Honey Gourami (also known as Sunset Gourami) are wonderful freshwater fish that can make a great addition to any aquarium. The Honey Gourami is a great choice for those new to the hobby of fishkeeping due to their peaceful nature and ease of care and beautiful appearance. If you are interested in honey gouramis and their care, keep reading as I answer 28 common questions about them!
1. Where Are Honey Gouramis From?
Honey Gourami fish are native to the countries of India and Bangladesh, where they can be found in freshwater rivers and lakes. They typically inhabit areas where there is abundant vegetation.
2. How Big Do Honey Gouramis Get?
On average the Honey Gourami reaches about 2 inches (5.5cm) in length when they are fully grown. Females tend to become slightly bigger than the males.
3. Are Honey Gouramis Dwarfs?
Honey Gouramis are NOT the same as Dwarf Gouramis, they are a completely different species. They do have similarities in their appearance and, rather unhelpfully, Honey Gouramis often have ‘Dwarf’ included in their name in pet stores but they are not the same fish.
To help distinguish between them, look out for their latin names – Honey Gourami is ‘Trichogaster chuna’ and Dwarf Gourami is ‘Trichogaster lalius’.
4. What Is An Appropriate Honey Gourami Tank Size?
In terms of tank size, honey Gourami fish should ideally be housed in tanks that are at least 10 gallons. The tank should probably be at least 24 inches long (60 cm) and would need to have ample swimming space for all fish – a 10 gallon tank with too many fish will not be a happy home!
As with most fish the bigger the tank the better – who doesn’t want more room after all?
5. Can Honey Gourami Be Kept Alone?
I would not recommend keeping a Honey Gourami alone in a tank, it is likely to become stressed. You can keep it in a tank without other fish of its kind providing there are other suitable tank mates for it. However I strongly believe that you should look to keep a group of Honey Gouramis or at the very least a pair.
Although they are not a shoaling fish as such they do seem to prefer company in their environment.
6. Do Honey Gouramis Need To Be In Pairs?
Honey Gouramis do seem to prefer company so keeping at least a pair is advisable. I believe that keeping between 4-6 in a tank would create the best display but they are not overly bothered by their numbers.
7. How To Tell Honey Gourami Gender?
It’s quite simple to tell the gender of a Honey Gourami fish once it has reached maturity as they are sexually dimorphic, this means that the males and females look different. The most notable sign of honey Gourami gender is their dorsal fins – a male has a more sharpened ended dorsal fin, while a female dorsal fin looks more rounded. As stated above, Females tend to be slightly larger than maled and their coloring isn’t as bright.
8. What Are The Right Honey Gourami Water Parameters?
Honey Gourami fish should ideally be kept in soft, slightly acidic water with a temperature of around 72 Fahrenheit and pH of around 7. They will, however, do well anywhere within the range of 66-80F and 6-8pH.
They prefer slow moving water with lots of plants, rocks and other decorations to provide hiding places and are pretty tolerable of slight changes in water chemistry.
9. What Type Of Lighting Do Honey Gouramis Require?
Honey Gourami fish do not require special lighting and will adapt to the light you currently have in your tank. Just make sure that you don’t keep the light on all the time – they do require periods of darkness. Try to replicate the lighting they would get in the wild i.e. put the light off at night!
10. Are Honey Gouramis Hardy?
Honey Gouramis are a hardy fish that can tolerate a range of water conditions and temperatures. Of course you should always aim to provide the best and most stable conditions possible for your fish, but it is good, especially if you are new to the hobby, to know that if there is a little variance in water chemistry or temperature that your fish are not going to suffer as a result. Honey Gouramis make excellent beginner fish because of their hardiness and peaceful nature.
11. Are Honey Gouramis Easy To Care For?
Yes Honey Gouramis are easy to care for and keep, they get on well with other community fish such as Tetras and do not need a huge tank to thrive in. They don’t require any special lighting, they will happily eat a variety of food and can tolerate a range of temperatures and water chemistry. Give them a nice tank with plenty of plants and decortaions to explore and hide in and they will give you years of hassle-free pleasure!
12. Are Honey Gouramis Top Dwellers?
Yes honey gouramis are top dwellers and will spend most of their time in the top or middle levels of your tank. They are unlikely to swim around the bottom of your tank that much but will do so on occasion. Keep this in mind when choosing fish to accompany honey gouramis as you don’t want too many fish occupying the same areas of the tank. Bottom dwellers like a Pleco can make a great tank mate for a honey gourami
13. What Do Honey Gouramis Eat?
Honey Gouramis are omnivores and will eat a variety of food, including pellets and flakes, live and frozen invertebrates and will also happily eat much smaller fish if they can catch them!
It’s probably a good idea to base their diet on pellets or flakes from a pet store, as they ensure that there is enough of the various nutrients for them. Occasionally, for a treat, try giving them some frozen daphnia, bloodworms or brine shrimp.
14. Do Honey Gouramis Eat Plants?
Honey Gouramis are not known to really eat aquarium plants but they are omnivores so they may do. They will eat a little algae and will also enjoy eating some blanched vegetables like spinach and lettuce.
15. Do Honey Gouramis Eat Snails?
Some fishkeepers strongly believe that Honey Gouramis will eat snails but I have never come across this myself. As previously stated though, Honey Gouramis are omnivores so will probably eat anything meat or veg based. If they can catch and bite a snail they may very well do so. I would imagine though that if you provide your Honey Gouramis with a good and plentiful diet that they wouldn’t waste their time trying to eat a snail
16. Are Honey Gouramis Territorial?
Honey Gouramis are not particularly territorial although males will defend their bubble nests and be a little more aggressive if mating. Typically though the Honey Gourami is a peaceful fish well suited to a community tank.
17. Are Honey Gouramis Aggressive?
Honey Gouramis are not aggressive, if anything they are shy and will prefer to have hiding spots in your tank. When breeding they will create bubble nests and the males especially, will be more aggressive in order to protect the bubble nest. As a general rule however, the Honey Gourami is a peaceful, non-aggressive fish.
18. Are Honey Gouramis Fin Nippers?
Honey Gouramis are not known as fin nippers but honey gourami males can be a little more aggressive during breeding and may nibble the fins of a female Honey Gourami. This is more to do with asserting dominance than being a fin nipper though, so if you have both sexes in your tank they shouldn’t cause too much of a problem
19. Can Honey Gouramis Live With Guppies?
Honey Gouramis are peaceful fish and should get along fine with other community fish such as guppies. Guppies and Honey Gouramis have the same sort of dietary requirements, as both are omnivores, neither species is likely to be aggressive and they enjoy similar water parameters – Keep the water soft with a pH of about 7 and a temperature between 75-80F and your Honey Gouramis and you Guppies should be perfectly happy together.
20. Will Honey Gourami Eat Guppy Fry?
Yes, given the opportunity, a Honey Gourami will eat Guppy fry, or any other kind of fry, or to be honest, anything else it can fit in its mouth! If you are trying to breed guppies you’d be best to try and separate them from other fish or at the very least ensure there are lots of plants and rocks to hide in – some fry may then manage to avoid becoming lunch!
21. Can Honey Gouramis Live With Bettas?
Yes, Honey Gouramis should be ok with Bettas even a male Betta providing that the tank is big enough. If your tank is too small it increases the chances of the Betta becoming territorial and aggressive. If you only have a medium sized tank or smaller I wouldn’t be looking to add a Betta to a tank of Honey Gouramis.
22. Can Honey Gouramis Live With Neon Tetras?
Yes, honey gouramis should be fine with neon tetras. Neither species are particularly boisterous or aggressive so there shouldn’t really be any problems between honey gouramis and neon tetras.
[see our article on Neon Tetra Tank Mates]
23. Can Honey Gouramis Live With Mollies?
Yes, honey gouramis should be fine with mollies. As honey gouramis aren’t particularly boisterous or aggressive they shouldn’t pose any problems for your mollies and vice versa
24. Can Honey Gouramis Live With Angelfish?
No, personally I would avoid housing Honey Gouramis with Angelfish. Angelfish can be very territorial and boisterous and I fear honey gouramis would be too sensitive to survive in the same tank. I know of some fishkeepers that would disagree but I think you really have to be quite experienced in the hobby to consider Angelfish and Honey Gouramis in the same tank.
25. Can Honey Gouramis Live With Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish?
Honey Gouramis should be ok with Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish as long as there is adequate space for each species to live comfortably. Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish are typically quite peaceful [source] so should pose no problems and honey gouramis aren’t known as being aggressive either.
26. Can Honey Gouramis Live With Platies?
Yes, honey gouramis should be fine with platies. Both fish are typically calm and peaceful. As always make sure there is enough space in the tank and there really should be no issues between the two.
27. Can Honey Gouramis Live With Shrimp?
Yes honey gouramis should be fine with shrimp. Shrimp and honey gouramis can happily live together as honey gouramis aren’t known to be particularly aggressive and shrimp generally do not bother their tankmates. Having said that, small or young shrimp may be tempting to a Hoeney Gourami who will eat them if they can fit in its mouth!
28. Can Honey Gouramis Live With Goldfish?
No, honey gouramis should not be kept with goldfish and neither should any other tropical fish. Goldfish and honey gouramis require very different water conditions and temperatures and will not thrive in the same environment.
Conclusion – Honey Gourami Facts & Care
The honey gourami is a beautiful, hardy fish that can be put in an aquarium with other community fish. They are omnivores and will eat pretty much anything that can fit in theire mouths including any fry they come across. Although not aggressive, you should make sure to provide them with enough space to ensure their happiness.
Hopefully you have enjoyed this article about Honey Gourami facts and their care – Thanks for Reading!
