Can Chocolate Gourami live with Cardinal Shrimp?
Caution — with care
Why
- Chocolate Gourami is not on the verified shrimp-safe list, so we will not recommend it over a breeding Cardinal Shrimp colony. It may well be fine — it simply has not been confirmed by a source, and an unverified guess is not worth the colony.
- No overlapping pH: Chocolate Gourami wants 4–6.5 but Cardinal Shrimp wants 7.5–8.5.
- No overlapping water hardness: Chocolate Gourami wants 0–5 dGH but Cardinal Shrimp wants 8–18 dGH.
- Chocolate Gourami is roughly twice the length of Cardinal Shrimp. Adults are usually left alone in a well-planted tank, but the odd one gets taken.
- Chocolate Gourami will eat Cardinal Shrimp shrimplets. The colony still grows if there is moss or another dense hiding place for the babies.
Side-by-side
| Chocolate Gourami | Cardinal Shrimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | 78–86°F | 79–84°F |
| pH | 4–6.5 | 7.5–8.5 |
| Hardness (GH) | 0–5 dGH | 8–18 dGH |
| Adult size | 2" | 0.8" |
| Temperament | Peaceful | Peaceful |
| Min tank | 15 gal | 15 gal |
Together, plan on at least 15 gallons.
How to make it work
- Keep a large, established shrimp colony in a heavily planted tank with moss and cover so enough survive to breed.
- Target the overlapping water-parameter range and acclimate slowly.
Sort it with: GH remineraliser · A larger tank
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Design a tank with Chocolate Gourami, Cardinal Shrimp →Everything compatible with Chocolate Gourami · …with Cardinal Shrimp