The Virgin Gourami, The Chad Cichild

The gouramis [goor-ah-me](Osphronemidae) are a family of bony fishes spread across asia all the way to Pakistan. Gouramis are a labyrinth fish, which means they have a lung-like organ and can gulp air, utilizing atmospheric oxygen. This is a common mutation present in fishes that occupy low oxygen/slow moving waters such as rice paddies or marshes. Gouramis have interesting breeding behavior; most are mouth brooders, while a few are bubblenest builders. They share some common physical traits, such as an extended anal fin that generally extends to just behind the head. Many also have barbels placed above and in front of the pectoral fins.

Cichlids [sick-lid](Cichlidae) are a family of bony fishes distributed across south america up to texas, and Africa. They are an incredibly diverse family, and range in size from an inch to a meter. They are a deep-bodied fish like most gouramis and share some superficial physical similarities. They can be exceptionally colorful, ranging from the intense scarlet of the German Red, to the brilliant yellow and black of the Electric Yellow, to the blackish-green with holographic orange and white stripes of the Oscar (astronotus ocellatus). An interesting note about the Oscar and a few other Cichlidae species is that they are able to change the color of their scales based on mood, much like a chameleon.

Osphronemidae and Cichlidae actually share very little in common in terms of tempramant, distribution, and physical build. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, you often see them "compared" or kept together as similar fish. It is helpful to envision Gouramis as virgins and Cichlids as chads. Fish generally do not have any interest in other species unless they are prey, and a community tank is less a multicultural society and more a careful management of small extremist groups that will not share clay. What this means is that highly aggressive fish can coexist in a community tank, provided that all occupants are evenly matched and cannot make gains on territory. While cichlids are fast and aggressive predatory fishes, gouramis are suited for life in water that is not condusive to sustaining high activity and their bodies are not configured to compete with cichlids. A cichlid and a gourami will generally result in a highly active and aggresive cichlid that dominates the tank and a extremely bullied (and probably dead) gourami that has lost it's color.