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Pink Kissing Gourami

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goldenclaw

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Hello

In the past Aquariums I've had never had issues with my other Gourami's picking on each other but I just had to move 2 of my Pink Kissing Gourami's to my second tank due to they were getting attacked by my Gold Gourami. They are recovering fine in the second tank but they do seem to chase each other around at times.

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Well first I should aask what size tank,as these fish do tend to get quite large.Also if its two males.seperate them.If it is a male and female you should be fine,I dont know how to sex gouramis so I cant help with that.
 
You have a couple problems here with these species. First, they cannot be housed together unless it is in an enormous tank, meaning 6+ feet in length. Male gourami are very territorial, depending upon species (some are more, some less territorial). You have two species that are about the worst.

The Gold Gourami is the species Trichopodus trichopterus. There are several varieties under different common names, such as Gold, Blue, Three-Spot, Opaline, and some others, but it is the same species so they behave the same. Males are very territorial, and I have seen reports from more than one other member mentioning the females being aggressive too. This can be the only gourami species in the tank, and you will need to monitor for aggressiveness to other fish species too which often occurs, especially from males.

The Kissing Gourami is the species Helostoma temminkii, which also has varieties of which the pink is one. This is a fairly aggressive species to begin with (the "kissing" is an aggressive behaviour, jaw-locking, which is common in many cichlids) and as it attains 12 inches (30 cm) it needs a lot of space, and again with no other gourami species. The extendable mouthparts with teeth are designed to rasp algae from rocks, but this weapon also comes in handy to assert itself. The jaw-locking between fish may often lead to jaw damage, and fish with jaw damage may be unable to eat; if persistent, one of the fish usually dies after a few weeks. This aggressive behaviour is not only related to breeding and male territory, but also occurs to defend feeding areas. The fish may also decide to take out this aggression on other species in the aquarium.

I would frankly re-home all these gourami. The Kissing should be kept in small groups of the species to confine the aggressive behaviour to the species and with several fish to spread it out, but this means an even larger tank than 6 feet given the size of these fish. They will eat smaller fish.

Byron.
 
Well first I should aask what size tank,as these fish do tend to get quite large.Also if its two males.seperate them.If it is a male and female you should be fine,I dont know how to sex gouramis so I cant help with that.
Tank size is 29 gallons and the sex of the fish I have no clue.
 
You have a couple problems here with these species. First, they cannot be housed together unless it is in an enormous tank, meaning 6+ feet in length. Male gourami are very territorial, depending upon species (some are more, some less territorial). You have two species that are about the worst.

The Gold Gourami is the species Trichopodus trichopterus. There are several varieties under different common names, such as Gold, Blue, Three-Spot, Opaline, and some others, but it is the same species so they behave the same. Males are very territorial, and I have seen reports from more than one other member mentioning the females being aggressive too. This can be the only gourami species in the tank, and you will need to monitor for aggressiveness to other fish species too which often occurs, especially from males.

The Kissing Gourami is the species Helostoma temminkii, which also has varieties of which the pink is one. This is a fairly aggressive species to begin with (the "kissing" is an aggressive behaviour, jaw-locking, which is common in many cichlids) and as it attains 12 inches (30 cm) it needs a lot of space, and again with no other gourami species. The extendable mouthparts with teeth are designed to rasp algae from rocks, but this weapon also comes in handy to assert itself. The jaw-locking between fish may often lead to jaw damage, and fish with jaw damage may be unable to eat; if persistent, one of the fish usually dies after a few weeks. This aggressive behaviour is not only related to breeding and male territory, but also occurs to defend feeding areas. The fish may also decide to take out this aggression on other species in the aquarium.

I would frankly re-home all these gourami. The Kissing should be kept in small groups of the species to confine the aggressive behaviour to the species and with several fish to spread it out, but this means an even larger tank than 6 feet given the size of these fish. They will eat smaller fish.

Byron.
At the moment in my 36 bow front aquarium, the blue and gold get along and don't bother the other fish. I had moved the kissing ones to my other tank to prevent the death of them so I had not planned to put them in with my Bloodfin tetras but they are getting long. Not having a large tank at some point i may have to trade them back it seems
 
At the moment in my 36 bow front aquarium, the blue and gold get along and don't bother the other fish. I had moved the kissing ones to my other tank to prevent the death of them so I had not planned to put them in with my Bloodfin tetras but they are getting long. Not having a large tank at some point i may have to trade them back it seems

Yes, if you care about the fish, return them. This is not going to work, guaranteed, and it is cruel to the fish to force them into such surroundings. I am not blaming you, just pointing out the facts. But it does point up the importance of thorough research before acquiring any fish; they have specific needs, and behaviours, that are programmed into their DNA and we are not going to change this.
 
I saw some surrendered, full grown, kissing gouramis at a pet store once. They were HUGE!!!! I was surprised at how large they were considering how small this species always is when they are for sale. I wish stores would not sell tiny baby fish knowing full well that they grow to be larger than most people can house.
 
I saw some surrendered, full grown, kissing gouramis at a pet store once. They were HUGE!!!! I was surprised at how large they were considering how small this species always is when they are for sale. I wish stores would not sell tiny baby fish knowing full well that they grow to be larger than most people can house.
totally agree. A real shame !

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The only way I could keep my two gouramis together was purchasing a kiddie pool and planting it.. Gouramis are in the same family as Bettas. It's no surprise they are territorial
 

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