Pearl gourami tank mates

Good matches

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The safest picks for pearl gouramis are angelfish, kuhli loaches and clown loaches. Each match shares pearl gouramis' temperature and pH and leaves them alone.

Gentle despite its size, but needs a long tank and a quiet company.

Temperature

77–82°F

pH

6–7.5

Temperament

Peaceful

Minimum tank

30 gal

With care

29

Avoid

20

Good tank mates

• Angelfish77–82°F
• Kuhli loach77–82°F
• Clown loach77–82°F
• Congo tetra77–82°F
• Corydoras77–79°F
• Elephant nose fish77–82°F
• Bristlenose pleco77–81°F
• Pictus catfish77–79°F
• Cherry barb77–81°F
• Lemon tetra77–82°F
• Firemouth cichlid77–82°F
• Pencilfish77–82°F
• Kribensis77–80°F
• Guppy77–82°F
• Silver dollar77–82°F
• Severum77–82°F
• Apistogramma77–82°F
• Blue gourami77–82°F
• Electric blue acara77–82°F
• Rainbow shark77–80°F
• Zebra pleco79–82°F
• Honey gourami77–82°F
• Rummy nose tetra77–82°F
• Cardinal tetra77–82°F
• Mystery snail77–82°F
• Bolivian ram77–79°F
• Clown pleco77–82°F
• Red tail shark77–79°F
• Harlequin rasbora77–80°F
• Black neon tetra77–81°F
• Neon tetra77–79°F
• Upside down catfish77–79°F
• Blood parrot77–80°F
• Otocinclus77–79°F
• Dwarf neon rainbowfish77–82°F
• Sparkling gourami77–82°F
• Glowlight tetra77–80°F
• Odessa barb77–79°F
• Zebra loach77–79°F
• Glass catfish77–80°F
• Dwarf gourami77–82°F
• Boesemani rainbowfish77–82°F
• German blue ram80–82°F
• Siamese algae eater77–79°F
• Hatchetfish77–81°F
• Platy77–80°F
• Swordtail77–79°F
• Assassin snail77–80°F
• Ramshorn snail77–80°F

Possible, with care

• Pea puffer At 5 inches a pearl gourami can swallow a small pea puffer. Fast, alert fish usually stay out of reach.
• Yoyo loach Yoyo loaches nip at slow fish. Pearl gouramis cannot get away.
• Tiger barb Tiger barbs nip at slow fish. Pearl gouramis cannot get away.
• Kissing gourami Kissing gouramis are much bigger and pushier than pearl gouramis, which are slow and easy to bully at feeding time.
• Bala shark Bala sharks grow to 13 inches and need 125 gallons, far more than a tank set up for pearl gouramis.
• Black skirt tetra Black skirt tetras nip at slow fish. Pearl gouramis cannot get away.
• Common pleco Plecos sometimes latch on to slow, flat fish like pearl gouramis and rasp their slime coat.
• Chinese algae eater Chinese algae eaters are much bigger and pushier than pearl gouramis, which are slow and easy to bully at feeding time.
• Ember tetra At 5 inches a pearl gourami can swallow a small ember tetra. Fast, alert fish usually stay out of reach.
• Bamboo shrimp Pearl gouramis will eat baby shrimp and may chase adults. Dense plants or moss give bamboo shrimp somewhere to hide.
• Chili rasbora At 5 inches a pearl gourami can swallow a small chili rasbora. Fast, alert fish usually stay out of reach.
• GloFish tetra Glofish nip at slow fish. Pearl gouramis cannot get away.
• African dwarf frog African dwarf frogs eat slowly and nearly blind. Fast pearl gouramis will take the food first, so target-feed them.
• Discus They only share 82°F. Keep the heater set there and steady.
• Serpae tetra Serpae tetras nip at slow fish. Pearl gouramis cannot get away.
• Crayfish They only share 77°F. Keep the heater set there and steady.
• Rosy barb They only share 77°F. Keep the heater set there and steady.
• Pygmy cory At 5 inches a pearl gourami can swallow a small pygmy cory. Fast, alert fish usually stay out of reach.
• Tinfoil barb Tinfoil barbs nip at slow fish. Pearl gouramis cannot get away.
• Peacock cichlid Different water: pearl gouramis want pH 6–7.5, peacock cichlids want pH 7.8–8.6.
• Panda cory They only share 77°F. Keep the heater set there and steady.
• Celestial pearl danio At 5 inches a pearl gourami can swallow a small celestial pearl danio. Fast, alert fish usually stay out of reach.
• Electric yellow cichlid Different water: pearl gouramis want pH 6–7.5, yellow labs want pH 7.8–8.6.
• Dojo loach They only share 77°F. Keep the heater set there and steady.
• Molly Water chemistry is a squeeze. The only pH that suits both is around 7.5.
• Nerite snail They only share 77–78°F. Keep the heater set there and steady.
• Endler's livebearer At 5 inches a pearl gourami can swallow a small endler's livebearer. Fast, alert fish usually stay out of reach.
• Zebra danio They only share 77°F. Keep the heater set there and steady.
• Killifish They only share 77°F. Keep the heater set there and steady.

Avoid

• Betta Bettas and pearl gouramis are both labyrinth fish and tend to fight over the surface.
• Axolotl Axolotls are coldwater animals (60–66°F); pearl gouramis need 77–82°F. No temperature suits both.
• Oscar An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches pearl gouramis do.
• Goldfish Goldfish are coldwater animals (60–74°F); pearl gouramis need 77–82°F. No temperature suits both.
• Convict cichlid Convict cichlids are aggressive and will bully peaceful pearl gouramis.
• Black ghost knife An adult black ghost knife eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches pearl gouramis do.
• Bichir An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches pearl gouramis do.
• Jack Dempsey An adult jack dempsey is twice the size of a pearl gourami and will hunt or batter a slow, long-finned fish like this.
• Cherry shrimp A pearl gourami is big enough to swallow adult cherry shrimp.
• Amano shrimp A pearl gourami is big enough to swallow adult amano shrimp.
• Ghost shrimp A pearl gourami is big enough to swallow adult ghost shrimp.
• African cichlid African cichlids are aggressive and will bully peaceful pearl gouramis.
• White cloud minnow White cloud minnows are coldwater animals (60–72°F); pearl gouramis need 77–82°F. No temperature suits both.
• Hillstream loach No shared temperature. Hillstream loaches need 68–75°F, pearl gouramis need 77–82°F.
• Gold barb No shared temperature. Pearl gouramis need 77–82°F, gold barbs need 64–75°F.
• Paradise fish Paradise fish and pearl gouramis are both labyrinth fish and tend to fight over the surface.
• Koi Koi are coldwater animals (59–77°F); pearl gouramis need 77–82°F. They meet only at 77°F, the edge of both ranges.
• Flowerhorn An adult flowerhorn eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches pearl gouramis do.
• Silver arowana An adult silver arowana eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches pearl gouramis do.
• Fancy goldfish Fancy goldfish are coldwater animals (65–74°F); pearl gouramis need 77–82°F. No temperature suits both.

Planning a mixed tank? The tank mate checker tests every pair at once. Or read the pearl gourami care sheet.