couple of questions

[phil]

Hi All

I bought a couple of opaline gouramis and a couple of dwarf gouramis about 2 weeks ago - they are doing fine apart from the the more colourful opaline gourami (I think it`s the male) is very aggressive towards the female who is now hiding and only comes out occassionaly - is this normal?

2 The female opaline gourami has a red patch at the base of one of it`s pectoral fins every time I try to see if its a cut she just darts off - I can`t see one on the other pectoral - likewise is this a disease or do the list members think it would be a cut from the aggressive male?

Thanks for your help.

Phil

 

[Inchworm]

All standard sized gourami males have the potential to be aggressive toward their mates. Be sure to provide plants and/or other places that she can dart to and hide in. Usually he will give up the chase at that point. If he doesn't, or if he becomes aggressive toward other fish, about the only thing you can do is to isolate him.

The red spot might be a scrape that she got while trying to get away from him, so be sure there are no rough edges on rocks or other decorations. It's also possible that it is the result of a bacterial infection. There are other possibilities, but this is a common problem and the one to treat first unless there are other symptoms.

How often do you do water changes and vacuum the bottom of your tank? Infrequent or inadequate water changes are often the cause of excess bacterial growth which can caused a stressed fish, which might already have a lower immunity to disease, to become ill.

Try giving the tank a good water change and add MelaFix as recommended on the label. Often this is enough to do the trick. If you don't see some improvement within a day or two, or if other symptoms present themselves, you can always move up to a stronger medication.