Do Blues always chase other fish?

[gwlee7]

I have 4 blue gouramis in a 55 gallon tank. There are also 3 platies and 2 swordtails in there with them. The blues don't bother the swrdtails or platies.

Last night I got 6 pristellas to add a small school to the tank. Immediately, the blues started chasing and bumping up on the pristellas. My research had told me that the blues might get aggressive with each other and not with different species of fish. Were the blues just being curious or are they going to harass the pristellas??

Thanks

Greg

 

[gwlee7]

Actually, it is not going to matter as I decided to return the Blue gouramis to the LFS this morning. They were cool fish but i think I'm better off not worrying about stressing out my other fish. Since I am new to keeping fish, I better stay with less aggressive fish until I get the hang of keeping them.

Thanks for listening.

BTW I got 3 more pristellas and 6 baby pepper cories to go with the platies and swordtails. That should be alot less stressful for me.

 

[sylvia]

Just so you know in future, blue gouramies will chase other fish (especialy new introductions) as they are quite territorial and can be aggressive. It's usualy best to make any blues the last fish you introduce to your tank. If you want a similar gourami that is more peaceful, you can try moonlight gouramies or, better still , pearl gouramies. Dwarf gouramies are also an option but can be more fragile due to inbreeding.

 

[gwlee7]

Thanks sylvia,

I may try them again in the futrue b/c they had turned a really pretty blue in my tank and were not washed out looking like they can be in the LFS. It was kind of sad for me as they were the first 4 fish I got. I really didn't want to take them back but decided it was best for me. I don't want to stress out either. If I get some for another tank later, they will go in last rather than first. They were really "butting" the pristellas pretty bad as well as getting nasty with each other.

Well, you learn as you go and you guys and gals here are great at helping as well as encouraging.

Thanks,

Greg