Gourami Gender

[Gavril]

What are the ammonia and nitrite readings in the tank? Any readings above zero will stress them.
Is there any other decor besides the one in the middle of the photo? If not, they are stressed because they have nowhere to hide. They need a well planted tank with floating plants on the surface because they need shade.
And 30 litres is on the small side - they really need a tank with a 60 x 30 cm footprint, which is usually a 60 litre tank.

If you can provide them with a bigger tank that has lots of plants including floating plants you will find they do not sit on the bottom - unless there is ammonia and/or nitrite in the water.

I cleaned the tank properly and did a big water change so the nitrite and ammonia levels are 0, but I don't have the funds or space to get a 60l tank unfortunately...

 

[Essjay]

What are the ammonia and nitrite levels just before a water change? They should be zero all the time.

You might be able to get away with the 30 litre tank if you put in live plants - the fish need tall stem plants which reach the water surface and floating plants (or stem plants that grow very tall and have the tops of the stems leaning over onto the water surface)

 

[Gavril]

I have put in a few leaves that I have sterilized and the male has gone straight for them! Thanks!!

 

[Gavril]

How long should the tail nipping last?

 

[Essjay]

With my fish in the past, the tail nipping continues until the female accepts the male's attempts. Once they've spawned, he leaves the females alone until the fry are free swimming, or in my case, until the eggs have all been eaten by the other fish in the tank. The tail nipping is part of their courtship behaviour. The way you describe the male, he is in breeding mood.

When I had honey gouramis, this was how they behaved - male swims in front of the female with his nose upwards. If the female ignores him, he chases her and nips her tail. Eventually the female responds by starting to follow his towards his bubble nest, then loses interest and the male chases her and nips her tail. Finally the female follows him to the bubble nest and they spawn, they both drift apart in a sort of stupor then the male wakes up first, collects the eggs in his mouth and spits them into the bubble nest. They do this several times then the male chases the female away. The male then chases every other fish away from his egg-laden bubble nest, including the female.

 

[Gavril]

Its been a couple of days since I've put plants in with long stems and leaves for cover/nests. I have also put a sponge filter in as it finally arrived. . There are still no nests but he seems to be wriggling on her side and shaking there. There is a little bit of chasing but not too much now! But he is still not building a bubble nest. What else should I do or am I being impatient?

 

[Colin_T]

you're being impatient

 

[Gavril]

you're being impatient

Whoops!..

 

[Colin_T]

all good

If you have an established filter on the tank then feed the fish 3-4 times per day with frozen and live food, and do big water changes every few days to compensate for the extra food. The extra food will give the fish a chance to build up some fat reserves and produce eggs and sperm. Once the females have gained a bit of weight and developed eggs, they will breed

 

[Gavril]

Still no sign of a bubble nest..
I am probably going to do this until I see a nest...

 

[Colin_T]

Still no sign of a bubble nest..
I am probably going to do this until I see a nest...

LOL

are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet?

Patience grasshopper, the snow will come when it is cold. The grass will grow when the weather is warm. Your fish will breed when they are ready

 

[Gavril]

I just got up and saw the male vertically up at his nest and the female near him! I watched then for a bit and they are wrapping together but she's not releasing eggs and the male wraps around her in the wrong place sometimes and then chases her away. Should I just wait of separate them?

 

[Colin_T]

Leave the female in the tank but watch her. If the male goes after her and beats her, then move her out. But if he ignores her then leave her in the tank.

 

[Gavril]

Also, the males bubbles in his nest pop by themselves and he constantly has to rebuild them, is this normal

 

[Colin_T]

yes, the bubbles do burst and the males continuously replace them.