Should I Separate My Gourami's Immediately?

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ey2006

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I got 4 juvenile (small, 4cm) Pearl Gourami's from the LFS yesterday but couldn't tell what the sexes were, neither could the guy at the LFS.

After observing the four gourami's tonight (my tank is 29g), I've noticed that one of them constantly chases and 'headbutts' the other three, so I'm guessing I might have one male and three females. As they are still juveniles, they are hard to determine the sex. However, of the three gourami's (assuming their females) being chased, one of the three would then chase the other two, so this makes it more confusing for me to work out whether I have 1M and 3F or 2M and 2F.

The gourami that is chasing the other three is also having a go at the corys and cardinals, should I take him out and put him in the larger (240L) tank? The large tank is still being cycled, so I'm not sure if the gourami will survive in there...otherwise, I hope the constant chasing wont kill the other gourami's or my other fish!

Any recommendations on what I should do? I don't want to lost any of the other gourami's and definitely none of the other fish!
 
I got 4 juvenile (small, 4cm) Pearl Gourami's from the LFS yesterday but couldn't tell what the sexes were, neither could the guy at the LFS.

After observing the four gourami's tonight (my tank is 29g), I've noticed that one of them constantly chases and 'headbutts' the other three, so I'm guessing I might have one male and three females. As they are still juveniles, they are hard to determine the sex. However, of the three gourami's (assuming their females) being chased, one of the three would then chase the other two, so this makes it more confusing for me to work out whether I have 1M and 3F or 2M and 2F.

The gourami that is chasing the other three is also having a go at the corys and cardinals, should I take him out and put him in the larger (240L) tank? The large tank is still being cycled, so I'm not sure if the gourami will survive in there...otherwise, I hope the constant chasing wont kill the other gourami's or my other fish!

Any recommendations on what I should do? I don't want to lost any of the other gourami's and definitely none of the other fish!

What kind of plant cover do you have in your tank? IMO, gouramis need to be able to go off and hide (sort of like us humans) from time to time and a nice thick plant cover is a useful thing. They won't use caves and such, at least mine never did, but they'll appreciate little alleyways between plants that they can go take a break in.

Jan
 
I'd suggest the same - lots of hiding places.

I have to say, considering that they were only just added - and pearls at that - it's surprising that any would realy be showing aggression. Normaly pearls are very shy for the first few days while they settle in. Even then, they rarely attack each other, let alone non-gourami tankmates. The fact that they are only juveniles makes the situation even more unusual.

It may be you got a particularly aggressive individual but it's far more likely there's something up with your current set-up. Perhaps the gouramies feel over-crowded or there isn't enough cover. Try re-aranging the tank a bit to throw the aggressor off and also add some tall or floating plants to the tank.

What other fish are in with them? What temperature is the water at?

If you want, post some pics and I'll try sexing them for you. It's not too difficult to do though, not even with young pearls, as the males still have longer and more pointed dorsals than the females and females tend to be thicker and deeper-bodied and wider when viewed from above compared to males. Obviously, once colored up and mature, males also have the characteristic orange/red ventral coloration and extended fin rays in the dorsal and anal fins.
 

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