dwarf gourami colour change, what does this mean??

[platypus]

Hi everyone,

I have a pair of neon blue dwarf gouramis (one m, one f). I have noticed every now and then that the male will flush to a really bright colour and his eyes appear to be darker. This also seems to coincide with him trying to create a bubble nest/getting very aggressive and territorial/pestering the female. Is this a sign that he's trying to mate? Has anyone else come across this? The female as yet has shown no interest in mating with him, is this normal? I feel so sorry for the poor chap when it comes to doing a water change and all his hard work is for nothing!

 

[aernympha]

hmmmmmm dnt have dwarf gouramis... but i think it is normal for fish normally to intensifie there colours while trying to impress a female

 

[juliethegr8t]

aernympha is right - dwarf gouramis especially make it noticeable when they either want to mate, or when they're being aggressive. Sounds to me like he definitely wants his girlfriend to comply! If you want them to breed, you can try conditioning both of them with live and frozen foods such as brine shrimp or bloodworms. Lowering the water level to about 2/3 full, and supply plenty of floating plants. It may also help to raise the temperature. Otherwise, make sure there is plenty of space and hiding places for your female, as dwarf gouramis can get too aggressive and occasionally hurt the female if she continues to be disinterested. Good luck!

 

[Kossy]

You will fidn the female should mate with him when shes full of eggs. Yes hes just trying to force her to mate with him.

 

[platypus]

Thanks everyone! We feed them bloodworm and tubifex (frozen) and have loads of trailing plants and the temperature did get higher over the heatwave, so sounds like that would explain a lot! When we originally got our first pair, the female died within a fortnight, I suspect because she was being constantly harassed. The second female has been with us about 4 months and seems a bit tougher, I do feel sorry for her playing constant hide and seek though it must be exhausting.

Cheers again.