Follow up Q on Gourami

Question
I asked a question last night about breeding a gourami but the answer I got wasn't clear. Maybe you can help.

I have 2 dwarf fire gourami can they mate with dwarf neon blue gourami? Also what should the male to female ratio be? I have a 75 gallon tank and so far the two males are the only thing in the tank. They have both blown nests at either end of tank.

Answer
Hi Michelle;

Both the dwarf fire and dwarf neon blue are "Colisa lalia" so they will breed together. They are the same fish that have been selectively bred for certain colors. Dwarf gouramis are bred in a similar fashion to bettas. Condition the female for a couple of weeks so she is full of eggs, introduce her to the male and watch them to be sure he doesn't get too aggressive. If he beats her up she will have to be removed whether they spawn or not. You could try again after a couple of weeks recovery, or try a more mature female. Once spawning has commenced, remove the female. You can introduce more than one female if you want to, and he may breed with them but they have to be removed too after spawning. The male cares for the nest and the young and will injure or even kill other fish that come near. Provide plenty of live plants and other cover so that the female can get away from him if she needs to while you wait for them to spawn. Once the young fry are free-swimming you may have to remove the male too. Sometimes he will eat them. Here are some good web pages about it to help you more;

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/anabantids2/p/dwarfgourami.htm

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile124.html

http://aquaworld.netfirms.com/Labyrinthfish/Colisa/colisa_lalia.htm

Good luck!

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins