Gold Gouramis

[Jeewhizz]

My parent's have got a 3ft tank, and were sold the following by the LFS:

2 x pearl dwarf gouramis
2 x drawf gold gouramis

They were put in last week, but since then, one of the gold gouramis keeps chasing the other, and it now basically lives behind the filter pipes...

What's the best course of action here? Would adding a few more gold gouramis help to stop this happening? Or is it best to add some other types of fish?

Cheers,

Jee

 

[sylvia]

Dwarf gold gouramies? Do you mean gold three-spots (trichogaster trichopterus) or some dwarf or honey gourami morph? (Dwarfs are Colisa lalia and honeys Colisa chuna/sota).

If they are three-spots, this aggression is typical. Increasing the number will help but it's best to keep the either an all-female group or one male with several females. In a large enough group, even males can be kept together but I don't know how large your tank is (in terms of gallons) as you've only provided a length.

I personaly would take a different course of action: return all the golds and get more pearls (3-4). Aim for a ratio of 2 females per male. Pearl gouramies are social and enjoy each other's company when in generously-sized groups. Without the golds, they'll also have a chance to settle in without being attacked and the males will probably become brighter and all will be more active.