I have 2 blue gouramis and I was away for the weekend and when I came back both of them have weird cuts on their tails. It almost looks like a fish was biting pieces of their tails off. I know thats probably not what happened, but I have no clue if this is something normal, or if theres anything i should be worried about with this. Any feedback would be awesome. Thanks
Blue Gourami
- Thread starter rtongel
- Start date
Blondielovesfish
Kia Ora
If you could please add a list of all the tank mates and some pictures, they would help greatly 
You can upload the pictures on a photo sharing website such as photobucket and then link here.
What's the gender of your gouramis? Water stats?
*Edit* Also what size tank is this?
What's the gender of your gouramis? Water stats?
*Edit* Also what size tank is this?
Blondielovesfish
Kia Ora
corylover said:
Some are, some aren't.
Do you know what type the yellow cichlids are? Are they electric yellows?
Like Ninjouzata said, you can upload the pics to a website like photobucket or similar and then post the IMG code here
It would be better if you were able to reduce the file size. If you use a photosharing website, as soon as you delete that photo, it gets deleted from here too. That then means that people in the future can't idetify your fish, to see if their fish are the same.
There are online tools you can use, to reduce the file size of the jpeg image.
To describe your fish as a "yellow cichlid" makes me think immediately of a yellow labidochromis, which is an African cichlid. In general, Malawis should be kept in a Malawi-only set-up, and it would be my guess that it is these fish that have caused the damage to your gouramis.
I have also moved this thread to the Tropical Discussion section.
There are online tools you can use, to reduce the file size of the jpeg image.
To describe your fish as a "yellow cichlid" makes me think immediately of a yellow labidochromis, which is an African cichlid. In general, Malawis should be kept in a Malawi-only set-up, and it would be my guess that it is these fish that have caused the damage to your gouramis.
I have also moved this thread to the Tropical Discussion section.
http
/s1286.photobucket.com/user/rickyt2727/media/IMG_20130910_011348_9692_zps6593d02b.jpg.html - here is a picture of my one gourami. As you can see the cut up fins. And I just looked up the yellow labidochromis and thats exactly what I have. They dont seem aggressive at all though. The lady at Petland recommended them as good tank mates.. They keep to their own and never pose any sort of threat to the others. But maybe when i was gone for a few days something changed.
I have a 15 gallon tank and as far as the genders i am also not sure. Appreciate all the help everyone.
/s1286.photobucket.com/user/rickyt2727/media/IMG_20130910_011348_9692_zps6593d02b.jpg.html - here is a picture of my one gourami. As you can see the cut up fins. And I just looked up the yellow labidochromis and thats exactly what I have. They dont seem aggressive at all though. The lady at Petland recommended them as good tank mates.. They keep to their own and never pose any sort of threat to the others. But maybe when i was gone for a few days something changed. I have a 15 gallon tank and as far as the genders i am also not sure. Appreciate all the help everyone.
The one yellow cichlid is very small and definitely wouldnt pose a threat to the gouramis. But the other cichlid is about the size of the gouramis and could definitely over power the gouramis. The picture I posted of the gourami is the one that seems to have much more damage done to the tail and bottom fin area. The other gourami only has a few marks on the tail
If your using the term "definitely wouldn't" then you must be new to cichlids.
They are very unpredictable as a group and very aggressive relative to their size.
Like lock man said, Malawi cichlids (which is what you have) need very specific setups and are by no means community fish. This is not just because of how aggressive they are but also because they need an environment with a ph. higher than what most fish can tolerate.
Never take advice from the lady at petsland again
They are very unpredictable as a group and very aggressive relative to their size.
Like lock man said, Malawi cichlids (which is what you have) need very specific setups and are by no means community fish. This is not just because of how aggressive they are but also because they need an environment with a ph. higher than what most fish can tolerate.
Never take advice from the lady at petsland again
Could easily be wrong I'm sure, but I'm fairly certain that is much too small a tank for them, and along with them being naturally agressive, that just makes it all the worse.
Can you take the fish back? I was also asking about the gender of your gourami because they are meant to be kept in trios, not pairs. 1M:2F, if you have 2 males they will most certainly be stressing each other out.
What are your water parameters?
Can you take the fish back? I was also asking about the gender of your gourami because they are meant to be kept in trios, not pairs. 1M:2F, if you have 2 males they will most certainly be stressing each other out.
What are your water parameters?
What size is your tank, and what kind of aquarium decor do you have? I don't have personal experience with cichlids but from what I do know, they tend to range from semi aggressive to aggressive. Same can be said for certain types of gouramis. Cichlids are also known to be territorial and require a large enough tank to have their "space" (even if they are small) and little rock caves to hide and breed in. Gouramis prefer more plant coverage. If the type of cichlids you have are indeed one of the more aggressive species, they would be more than capable of nipping at the other fish, no matter the size. Especially if not given enough territory inside the tank.
That picture is of a Dwarf Gourami,. not a Blue (Three Spot) Gourami. Generally speaking Dwarf G's are not nearly aggressive enough to deal with African Cichlids. There's also the possibility that the (2) Dwarf Gouramis are doing the nipping to each other, especially if they're both males.
Most importantly, a 15 gallon tank is too small for (2) male Dwarf Gouramis to co-exist, it's simply not large enough for both to have their own territories. I'm no expert of African Cichlids but I believe the tank size is too small for them as well. You could do a Dwarf Cichlid tank though, like Bolivian Rams or better yet German Blue Rams. Too bad you already have these incompatible fish. I'd try to return them if at all possible and do some online research to find a nice group of fish that's suited to the tank size.
This picture link you posted is most def. a male Dwarf Gourami. If your other "blue" Gourami looks the same you def. have 2 males and they're likely fighting each other for the territory left by the Yellow Cichlid(s)
Most importantly, a 15 gallon tank is too small for (2) male Dwarf Gouramis to co-exist, it's simply not large enough for both to have their own territories. I'm no expert of African Cichlids but I believe the tank size is too small for them as well. You could do a Dwarf Cichlid tank though, like Bolivian Rams or better yet German Blue Rams. Too bad you already have these incompatible fish. I'd try to return them if at all possible and do some online research to find a nice group of fish that's suited to the tank size.
This picture link you posted is most def. a male Dwarf Gourami. If your other "blue" Gourami looks the same you def. have 2 males and they're likely fighting each other for the territory left by the Yellow Cichlid(s)
I would say that your gouramies are the problem, they are very territorial and should be kept as singles not pairs. You look half right about the type of fish, its a mix. Its a blue dwarf. I have one to. I liked him better than the regular ones (not to much orange) but I had to separate my silver gourami from him because they don't get along with other gouramies
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