google, haha. It's been wrong for me before, so I always like to ask before I try.

 

I've kept licorice gouramis. They are EXTREMELY passive and would do best in a species tank... blackwater would be ideal IMO. Mine were shy in a shrimp tank.

 

Great! That's exciting! I've always kept Bettas, so this will be a fun new one to try.

 

Absolutely not to two males together. I have some that are 5 or 6 months old in large groups that were raised together but are still aggressive and have to separate the most aggressive ones. Females on the other hand can be kept together preferably with lots of hidng places for the smaller, weaker or lower on the totem pole females. 2 or 3 is not a good idea. The more the merrier in their case so they don't have the opportunity to single one out to pick on. In my 90 gallon sorority there are between 50 and 200 depending on how many get sold and how many I have grown out at the time. There are a few with nips taken out of there fins but with that many and a fair current from the filter they don't stay in one spot long enough to square off and fight.

 

Absolutely not to two males together. I have some that are 5 or 6 months old in large groups that were raised together but are still aggressive and have to separate the most aggressive ones.

Sorry.. Are you talking Bettas or Gouramis in this case?

 

You can keep all the Gouramis you want together. Male Bettas on the other hand don't interact very well.

 

You can keep all the Gouramis you want together. Male Bettas on the other hand don't interact very well.

yeah these guys were talking about the chocolate gouramis, although i'd say there are lots of gouramis that don't do well together.

 

yeah these guys were talking about the chocolate gouramis, although i'd say there are lots of gouramis that don't do well together.

*Licorice Gouramis

Most of the commonly kept Gourami's around here don't like to have other males in the tank. Three Spots (though they generally don't like anything XD), DG's, Paradise Fish, and so on.

 

oops, sorry! licorice is so yucky, why would you name such a pretty fish after it?

 

oops, sorry! licorice is so yucky, why would you name such a pretty fish after it?

Twizzlers are good XD

 

cherry yes, black licorice is pretty gross, imo lol. sorry I'll drop the candy convo, not trying to hijack here! but they're lovely looking fish; ive seen them in fish books but never for sale.

 

I'm confused! Here I'm being told a pair of licorice Gouramis can be kept in a 5gal tank, PetSmart guy told me a pair of several kinds of Gouramis can be in this setup, but on another forum I'm being told absolutely nothing smaller than 10gal, and generally no pairs.
Having trouble knowing whether I'm making a good decision or not, with so many varied and valid opinions on the matter. Going to have to call The Wet Spot I think..

 

I'm confused! Here I'm being told a pair of licorice Gouramis can be kept in a 5gal tank, PetSmart guy told me a pair of several kinds of Gouramis can be in this setup, but on another forum I'm being told absolutely nothing smaller than 10gal, and generally no pairs.
Having trouble knowing whether I'm making a good decision or not, with so many varied and valid opinions on the matter. Going to have to call The Wet Spot I think..

Generally, don't listen to anything pet stores say. Take all advice given, be it from FishLore, a PetStore, a guy with a doctorates in fish care, what ever, as a grain a salt. Each fish is an individual, and will behave its own way. Some things work with some fish, some things don't with another of the same species. Just get as many view points as you can, and make your own decisions

Adult size, activity level, and typical temperament should be taken into consideration when picking out fish for a set tank size.

 

You do what works for you. If you can keep a 5 gallon clean and do water changes with a good filter system, then put 6 or 8 smaller sized fish in it and have a ball. If you don't have the time or don't want the responsibility then only put one or two in it.