Chocolate Gourami in community tank?

[Ryan Young]

Hi all,
Have been thinking about getting a new set of fish in my aquarium which is an open topped 200L tank with 7 harlequin rasbora and 6 copper rasbora and has two filters running (fluval 306 and eheim ecco pro.
I have kept gouramis in the past with success and frequent bubblenests but was wondering if a group, preferably more than a pair would be suitable in this tank and if so what ratio of female to male should i get to maximise breeding potential?
One reason I ask this is because in the past I have kept two pairs of dwarf gourami in a 60l planted aquarium with other fish and they were bullied (I know 60l was way too small but was new at the time and went along with what I was told by a pet store).
I am planning on having tall plants at the rear of the tank when I rescape it and hope this will distract others from bullying them.

 

[KipperSarnie]

I used to keep Chocolate Gourami but they are shy delicate fish & require soft acid water with plenty of live food & some cover with surface plant to be perfectly at home.
Fast darting fish for company is a big No No!
((Think of "Cool Jazz" rather than "Heavy Metal or "Punk Rock"))
Sexing is not easy so a group is preferable if you want to try successfully breeding them.

"Community tank" To me is a mismatch of fish from all over the world charging around with none really happy except the bullies!!.

 

[alto]

Choco's definitely do best when their needs are the first consideration, but they can certainly be kept with other fish - I like
M kubotai
M nanus
S axelrodi
Corydoras
Shrimp

One consideration is relative eating habits - Choco's are generally slow eaters, they'll get to the food as fast as anyone, but then stop & have a good chew before looking for the next bloodworm etc - depending on tankmates, there may not be any food left
I generally feed once a day but heavily so that Choco's get a good meal (they'll look about for an hour or so)
I feed a mix of frozen foods (Hikari seems most/consistently palatable)

I don't think Choco's are particularly shy - they do need suitable tankmates (but this is true of many fish), I have Kessil A160's & Chocos are fine even with 100% intensity, I rarely have floating plants but do have lots of heavily planted areas

Delicate - stock source is very important (check Lindy's Going Large for a nice group of newly arrived Choco's); they come from very clean water with low bacteria counts so that's what you're looking to mimic with newly arrived Choco's, soft, acidic water

Seriously Fish provides excellent profiles

Choco's are very strong jumpers so not a good idea to startle them

I have a group of S acrostoma since Monday- they are in a quarantine tank & by Day 3 were gathering for food when I began to move the glass top, by Day 5 they respond whenever I approach the tank
Rather than treating the water column, I decided to feed Metronidazole soaked food when I noticed tail "pinching" - with Choco's you need to begin treatments at the first signs of trouble, not wait, so it's best to have medications on hand.
So far I find the S acrostoma to be much more group oriented than S. osphromenoides (I have ~ 20 juveniles)

Choco's that are inactive or shy or poor appetite are generally not feeling well - they seldom race about the tank, but should be active most of the time ... that's one of my favorite aspects of Choco's - they "eye" something, then investigate - & they can be very fast
(an' they roll their eyes at me )

 

[Daveslaney]

 

[Lindy]

I keep my chocos in a community tank with micro rasbora, pencil fish, liquorice gourami, pygmy corys and eel loach. They don't bother each other. I also have them is another tank with adult betta channoides and simplex and they all politely ignore each other. That is until the simplex are trying to breed. The chocos lurk close by until the bettas are in the breeding embrace and then they race in and barge between the betta causing eggs to scatter. They then hoover up all the eggs.