sometimes i hate fish

[Pointy_kitty]

the one thing i cannot stand about fish is their unpredictable temperments
its not fair
i have worked hard to create the perfect balanced enviroments for my fish
both my tanks were stocked with happily co-existing fish

here are the tanks i speak of:

20 gallon community
1 marble angel
2 male platy
2 female platy
1 white cloud minnow (has a school that are now in a separate tank til they are big enought to place with the angel)
4 corydoras

20 gallon larger
3 khuli loaches
1 ram cichlid
1 kribensis
1 flying fox
1 upsidedown catfish
1 dwarf gourami
1 gold gourami
1 blue gourami

i have been pricing out 50gallon tanks in hopes to combine the inhabitants of both tanks and sell the two 20's
it seamed to be a perfect plan, as the tank would be perfectly stocked, roomy, planted and i have no aggressive fish

out of nowhere, my 4" blue gourami who has been perfectly community and got along with any other fish it came into contact with up until now has snapped

i have no idea of its age, as i purchased it fully grown
i have no idea why it would freak out
i have been very busy the past week and not paid much attention to the tank but upon closer investigation last night i realized that my usually buzzing tank was very calm
all the fish were in caves and plants hiding and my dwarf gourami's back fin is shredded
my cichlids are getting adgitated, as the bottom is getting a bit crowded with everyone in hiding
i sat and watched in horror as my beautiful blue gourami tore at any fish who dare even begin to drift to the top
i put melafix and extra slimecoat in the water and put the dwarf (who is the slowest so is suffering most of the wrath) in a breeding net with a clump of java moss
at feeding time (i only feed them once at night) all the fish stayed belly to gravel as they devoured the algae waffer and couple shrimp pellets as if it was their first meal
then i watched as my huge blue baby shreded any fish why dare touch any flakes/bloodworms that touched the top of the water
a meal ment for all 3 gourami, and the krib

its terrible
big blue is really fat and really territorial
do you think she'll be better in the 50 gallon or do you think she will still terrorize everyone?

 

[cometcattle]

I had a gold gourami that did the same. I had to donate him to a LFS.

I tried to put him in him in a breeder net for awhile, but as soon as he got out, he went right back to it.

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

Blue gourami's can be fairly aggressive, and with most fish that can be aggressive but aren't when you buy them, they usually become aggressive as time goes on. Do you have any female gourami's? buying just one of a species, especially if it is a male, usually creates stress and aggression. You may have to buy some female blue gourami's. I know with dwarf gourami's the female is just a plain gray color so LFS's usually don't buy any, so you may have to special order a female blue gourami too.
Also, Gold Gourami's are just color variants of blue gourami's, so if they are both males, it could also explain the heightened sense of aggression from the blue gourami.

 

[Pointy_kitty]

Blue gourami's can be fairly aggressive, and with most fish that can be aggressive but aren't when you buy them, they usually become aggressive as time goes on. Do you have any female gourami's? buying just one of a species, especially if it is a male, usually creates stress and aggression. You may have to buy some female blue gourami's. I know with dwarf gourami's the female is just a plain gray color so LFS's usually don't buy any, so you may have to special order a female blue gourami too.
Also, Gold Gourami's are just color variants of blue gourami's, so if they are both males, it could also explain the heightened sense of aggression from the blue gourami.

all my gourami are female

 

[Pointy_kitty]

so noone has any advise or ideas?

 

[Dwarfs]

Leave the blue gourami in a seperate tank and let all the rest of the fish live peacefully in the 50 gallon. Sometimes that's the only thing that works Example: I put my male rainbow cichlid in one of my tanks after he mated:he beat up the fish, I moved him around a few times, and now he has to be alone I would'nt risk your other fish's lives just to let the BG stay. HTHs

 

[a1wonder]

I've had a similar problems with my blue seems to be only bother by other gouramis though. The problem should be fixed when they are added to the 50 gal however where there is more room. I'dd add the blue last to the tank it might cut down her aggression. I've only owned females in the past, I'd really hate to see what the guys are like I can only imagen a beta fight.