Need some advice with a giant gourami

[CrunchyLobster123]

Recently acquired this 19 inch beauty! He was the catch to a free 90 Gal + stand. I haven’t decided if im going to keep him or not I but in the mean time what’s the best way to keep him happy and healthy? I’m told he’s 12 years old, and has been in this tank most of that time. If I do decide to keep him what size of tank would I need? I don’t know much about these guys so need advice on the best way to care for him.

 

[Poseidon2.0]

A beautiful fish! I'd imagine that it needs a minimum 6 footer with a 2 foot depth; about 180 gallons.

 

[Friller2009]

A member on this forum would say something like 5m x 4m x 3m.

A 6ft 180 would be fine for just him

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Think it might be good to mention that esoxlucius ' giant gourami was cramped (thrashing and throwing splashes of water on the floor because of the lack of space) at only 2/3 the size of this one in a 1.83m x 61cm x 61cm 681 liter.

Edit: Link.

Is a 96 x 24 x 24 big enough for an adult Giant Gourami?

Is a 96 x 24 x 24 big enough for an adult Giant Gourami? Do I NEED more width? Or would this size of a tank be good?

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

 

[Fishman Dave]

Would be good if you could find out what she used to be fed, as they can be grumpy and stick to what they like but generally should accept a number of foods including blanched cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes, floating pellets, sinking pellets, cucumber, cooked mussel meat and apparently I am told even plain nuts although I never tried mine with nuts.
Mine had a preference for tomatoes.
Clean and stable water. Mine liked to hide in or under some kind of cave or structure for some of the day even at 24” although I appreciate that kind of thing is hard to replicate in a tank.
Quite an intelligent fish which appreciates some kind of stimulation. Even interaction with humans and pets, see posts from 12 Volt Man
If she is 12 years old then her growth may have been stunted a little although she still may grow slightly given bigger accommodation. She may be at her full size though.

 

[wednesday13]

For starters id get some lids… not a bad idea to weight them down either. GG’s are known jumpers. I like to use “water weights” made from old milk jugs/food containers, etc…. A cple half gallon milk jugs should hold him in there lol… the advantage of water weights is if they do jump and knock them off the lids theres no worry of it breaking the tank. Any future tank u can come up with thats larger than its current accommodations is a step in the right direction ??. Good luck with him. A fun one to own for sure. Very timid at first but very interactive/bold once they get to know ya.

 

[esoxlucius]

From what I've read over the years, and from my own experience, giant gouramis are one of those fish that definitely buck the trend regarding behaviour. Each individual fish has their own character and traits. You can get peaceful puppy dog types (like mine), or complete brutes that really aren't tolerant of much.

Mine did show signs of unhappiness, if that's the right word to use, when he began to outgrow his 180 (6x2x2). I put it down to the tank size. At the time I never considered anything else. Could he have been unhappy because of something else? Who knows.

Then we see 12 Volt Man giant gourami that is a lot bigger than mine, and I believe is in a slightly smaller tank than mine was when he had his thrashing episodes. And yet, as far as I'm aware his GG seems to be thriving, is very interactive, eats very well and looks healthy.

One important factor to take into consideration with GG's is their activity levels. They're not the most active fish and so maybe, just maybe, you could say that even though they grow huge they can just be as happy in a tank that most people, who aren't experienced with them, would consider way too small.

I used to look at 12 volt man's GG and think, that just looks wrong, yet his regular postings of his beast have swayed me somewhat over time.

I will say one thing though. I think that your newly acquired GG does need something bigger than that 90g!!

As for ongoing care, once you upgrade tank size, keep your water pristeen at all times, keep on top of your maintanance and feed it a varied diet. At 12 years old it possibly has many many years left in it yet, if cared for properly. Enjoy it because these fish can be very rewarding, like little puppy dogs......unless you are unlucky and get one of those that turn into a rottweiler!!

 

[12 Volt Man]

excellent advice given above. do you know what he is currently eating?

my GG stopped eating all dried pellets/sticks last year after 4 years of eating them. I switched him to veges and he eats them all like crazy.

romaine, edemame, strawberries, blueberries and grapes are what Charlie eats now.

He will require a 1/3 to 50% water change weekly especially in the 90g.

for future tank size, bigger is better. Charlie is in a 6 foot 150g but a 210g would be a little better.

the 180g isn't tall enough, at 20 inches in length with gravel substrate his tail would be touching the bottom if he was eating from the surface

 

[CrunchyLobster123]

I sort of forgot about this thread, but luckily remembered and thought I’d update. The gourami (who we have named Duchess) has now gone to a 300 gallon tank at my workplace! Which houses a small female stingray (which they get along just fine, the female is a bit beat up because of a male that used to be in there) So I get to see her almost everyday. We also got very lucky and she eats basically anything we put in there. Pellets, veggies, fruits, shrimp, and all the moss that used to cover the back wall and driftwood in the tank.

 

[esoxlucius]

I must say this is a rather uplifting ending to what could have been a real problem for you.

Acquiring a 90g tank is great, but the fact a 19" giant gourami was part of the bargain was a bit of a bummer!

But after weighing up the advice you were given you immediately did the right thing and rehomed it to give it the best chance.

Well done you