Aggressive male dwarf gourami

[MrsShrimp]

Hi,
I have a 10 gallon tank with a female honey gourami and on the advice of the pet shop, I added a male dwarf gourami a week ago. I think the tank is too small for them. Other tank inhabitants are cardinal and black phantom tetra, x2 Corys and a male sparkling gourami that leaves everyone alone and I love him! Because I can't find another one, I ended up getting this male dwarf. I am regretting this .. as soon as he went in he has spent the whole time aggressively chasing off the female honey gourami. Can I take it back to the shop? I have no other tank to separate him into.
Thanks.

 

[Essjay]

The general rule with gouramis is that species should not be mixed in the same tank.
In this case you have a gourami at the more peaceful end of the behaviour spectrum (the honey gourami) and a male of one of the more aggressive species (dwarf gourami). I would return the dwarf to the store as soon as possible. 10 gallons is really too small for a territorial fish like a dwarf gourami.

I know you are intending a larger tank from your other posts - with those fish in a 10 gallon, the sooner the better. Then look round all your local stores to find a male honey gourami. If honeys breed, the male will become more aggressive defending his eggs, though he usually just chases other fish rather than attacking them. This is why I suggest waiting till you have that bigger tank, more room for the other fish to get away.


One last thing - never take advice from a fish store worker. Many of them are trained only in how to make a sale and few actually know anything about fish. Ask on here; between us we've kept most fish sold in stores.

 

[MrsShrimp]

Hey, i'm ashamed to say I don't think I ever replied to say thanks for your advice.
Things have developed now and I now have another dwarf gourami in there with the female honey. I gave the aggressive male to another aquarium centre as the pet shop refused to take him! I wanted a male honey but they only had this guy so I decided to risk it.. and he's the total opposite of the one who has been banished! He is a shy guy, generally hides, but suddenly he'll pop out and go crazy looking for food. Then the female honey tries to bite him. It's not as much biting as kissing! My dad said maybe he'll build a bubble nest but no sign of this yet.