Dwarf gourami care for beginners

Dwarf gouramis are small, colorful and full of personality. They explore every corner, follow you along the glass and build bubble nests. They're easy to keep in a calm, planted tank, but you need to know about one big health problem before you buy.

My dwarf gourami, Henry, lives in my 29 gallon planted tank with an L239 blue panaque pleco.

Dwarf gourami facts

• Size: about 3.5 inches
• Tank: 15 gallons or more, and a 20 or 29 is better
• Temperature: 75–80°F
• Water: soft to medium, with a pH of about 6.5 to 7.5
• Group: one male on his own. Two males will fight unless the tank is large.
• Colors: red and blue stripes, powder blue, flame red and neon blue
• Lifespan: about 4 years

Buy healthy: the dwarf gourami virus

Many farmed dwarf gouramis carry an iridovirus that has no cure. Infected fish lose color, stop eating, get sores or a swollen belly and die within weeks. You can't always spot it in the store, but you can lower the risk:

• Choose a fish that's alert, eating and brightly colored, with no marks or clamped fins. Ask the store to feed them so you can see.
• Avoid tanks with any sick or dead fish in them.
• Quarantine new gouramis for 4 weeks before adding them to your main tank. See how to set up a quarantine tank.
• Consider a honey gourami instead. They're smaller, gentler and much hardier.

Setting up the tank

• Plenty of plants, including floating plants. Gouramis feel safe with cover and use floating plants to build bubble nests. See easy live plants.
• Gentle flow. They come from slow, weedy water and don't like strong currents. A sponge filter or a hang-on-back filter turned down works well. See the best aquarium filters.
• A lid with a small gap. Gouramis breathe air from the surface with a special organ, so they need warm, humid air above the water.
• A steady 76–78°F. Check your heater size with the heater calculator.

Feeding

Feed a quality flake or small pellet once or twice a day, with frozen or freeze-dried bloodworms, brine shrimp or daphnia a few times a week. Only give what they eat in about two minutes. See how often to feed fish.

Tankmates

• Good: small peaceful schooling fish like neon tetras, harlequin rasboras and ember tetras, plus corydoras, otocinclus, platies and snails.
• Avoid: other male dwarf gouramis, bettas (they look alike to each other and fight), fin nippers like tiger barbs, and big or pushy fish.
• Shrimp: adult shrimp usually do fine, but gouramis will eat baby shrimp.

Normal and not normal

• Going to the surface to gulp air is normal. Gouramis breathe air. Rushing up constantly and gasping is not. See fish gasping at the surface.
• A cluster of bubbles at the surface is a bubble nest, a sign of a happy male.
• Hiding for a few days after you add him is normal.
• Faded color, not eating, sores or a swollen belly need action. Test the water first. See why are my fish dying?

Related: Betta fish tankmates · 20 gallon stocking ideas · Neon tetra care · Freshwater fish care sheets · Honey gourami care · L239 blue panaque care · Fish compatibility checker