Behavior Of 2 New Pearl Gouramis

[SierraDelta]

I got two new Pearl Gouramis today, each about 2.5-inches in length. Both were mostly-uncolored, so I guess they're juveniles (I haven't kept Pearl Gouramis before, but some of the information I've read suggests that the colors develop in adulthood). I don't know what their sexes are, but I suspect they're both females -- the edges of the anal fins are completely even and smooth, and I understand that the anal fins of males have a more "tattered" appearance.

I'm a little concered about some of the behavior I've seen so far, but maybe I'm just too cautious. I introduced them to a recently-cycled 29-gallon aquarium populated with a mixed shoal of 6 Danios (3 zebras and 3 pearls).

1) Belly kissing.

While I was acclimating the gouramis, still in the store bag, I noticed that one of them would sometimes "kiss" (bite?) the side of the other. At first I wasn't too concerned, but I kept an eye on it. Before long, the kisser started biting the fins of the bagmate, who tried to get away, but where is there to go in a small plastic bag? Alarmed, I netted the aggressor and transferred her to the tank. I'd gone through about half of my usual acclimation ritual, so I wasn't too worried about shock. I finished acclimating the other gourami, then transferred her to the tank as well.

This was about 6 hours ago, and I've kept a weather eye on them since then. They spend about half their time hanging out together and half their time a opposite corners of the tank. I've seen a few instances of the "side-kissing" behavior still, but no fin-nipping (and the kissee doesn't seem particularly upset about it). Should Is the oro-lateral contact normal? Is it a result of stress? Should I be worried?

2) Air gulping.

I know that labyrinth fish can breath atmospheric oxygen and need it to survive, but one of the new gourami seems to spend a huge amount of time gulping air at the surface of the tank. Probably half of her time is spent in a corner with her nose above-water. Does she just prefer atmospheric oxygen to aqueous oxyen? Is this normal? Is she just getting used to the tank? Should I be concerned?

3) "All this noise gives me a headache!"

I was a little concerned about how the danios would react to the gouramis, especially one large zebra danio that's gotten used to being the boss of tank. Fortunately, all the danios (including the bully) completely ignore the gouramis. Nonetheless, when they get hyper near a gourami (especially the kissee mentioned above), she darts across the tank and sulks in a corner near the surface. I'm only concerned about this because it seems that each time a gourami gets bold and starts to move around the tank, she just happens to drift near a danio circus and gets skittish. Will the gourami eventually get used to the danios' antics? Should I be concerned?

4) A final question about responsible fishkeeping

I bought the gouramis at a large aquatic store I'd never been to before (Fish Planet in Sacramento, California). They had two tanks of pearl gouramis. In one of the tanks (which held large pearl gouramis), almost every single one of the fish was missing of their pelvic fins ("feelers"). The fish in the other tank seemed ok. Just out of curiosity, if a gourami loses one of its pelvic fins, will it grow back? As a side note, when I indicated I wanted pearl gouramis, the associate first headed to the tank with the gimpy gouramis and only went to the other tank when I told him, "the fish in the other tank seem more healthy."

Thanks for any responses and advice!

 

[cheehoo62]

hey there let me answer your questions as best as i can

1) Belly kissing.

one
This is quite interesting behavior... I have yet to see this happen between two females. Only thing I can think of is that one might actually be a male and a female. Typically, when a female is ready to mate she would bite or kiss the side/back of the male. They would then go to the mating process from there. Other than that it's quite strange behavior but just make sure you keep an eye on them and separate if they start to get overly aggressive.

2) Air gulping.

When gourami constantly gulp for air at the surface, this usually means that said gourami is sick! Gouramis or other Anabantoids are known for their complex labyrinth organs developed to help gouramis breathe in low-oxygenated areas. Gouramis who look like they have trouble breathing could indicate that their labyrinth organs are not completely developed, has become damaged, or is prone to perhaps a infection. This why you should always observe fish at the LFS before hand to ensure you get a healthy fish. I suggest you quarantine the "sick" fish to another tank to prevent a possible bacterial/viral tank infection until you further diagnose the problem. Observe the fish and give us an update on here.

3) "All this noise gives me a headache!"

I've notice with lots of female gouramis, especially new additions to a tank, that they seem to shy away for quite awhile before being able to look comfortable in a tank. My recent powder blue female took about 3 weeks before she was actively participating in activities with the other tank fish. Before then she would hide quite a bit in the plants and shy away only to come out for every other feeding. You shouldn't be too concerned as I have learned with experience that this type of behavior is somewhat normal. BUT after a month if she is still skittish when meeting up with the danios, it would be best to remove her from the environment to alleviate the stress that she appears to be going through.

4) A final question about responsible fishkeeping

The way to prevent this problem is to find a reliable LFS. It seems to me that this LFS didn't care to sell you the "gimpy" fish right off the bat. This isn't a good sign. You should find a LFS that would cater to both you and your fishies needs, be well informed about the species, and have tanks that looked upkept and without lots of dead or gimpy fish anywhere. Having a reliable LFS in your reach would benefit you more as they would actually take the time and consideration to ensure that you get what you want. AND reiterating from the line above.. you need to make sure you monitor the fish in the tank and choose one that looks healthy. For more info on choosing healthy fish check this link out: [URL="http/freshaquarium.about.com/cs/beginnerinfo/ht/chosefish.htm"]http/freshaquarium.about.com/cs/beginner...t/chosefish.htm[/URL]

...not exactly the best credentials on about.com but that's what you're pretty much looking for... have fun!

 

[SierraDelta]

hey there let me answer your questions as best as i can

Thanks for your comments! After having adjusted to the new aquarium for a few days, the gouramis seem to be fitting in better. One of them still occassionally nibbles or kisses at the side of the other, especially right after feeding, but there doesn't seem to be any ongoing aggression. The fish that was gulping air seems to have adjusted now. Both occasionally breathe at the top of the tank, but it doesn't seem to be nearly as prevalent as it was when they were new. Both of the gouramis seem to tolerate the Danios a lot better now, too. They still tend to try to avoid the Danios, but they don't freak out when a shoal streaks by any more. Overall, I think they've adjusted pretty well, but I'm still somewhat concerned about the side-biting.

I haven't had any luck sexing them. I'm a newbie at this, but I've done some research on this forum and some other websites and I think they're still probably too young to sex, though they're 2.5-3 inches. Neither one has any orange on its throat, but both have some pronounced orange coloration at the front of the anal fin. One has an orange tinge running the entire length of the anal fin, in fact. The dorsal fins don't look particularly pointed to me either. If it turns out they're both male, I have another tank in mind for one of them, but I wish I could sex them with some certainty. I've tried to take pictures, but they haven't come out good enough to see anything. I have a brighter hood light coming later this week, so maybe that will help me get decent pictures that I can post here.

Thanks again!

 

[SierraDelta]

I found the below picture of a male and female pearl gourami with a Google search. Based on the picture, I'm certain that both of my pearl gouramis are female. I don't know if that sheds any light on the side-kissing behavior, though. In the picture, the top is a male and the bottom is a female.