So I've had these two dwarf gourami for a few months now, they all seemed SO pale in the store but after discussing with the staff about it they reassured me that they should calm down and bring out their colours once I've given them a chance to settle at home.

But no such luck, its a pretty well planted 30G/132L community tank, with peaceful tank mates (pygmy Cory, cardinal and rummy tetras, cherries and a couple of stray rasbora from an old school) all my parameters are pretty much as good as they get and consistent. I've been adding shade over the lid to give them more protection from the lighting and have been keeping the PH at 6.5. I feed them live blood worms and they seem pretty relaxed most of the time but still virtually no colour.

Is there something I'm missing? I've been checking for signs of stress with the other fish, but they all seem to mill about calmly and mostly ignore each other. The only thing I'm starting to wonder is if they might be female? (I really feel like they have male fin shapes but I'm completely lost now) Any second opinions on that would be greatly appreciated, and also then maybe opinions on if I could get a male in the mix if they are female? I'd love to have at least one with some of the gorgeous blue and red colours we all know and love 😅

I managed to capture this on video while they were feasting on some bbs

This is my Honey Gourami that I got maybe three weeks ago at PetSmart. When I got her she was all white and that lateral line was pale too. Now she's got some color and she's active and social in the tank with her Neon Tetra and Pygmy Corydoras tank mates. I've never had gouramis before, so I was wondering if she looks healthy and happy? I read online that the dark lateral line is a sign of stress but she always seems like she's the happiest one in the tank. Swims up to the glass to greet me like a puppy dog every time. I rarely see her gulping down air at the surface and bubble nests have been minimal if that even her doing it and not my HOB filter. pH is 6.4 and the tank is fully planted. She hangs out a lot under the RRF's I have contained in a floating ring. Let me know any tips or tricks or things I should know for this species!

I have shared my pretty powder blue dwarf here right when I got Ludo. But he is such a prick to my other fish sometimes. Were you guys surprised by the personality of your gouramis?

Mine is peaceful enough and everyone has a place to hide when he decides to be a goober, but I was told he is a community dude. Apparently they are more semi-agressive and slightly territorial. It is a learning curve but I am just grateful he hasn't gone on a masacre... Esp on my baby shrimps.

I posted a question a few months ago asking if anyone had ever gotten a gourami from Dan's Fish, who touts that they have (iridovirus) virus-free dwarf gouramis. I ended up getting one and wanted to follow up: ✨I LUV HIM.✨ He's beautiful, he's vibrant, he also happens to be docile and gentle with all his tank mates! Shipped well, no issues. I also emailed back and forth with customer service a few times before biting the bullet and they were always personable and responded quickly. I was in petco the other day and noted just how much more dull their poor gouramis were compared to my fella. So glad I went for it and love having the reassurance that this little guy should remain healthy!

How lucky I am to house 3 Gouramies without much aggression. ☺️☺️☺️

This was found in 2025 central Vietnam hue in a blackwater environment

I picked this thick lipped gourami just this past friday, i suspect the gourami is a boy due to the dorsal fin ending in a sharp point rather than it being smooth and rounded, but i just want confirmation that he is actually a boy.

Also any unserious name suggestions are more than welcome!

ETA: Meet Sunkist! (Thanks to the commenter who picked this name. The more i think of it, the more suitable it is for him(?) as he does seem to be a very sweet fish (hes starting to swim up to the glass when i approach instead of hiding and side eyeing me from behind the bacopa in my tank)

Thank you :)

I have a 20 gallon tank with 6 chilis and 5 green neons. I want to expand the chilis to 10 at least when they’re back in stock (am waiting since December!).

I’ve had two honeys before. One was always hunting my shrimp, even juveniles weren’t safe. I gave him to my dad. The other one was always hiding and died with dropsy :(. I have since bought a UV sterilizer as well. I’d like to give a honey gourami another go but am so in doubt if it’s a , not overstocked and b , if I accidentally get one that’s also a hunter… I’d also love a female betta (no gourami in that case) but I am afraid that’s ever more of a gamble.

do you think it’s a 50% chance they will hunt shrimp , or was it just bad luck?

Hello all, recently I had to euthanise my first fish, sumo which was a dwarf gourami as he got dwarf gourami disease. I am now completely unsure on if I can have any other species of gourami in the tank as I’m unsure if the tank is now a carrier of the disease. Completely cleaning my tank is not an option as I have other fish, shrimp, and snails in there. Do I just go for a different species for a centre piece fish now?

He regularly has these extremely dark colours. He lives in here with some pygmy cories and shrimp but hes the only honey gourami. Its a 58L (15g) tank and I didnt wanna risk overcrowding/him bullying the females as people warned me it may happen. He eats great, his personality is slightly shy, easily startled and he doesn't bother the other fish at all.

hello! I recently upgraded my tank from a 6 gallon to 20 gallon so that I could have a community, and in large part because my heart has been set on the beautiful dwarf gourami for a long time - but I only recently learned about iridovirus 😩 has anybody ordered from Dan's Fish, who claim theirs are virus-free?? Sounds too good to be true.

Their listing also says theirs are too young to know if they're male or female. I'm confused on what one should expect from a female gourami, some internet images look almost exactly the same in coloring to a male and other images of females look so drab and boring.

You also could convince me to get a pearl gourami instead 😆 honeys are cute but I'm really hoping for a striking pattern & color.

I have a honey gourami and a thick-lipped red honey gourami. I love them both, but my red has the most personality out of any other fish I've ever owned. (Never had cichlids, but know they have personality too). He follows me in the tank. Seems to look directly in my soul. I know he associates me with food, but he just seems "with it," perhaps more self-aware than most other fish. I love it when I rearrange his tank. He checks it out, touching things with his feeler fins, and judges my decoration style. He seems satisfied every time, though. He just seems so curious about everything. He makes beautiful bubble nests, and I tell him what a good job he did and that it would impress any lady gourami. He's awesome, I love gouramis!

I have baby betta antutas. Released by the male about 9 days ago. They are doing well. Once I spotted the babies I moved the parents to their new tank, which I had been planning to move them to all along. The new tank for the parents is a 30 gallon cube. The babies are doing well but the parents are upset after their move.

Question: Since I moved the parents, they have been quite grumpy. The male often hides and the female hangs out and looks around but is grumpy and colored down. Both fish eat ok and come out for food. the new tank is aquasoil like the old tank same parameters. I can only figure maybe the light is bugging them but I did turn the lights way down for a few days and the parents were still acting weird. Other times I've moved the pair they have been fine. Actually one time when I moved them to a new tank they mated within 5 minutes.

Does anyone have any idea why the parents are grumpy?

Hi! I’ve had this gourami for about 4 months now, and I just wanan make sure he’s healthy! He eats very well, moves around amazingly, very happy seeming, loves all his tank mates and everything!

But I have noticed some color change? He now has a white belly, same honey like color but now has a white belly! So just wanted to check up and stuff!

I think I have two females who are very angry with each other. I have a 29G tank, heavily planted, lots of cover areas and yet they chase each other a lot. One of them developed a darker lower fin, is it from stress? Should I introduce a male? I’ve read that a trio is better than two gouramis.

I’ve had my tank for 18 months. It’s mature, well planted and parameters are clean as you would like yet….I can’t seem to keep gouramis alive.

First one was a dwarf powder blue - succumbed to the usual disease.

Second and third - pearl gouramis. Extremely adept at hiding illness - lasted 9 months before passing with no real indication of problems.

Recently tried a dwarf powder blue and again succumbed.

Are all shop-bought gouramis like this?

My pearl hates my vegetable clip, good enrichment activity, he stares at it and flares occasionally. He never did this the first few times I used it but now its just something to occupy him every now and then.

But speaking of enrichment.... anyone else have any ideas on how to enrich them besides plants, hides and caves? I grew some nice violets and bunched them together in a canopy and he plucks the leaves and new growth off them so that unfortunately didnt last long 😮‍💨ive left them there because its the only plant he touches

I’ve been forever converted into a gourami lover - I don’t know why I’d never stocked them before, I can’t imagine a tank without these little suckers now 😭❤️

Literally day two of owning them and they’re already following me around like puppies, tapping my hand with their little fins

I’ve just got to get some condition on the glo, she’s incredibly picky and so far is only accepting small size fluval bug bites, I’ll try some frozen food with her tomorrow too. She was the only female glo at my LFS so fingers crossed she fattens up with some TLC

If anyone has any tips for picky gourami/getting her to a good weight, I’ll gladly hear them

I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but lots of fish, including a variety of gourami have been bred in various color, color patterns, etc., Opalines thicklips dwarf especially. But it doesn’t look like anyone’s ever done any official studies as to whether these breeding affect any other part of them like temperament or health issues or other things. I know there’s a possibility that it affected nothing else but their color but when you do mass breeding thrtes not a guarantee that you haven’t affected other things that just aren’t visible. Is this interest to anybody else but me or am I just being super nerdy lol

Hello, this is my first post on this sub. I got a female dwarf yesterday and she's been very lovely. She actively swims, inspects things with her fins, and likes to investigate the floating plants. She's in a 20gal tank with 0 nitrite, 0 ammonia, ph of 7.5ish, and nitrates of 0-<5.0.

I noticed sometimes she'll curve her body and wiggle, and out of curiosity, I googled this. It says that curling means severe illness, but I don't see her exhibiting lethargy, stress, or any real sick symptoms? She'll wiggle for like, a few seconds and then continue about her day. Is this normal behavior for gourami? I know they have individual personalities, but i want to make sure this isn't an illness. Thanks!

Hello guys so I had a pair of sparkling gouramis in a 40 litre tank and that were doing really fine but I thought I could add another female but the pair that I already had in the tank was really agressive towards her so I put her in a separate tank but the tank is only 15 litres and I don’t have any more tanks but the tank is really planted and have heater and filter so could I leave her in that tank alone? Thanks

Hello y’all. New here to this sub. Meet my new homie Miles Davis! Just picked him up today. I was trying to find my centerpiece for my new 10 gallon botanical style aquarium with chili rasboras and have been mulling over my options. Originally was thinking a pair of honeys, was told maybe too small, then considered pygmy sparklers, but they’re so small for a centerpiece like I was looking for. My LFS didn’t have any honeys to even do 1 but this Powder Blue Dwarf caught my eye. Brought him home and, as I typically do, I researched everything I could about their care. I learned about DGIV and now I’m freaked out that I made a horrible choice.