Sexing Honey Gouramis????

[Yourlocalfishkeeper]

I’ve done a lot of research within the past few weeks regarding sexing honey gouramis, but I figured asking for tips here wouldn’t hurt.

I am planning on buying a m/f pair of honey gourami on Saturday. I’d like specifically a pair because eventually I’d like to breed them. They’re going in my 20 high which currently is only stocking with 4 juvenile guppy (the oldest is around 5 months and the youngest is around 3). Eventually the tank will house some green neon tetras and habrosus Corydoras as well.

Anyways, the stocking is not the point of this post. If it makes a difference, the honey gourami I will be buying are the “sunset” variety (not sunset thicklipped gouramis, I know the difference and so does my fish store). I know sexing wild type vs gold type is different so not sure if the sunset makes a difference.

Any tips on what I should look for in the store so I can get a male and female pair?

 

[blackwater]

Sexing Honey Gouramis isnt the easiest, but you can sort of tell by their dorsal fins and their colour. Female Honeys have rounder dorsals than males do, and males are more vividly coloured than females (females look almost washed out compared to the males). Before buying a pair, I would ensure that your lfs has both sexes first.

 

[DaveSch]

If the gouramis are immature it can be quite difficult to determine their sex, if not impossible. Ideally your lfs will let you bring one back in case you inadvertently end up with 2 of the same gender.

 

[Yourlocalfishkeeper]

Sexing Honey Gouramis isnt the easiest, but you can sort of tell by their dorsal fins and their colour. Female Honeys have rounder dorsals than males do, and males are more vividly coloured than females (females look almost washed out compared to the males). Before buying a pair, I would ensure that your lfs has both sexes first.

Yes, I definitely am going to ask the employees if they have both sexes and if they can help me pick them out. They’re a pretty large fish store, so I’m sure they do, but I will just in case.

If the gouramis are immature it can be quite difficult to determine their sex, if not impossible. Ideally your lfs will let you bring one back in case you inadvertently end up with 2 of the same gender.

Ya I read about that. I’m hoping that they are a little older. Usually this store stocks older, healthier fish, at least compared to the other lfs around me. I know they’ll let me take the fish back if I do get the wrong gender, because I have done it before. However, the store is almost an hour away and we don’t go very often so I was hoping to get it right first try.

Also, don’t younger females have a black stripe going down their body? Or do males get that too?

 

[chromedome52]

Males need to be comfortable with their surroundings to truly color up. However, the most effective way to sex them that I've found is by the dorsal edging. Females tend to have a thin red edge, while males usually show a slightly wider yellow edge. Body stripe appears in immature fish and sometimes just stressed fish, and having a stripe doesn't automatically make it female.

You can also sex them by girth if the fish are well fed. The female will have rounded out sides if she is filling with eggs.

 

[Yourlocalfishkeeper]

Males need to be comfortable with their surroundings to truly color up. However, the most effective way to sex them that I've found is by the dorsal edging. Females tend to have a thin red edge, while males usually show a slightly wider yellow edge. Body stripe appears in immature fish and sometimes just stressed fish, and having a stripe doesn't automatically make it female.

You can also sex them by girth if the fish are well fed. The female will have rounded out sides if she is filling with eggs.

Thank you for the tips! Their fish are definitely well fed, the owner feeds them live brine shrimp as their main source of food. I’ll look for those signs as well.



Should I get three gouramis to be safe? I don’t want to overstock my tank too much which is why I only wanted a pair. It’s a 20 tall and the final stocking will be 3 male guppies, 8 green neon tetra, 8 habrosus cories, and a pair of honey gouramis. I wouldn’t mind making it 3 honey gouramis however, as long as the stocking isn’t too much. Thoughts?

 

[Yourlocalfishkeeper]

Should I get three gouramis to be safe? I don’t want to overstock my tank too much which is why I only wanted a pair. It’s a 20 tall and the final stocking will be 3 male guppies, 8 green neon tetra, 8 habrosus cories, and a pair of honey gouramis. I wouldn’t mind making it 3 honey gouramis however,

The store just got in their weekly shipment. They have the green neons now and I’m probably going to end up buying some of them as well, probably around 4 to start. I don’t want to be spending too much money( I’m buying a lot of plants as well), so depending on how much the honey gouramis cost I may only get 1 and buy more later. However, i’d still like to know if I should get a trio or a pair of honeys.

 

[chromedome52]

One male and two females should be OK. Honeys are not aggressive, except for male-to-male confrontations. I had a male breeding in a community tank with two females, and it didn't seem to be a problem.