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Giant Gourami

19 years ago

Hey there.

I have a Giant Gourami. Are real giant! He's about 10" long and has a bad attitude. He makes my 4" Dempsey cower and the convict are hiding.

Anything I can do about this? I would like more color in the tank with him, but what fish is tough enough? It's a 65 Gl tank by the way. Any info.would be appreciated.

Thanks!

-PF

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Comments (14)

snakoyd11
19 years ago
I hate to say, but that gourami is going to grow up to or over 2 feet by the end of its growing days. So, that 65 gallon tank may not even be adequate for him by himself to live comfortably. And its sheer size will frighten your other fish even more as it grows larger. You say it hasn't even hit the 1 foot mark yet. Depending on the size of your other fish, if that gourami gets much bigger it will probably eat them or kill them to protect its territory. Thats what my friend's did. He ended up tossing it into his pond because it got so big nobody wanted it but it ended up attacking his koi. My advice to you would be to give that fish to your local aquarium and purchase a smaller gourami species that will still be large but peaceful and definelty will not reach 2 feet. I am surprised he isn't more aggressive with the other fish already because-compared to him- the tank is kinda small. Even though it is not, to him it is too small to be sharing with other fish. I would donate him if it was me. Good luck with fishzilla!

Snakoyd
pequafrog
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks, Snakoyd. I'm gonna have to give that a lot of though. We're pretty attached to FishZilla a.k.a. Pippin.

-PF
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raul_in_mexico
19 years ago
Just think a little bit about this, in their native waters they are harvested for food so you can easily imagine how big can they get.
chip72
19 years ago
"In their native waters they are harvested for food so you can"... think about eating him when he gets too big! :D
james_ny
19 years ago
Maybe some catfish that stays on the bottom [with some cover]. How about something real small that he can't catch? He will grow bigger.
jordan_and_slippy
19 years ago
I personnaly do NOT like Gouramis. There is one in the local pet store I frequent and he constantly charges the tank walls at me. Moody, perhaps ;) Anyways, sometimes I and the store manager even, worry that he's gonna knock the tank of it's shelf one day! Right now, I'd be preparing the frying pan and planning on getting something more peacefull and smaller, like oh I dunno anything else.
shorething
19 years ago
I have a blue 3 spot gourami will it get giant too ?
I didnt know they get that big .. Thanx ,
Deb
snakoyd11
19 years ago
no a blue three spot gourami will not get anywhere near as big as a giant one. i have several and they do get larger then the average tank fish like tetras and the like. i find the best minimum size for blue gouramis and really any gourami except maybe dwarfs is a 55 gallon tank. but thats just my opinion.
simcan
19 years ago
I too have a giant gourami. Floyd is 8 years old and two feet long, and about five inches thick.

I keep Floyd in a 240 gallon tank, and he still looks big. A Giant Gourami is a serious commitment.

I keep Floyd with 15 clown loaches, one Royal Panaque and six Red Hook silver dollars. Giant Gouramis go through a tempermental adolescent phase, which your seems to be in right now, but they tend to become much more accomodating by the time they reach about a foot and a half.

Good luck.
Karloff
19 years ago
Wow, what do you feed a gourami that big? There is a big pink one in the pet shop we go to and they feed him banana!
simcan
19 years ago
Hey. He loves banana, kiwi, peas, lettuce, cabbage, strawberries, raspberries, and just about any fruit or vegetable. I feed him those and his staple diet are Hikari jumbo koi pellets.
pequafrog
Original Author
19 years ago
I was going thru this old thread.
How cool is it to feed your fish a banana?!!!

good stuff,

-andy
cheviak_aol_com
13 years ago
I am thinking of buyig a giant she is about a foot or so and seems tame with the other fish in the tank i keep hearing that the fish are mean and nice at the same time i just dont want it to kill all my fish i do have a 135g with 5" shribunkin and a 6" cat. Any thoughts or comments would help thanks or if you know of any for sale in the sacramento area.
rmahut_comcast_net
13 years ago
I have a 24 inch Giant Gourami in a 185 gallon tank. He gets along with any kind or size of fish. He get's excited but I would not call it aggresion. It's more like an energetic big dog. The most important factor for keeping them is to have a big tank. I think they are wonderful pets with loads of personality. The proof of this is that most owners name them.

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