Gold Gourami Breeding Urgent Help

[josh63762]

hay guys hope you all well
I am in need of some urgent answers that I have perched for on Google endlessly for and came up with squat I have also seen other gold gourami owners post that there is hardly any info on gold gouramis even in a search for blue gouramis I came up with hardly Anything! anyway here's me questions but first here is a little info on them and the tank:
20 gal I put a few plants in the tank for the female to hide in (yes I think I have a male and female) the substrate is sand and there is rocks in there for a natural look. I put some grass at the top to float and the temp is 25c/78f.here is the problem I put them both in at the same time (I know I should have not) and they got on great for the first 2days then the male started harassing the female endlessly and biting her tale. I knew it was him being territorial so I separated him yesterday and rearranged the tank with the female in. I have been feeding them 2 blood worm servings and 1 flake serving a day in order to condition them for breeding.
now here is the questions:
how long do I have to separate them for the female to clame her Territory?
how long do I have yo condition them For?
the female is smaller than the male will they still Breed?
the female is about 6.5cm/2.5" and the male is 7.5cm/3" are they big enough to breed?

sorry for all the questions but Google turned up 0 help to answer these questions any additional info would be great thanks p.s sorry again about all the writing

 

[Metka]

Firstly - welcome and good choice with the gourami!

 
Now then, down to business:
 
how long do I have to separate them for the female to clame her Territory?
I personally don't seperate them,
 
how long do I have yo condition them For?
This all depends on the female - whether she is actually ready to breed or not.
 
the female is smaller than the male will they still Breed?
Yep - as long as they are both in the mood, they will breed.

the female is about 6.5cm/2.5" and the male is 7.5cm/3" are they big enough to breed?
Normally they reach sexual maturity at about 2-2.5" so yours look about right.
 
Just remember that you need floating plants, and that the surface water shouldn't be moving too vigorously in order for the male to build his nest. Once the laying has completed, the female should be taken out and returned to her tank - leave only the male to guard the nest.

 

[josh63762]

hay metka wow thanks for the reply I am thinking of returning the male back into the main tank how much fighting is normal how do I know if the female is getting overly abused?

 

[Metka]

It really depends fish to fish. If the male looks to be harrassing the female too much, then he probably isn't ready to breed and I'd move them back. Not all fish want to breed, some are happy being single, lol.

 

[josh63762]

well I put the male in the tank with the female now and he seems to be harassing her so I will just wait till tom to see how they are maybe just a quick fight for territory are females territorial?

 

[Metka]

They can be, but no where near as much as the males. In a normal tank setup, it will be a dominant male that will bully the other fish around.

 

[josh63762]

if this is a territorial fight does that mean it will end once the male shows her who is boss or will he keep going at Her? if so how long does this territorial fight last About? the male is mainly chasing her around now and she is hiding in the plants then she comes out and he chases her

I am now worried coz it looks like they are having territorial show down coz they go side by side and open there fins. I'm worried the female might be a male I'm trying to post pics but I am having difficulty

 

[josh63762]

Here is what I think to be the male and female pls let me know if they are or aren't thanks p.s male still chasing female quite a bit

 

[Fizzy77]

first is male second is female imo. Dorsal fins are generally shorter and a more rounded shape on females, males are longer and a more pointed shape.

 

[josh63762]

Yip that's what I was thinking