I'm in the process of getting my new tank set up for angelfish. I found some beautiful gouramis today at the pet shop and was wondering if they're compatible with angelfish. I believe they were called Electric Blue Gouramis and Flame Gouramis.

Do I need a certain of number of them...I guess what I'm wondering is if they like to school?

If the tank is big enough then yes they can go together. Only get one male though as they are aggressive to each other unless your tank is really long. How many gallons are you talking and how long is the tank?

Sandy, the tank is 75g and is 48 inches long.

i keep my angels with my gourami, as Sands said, no more than 1 male gourami in a tank
the only time i have trouble with them is when the angels are breeding, but they arent too bad

I really hate to hear that I can only have one male! The ones that I saw were beautiful and I'm sure they were males since their colors were so bright and vivid.

Do the males have a tendency to fight...is that why I shouldn't have more than one?

A four foot tank is plenty of room for at least two males. These fish look placid but they are aggressive to each other.
Each male will need his own territory so getting 3 may be pushing it. If you want females as well then get two per male.

Sandy, that sounds great! Do you know how many gallons each gourami requires? I'm just wondering if I get two male and four female gouramis, how many gallons would that leave for angelfish? I know angelfish require 10g each. I definitely don't want to overstock the tank!

Ok, if it was my 75 gallon *i wish* then I would get 6 small angels to grow on to see which 4 would be the most compatible and at the same time I would get 2 males and 4 female gourami.
You could then also get a plec for the bottom of the tank and 4 cory catfish.

So the gourami would fill the top part, the angels the middle and the cory and plec the bottom.

Gourami like a lot of plant cover, so get surface plants for them to swim under.

Sandy, that sounds like a wonderful plan! Thank you so much!!

Do you have your angels in a planted tank? Lots of the websites that I look at recomment a planted tank, but I've never tried live plants before and am not sure how much luck I'd have with them.

By the way, my tap water has a high ph (8.4). I know angels like a lower ph...is there any way I can safely lower the ph without resorting to chemicals? I've heard driftwood will lower the ph...do you know if this is true?

Check with your pet store what ph their angels are being kept at, but most angels nowadays are being bred in more alkaline water.
If its a slightly lower ph then yes bogwood will lower the ph slightly though it may stain your water a tea colour for a month or two but that soon goes.
With my angels I have bogwood with java attached and vallis along the back and a little on the sides for them to swim through.
Theres also floating plants in my other tank called salvinia.

i love those salvinia

Those are the dwarfs, and petshops are only sent males... and they are TERRIBLE to each other, and the other fish.

if you really like gouramis, check out the giants to.. they look alot like the neonblues, and you can sometimes find girls

Im surprised you dont get females as over here theres tanks of both kept together.

So if I go with angels and just one gourami, what else could I put in the tank that would be compatible with them? I would love to have something with really bright pretty colors.

well, i have mine in with tetras, although they have been in there ever since the angels were babies as they can be quite aggressive if you get fully grown angels and just suddenly introduce new fish into the tank

What kind of tetras would you recommend? I know not to get neons...I learned that lesson the hard way when I had an angel several years ago.