# Labyrinth fishes



## Error (Apr 16, 2004)

Hello all,

I don't notice many people posting about Labyrinth fishes. Does anyone still keep them in their planted tanks?


----------



## tsunami (Jan 24, 2004)

I keep a trio of chocolate gouramis in my 20g long. It's my first time with them, and I love them! I've learned the hard way though that they love to jump.










I think there is much unlocked potential in small labyrinth fish for use in planted aquaria. I think many wild betta species and Parosphromenus sp could be excellent candidates.

Carlos


----------



## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

I have plants in all of my 2 gallon Betta systems, which include filtration, heating and CF lighting.


----------



## Sir_BlackhOle (Jan 25, 2004)

I have three bettas each in their own bowl, but have been interesting in getting some sort of wild type betta for a while now.


----------



## Error (Apr 16, 2004)

Sir_BlackhOle said:


> I have three bettas each in their own bowl, but have been interesting in getting some sort of wild type betta for a while now.


Have you seen Betta sp. 'Mahachai'? I think the Betta experts have been talking about them being a cross between B. smaragdina and either B. splendens or B. imbellis. Either way, they're absolutely amazing! Here's a pic:










Tsunami, I've always heard the fabled Chocolate Gourami is difficult to keep. Have you had any trouble other than the jumping?

I too think the Parosphromenus species could potentially be good planted tank residents. Some of the Trichopsis species (in particular, T. pumilus) are also radiant. Most of them have green/blue eyes that sparkle from all the way across a room.


----------



## Magnus (Feb 4, 2004)

That's one cool looking Betta. They're always so pretty. I wish stores hadn't carried so many Bettas that people stop appreciating how great they really are.
On a lighter note, no nano (or big) planted tank is complete without this little guy: 








I'm also keeping an eye out ":shock:" for some licorice gouramis.


----------



## Sir_BlackhOle (Jan 25, 2004)

i have been looking for sparkling gouramis for a while too. These type of fish seem hard to come by in my part of the state.


----------



## Error (Apr 16, 2004)

One of the LFSs around here got a whole tank of them in. I must've bough 30 of them.

This was a while ago and I was still somewhat of a newbie--they were dead within a month.


----------



## nonamethefish (Feb 25, 2004)

I know of a local store that carries B. smaragdina and b. imbellis. They also get betta pi, unimaculata etc. occasionally. However, I have no place to put it, nor do I have an excuse for my folks for dropping 16 bucks on 2 fish. I've spent quite a bit on recent fish pruchases, lights, and substrates and the last plants will come next. I must be about 150 bucks into dept already! LOL


Time to go mow the lawn...


----------



## Sir_BlackhOle (Jan 25, 2004)

lucky you with those neat fish nearby! maybe some day ill get some


----------



## Aaron (Feb 12, 2004)

Chocolate gouramies have been a pain in my side for quite some time. I can personally say I have sent my fair share to the big planted tank in the sky.  I have been playing around with some wild bettas (B. smaragdina, B. coccina) in small planted tanks mainly for breeding and they are pretty interesting to observe... lots of behaviour I would not see in a typical breeding tank. B. coccina however needed extremely low ph values so a lot of the plants ultimately melted. 
I also just got a group of Parospheromenus deissneri and plan to set half of the group up in a "moss" tank once they are out of quarantine. Right now, they reside in a "dead plant" tank, dried leaves and twigs. These are extremely shy fish! I need to be totally still for about 5 minutes before they show their faces, any slight movement and they dart right back into the leaf litter!
An odd Anabantoid that many might not consider for a plant tank is Ctenopoma ansorgii. These are very bizarre fish that show well in planted tanks, great orange color that contrasts nicely against the green. Only drawback is that they are predatory and will do a number on shrimp smaller than Yamatoes.


----------



## Geo (Feb 10, 2004)

Magnus said:


> That's one cool looking Betta. They're always so pretty. I wish stores hadn't carried so many Bettas that people stop appreciating how great they really are.
> On a lighter note, no nano (or big) planted tank is complete without this little guy:
> 
> 
> ...


I can agree - I love my sparkling gourami in my tank 

I recently also picked up two licorice gouramis, but they both died along with the rest of my fish during an ich treatment ...  

If a tank were planted heavily enough, could sparkling gouramis and licorice gouramis live together w/o problems? If not, I am moving my sparkler to my 2.5 after it's cleaned up and better planted, and getting some licorice gouramis for my 7


----------



## tsunami (Jan 24, 2004)

Brian (Error),

Sorry for not replying to your chocolate gourami question sooner. I must have been very lucky to have received a group of five chocolate gouramis that began eating prepared food from day one. They definitely seem to like a varied diet, so I fed them OSI Flakes, ON Brine Shrimp Plus, Tetra Delicia, Cyclops-eeze, and freshly hatched brine shrimp throughout the week. 

Water was kept very clean. Regular 50% water changes every weekend. Eheim Ecco Canister filter.

They were a little shy at first, but once they became established, I found them as hardy as rummynose tetras.

Clean water, a densely planted tank, warm temperature (78F or more), and a varied diet seems to be a recipe for long term success.

Give them a try! They are among the most charming, rewarding fish I've tried to date.

Carlos


----------



## Geo (Feb 10, 2004)

I have to say that I made a huge error I discovered O_O

I have an actual Croaking Gourami (Trichopsis vittata) in my 7 gallon, currently. I always mistook him for a Dwarf Croaking/Sparkling Gourami (Trichopsis pumilus) and this makes me think.

I guess I'm going to move the Croaking gourami to my 2.5 and keep him there by himself as it gets more heavily planted, and I will either put a pair or trio of Sparklers in my 7 gallon depending on how the tank grows in in the next bit of time.

I love Gouramis ... now I won't feel so bad about having of similar-looking fish in both my tanks, they are, afterall ... different species


----------



## Daemonfly (Mar 21, 2004)

I have 2 Paradise Fish in my 29g. Great fish, aside from the fact they love eating Amano Shrimp :x 

Before I got these, I was going to get a Betta species from some local breeders. Can't remember the exact type, but they are more community friendly.


----------



## C_perugiae (Feb 26, 2004)

I'm glad Ctenopomas were mentioned... that's a really neat genus. I have five C. acutirostre that are only about 2 inches long. They're easy on the plants, but they're not the flashiest fish around, being light tan with dark brown spots. My cteno babies are still really fun to watch, posessing the same locomotion characteristics that gouramis do, like wiggling at the front of the tank to beg for food and stopping perfectly in mid water to stare at something. 

The big problem with these guys is that they're going to grow to about 6" and they're already showing some predatory qualities... they're more suitable for tankmates that are quiet and non-aggressive, but still reach a generous size. When they get older, I might get a Polypterus to keep them company... as for now, they share a heavily planted 50B with six debauwi cats and some vampire shrimp.

Of course, I've had gouramis and bettas in planted tanks; they work wonderfully. One of the display tanks at the store I work for features a betta as the "centerpiece" fish... he gets a lot of attention for his shocking red against the bright green saggitaria.  I'll see if I can post a pic in the next couple days.


----------



## gasteriaphile (Nov 25, 2008)

Magnus said:


> I wish stores hadn't carried so many Bettas that people stop appreciating how great they really are.


Well put. I know this is an old thread but I found it whilst doing a search on the word "paradise", as I am interested in them now and wondered what others have said. It is time consuming to do a search on a forum because you cannot search the resulting threads. You have to go thru them one by one!


----------



## gasteriaphile (Nov 25, 2008)

Just in case anyone catches this: I am looking for a breeder/supplier of Spade Tail bettas. Please private message me if you prefer. Thanks, g


----------



## maddyfish (Dec 28, 2008)

I plan to have a wild betta or two in the near future.


----------

