Blue Gouramis

[beanyboy1982]

ive had 1 now 4 about 5 years an i got another 1 today the thing is the big 1 keeps chaseing the smaller 1 an now i think they are both males should i go get some females of not ? if so how many or are they better on their own ?

 

[sylvia]

Return the one you bought. These are one of the more aggressive gouramies and don't do well in pairs of any sex. Two males will fight to the death most of the time.

If you want to keep several, you either need a group of 4 or more females (so you must have at least a 40 gallon) or else one male with as many females as possible (allow about 10 gallons per gourami). If you are consdiering a mixed-sex group, keep in mind that males can become murderous if they decide to spawn and may not hesitate to kill non-gourami tankmates.

You can tell the sex of males because they have a long and pointed dorsal fin whereas females have a rounded dorsal and are overall plumper and wider when viewed from above. Post pictures if you are unsure.

 

[beanyboy1982]

the older 1 i have is really shy an when its the only gouramis in the tank with the other fish ( mollys / guppys ) they keep going after it my tank is 5ft x 2ft x 2ft

 

[sylvia]

That's typical Mollies don't like gouramies.

I think your tank is around 135 gallons according to those dimensions. If that's accurate, you have a big tank and can afford to buy several more three-spots to keep your original fish company and stop the aggression between these two.

'Three-spot', BTW, is the general name for this species (Trichogaster trichopterus). There are several color morphs - including blue, gold, lavender, platinum and opaline or cosby. Any of these in any combination is fine - they are all the same, just different colors. However, avoid males as, if they were to breed, both guppies and mollies are at risk of being killed (especialy the guppies).