Dwarf Gouramis

[Jephex]

Ok, I have a tank for a few weeks now, conditions seem to be pretty well, running smoothly. 10 Gallon, whisper filter, dirt bottom, couple of plants growing (Elodea, etc), and then a few creatures; 1 dwarf gourami, some type of molly (not sure), common pleco, and 4 ghost shrimp. I also have a plastic scuba diver on a chain for the hell of it. Oh and a baby little snail i got by accident, it was stuck to the elodea when i bought it, free snail, but anyways...this is whats happening. Shrimp are doing fine, eating the plants, swimming, the pleco seems to be alright, not eating much of his algae disc so far, but he's sure alive, was stuck to the glass when i got home, cause the shrimp keep trying to clean him. So, my molly keeps doing this thing where he sneaks up behind the gourami and sort of sucks on his fin and the gourami gets really flustered and swims off. Not sure whether he's really bothering him or just trying to clean him or i dont know. He tried it once on the pleco too and he swam off. They all seem to be eating, and living, but it's this weird thing with the molly.

 

[oneponygirl]

I've never had mollys before so I can't say but I'm pretty sure that I've heard people around here say that a 10 gallon is much to small for a common pleco. I have the same size with a dwarfv gourami and five neons and am getting some dainty corys to go in it as they were one of only a few cats that will fit in that size.

 

[Jephex]

I think the 10 gallon is perfect for my pleco...for now, he's only about an 1inch long, but im soon to upgrade anyways.

 

[Annastasia]

He will get to 12" + though....and if you keep him in a small tank too long, you will stunt him. So it's good to hear you are upgrading soon.

Mollies are pretty aggressive fish, when they want to be. Is this a male Molly, or female? And I would keep watching them...if this continues, you will probably have to seperate them. If the Gourami keeps getting stressed out, it can be more prone to disease. Or, you could try adding in more plants and hiding places, and seeing if that makes a difference.

 

[Jephex]

male molly, but the gourami seems unhurt.

 

[Annastasia]

I figured it was a male, as they tend to be more aggressive. As long as the Gourami is not injured, I suppose you could keep them together, but it's more the stress on the Gourami I worry about. They aren't the hardiest Gourami to begin with, and stress can make them weaker....

But it's up to you, as it's your tank, and you can tell what is going on much better then I.

 

[Jephex]

alright ill try to keep you posted on whats going on with them.

 

[Jephex]

Its kind of funny, now all I see when I look in the tank is the mollie and gourami hanging out with eachother. They usually stay fairly close between the plants. No more biting or agitation.

 

[emma12321]

The molly probably wants to mate with him.

Emma