Aggression Question!

[rachael.chesnutt]

Okay, call me stupid, but please someone humor me anyway! If male Gouramis are supposed to end up killing one another, how does the LFS keep them alive all in the same tank?


I have two males, and they have been getting on well for awhile now.
Any answers for me?!

 

[guppy_man]

Stupid! You asked me to.

Anyway umm....... How do you know LFS stores males dont end up killing one another? They may do, maybe the staff remove the dead ones before customers see, then just replace them.

I didn't know male gourami's fight to the death, i just thought they were aggressive towards one another

 

[rachael.chesnutt]

I work at a fish store... (cashier, mind you! I don't know much!) and one of the things I do when I open is fish out all the dead guys.
I rarely see gouramis, which is why I got some, and why I avoid guppies. I 'fish' out too many of those dead things. Hahaha.

And I don't know about fight to the death, but someone told me that I'm gonna end up with only one soon, anyway. But mine don't even fight!
They aren't even aggressive to my other fish!

Oh, and thanks for calling me stupid! People rarely do that when I ask them to!

 

[Colin_T]

It depends on the species of labyrinths, (gourami or betta). Some species are peaceful others are agro.
Blue, gold, kissing & giant gouramis are pretty agro, whereas dwarf, pearl, snakeskin and moonlight (silver) gouramis are very peaceful. Betta splendens is agro but Betta imbellis is peaceful.
Male labyrinths are all territorial to some degree but many will simply chase each other around a tank. In a very small tank without much cover, the dominant male usually stresses the weaker male and eventually the weaker fish succumbs to a disease.

In a shop gouramis are kept in groups. Often there is 20 or 30 fish in each tank and any aggression is spread out over all the individuals. In a home aquarium the aggression is directed at any other fish in the tank, but generally other male labyrinths bear the brunt of it.

Shop tanks are also overcrowded and the fish are fed sparingly. This means the fish are not in good physical condition and as such are less inclined to breeding and more interested in just surviving. When you get the fish home and feed them up, the fish start to act more naturally and that is when territorial disputes arise, (if they are going to).

 

[Gilli]

Ive read because the tank is barren in your LFs and very crowded there is not enough space for each Gourami to set up his own territory so they dont bother to fight.