Golden Is Being Mean.. Please Help!

[CBBP]

Well My golden gourami's finally got mean at each other..

My male is always attacking the female.. Should i separate the two? I can put the female in my 72g till the plants grow... what should I do?

 

[Majjie]

Have you got room to add another female?
It will just dilute the aggression a bit.

 

[CBBP]

yep.. plenty.. it si only 2 cories (soon to be 5) and them two.. I was gonna add a bunch fo dwarf gourami males after this.. could I still do that?

and it is weird.. He will let her hover near him and eat with him but then he will suddenly harras her and then suddenly let her swim near him.. and she always swims back to him.. odd.

 

[Majjie]

That's gouramis for you - odd - but loveable Perhaps there is some romance in the air after all?

If you're going to keep male dwarf gouramis, I believe four or five would be best - again to spread the aggression out. They can get very territorial if there are only two of them. Sylvia (the gourami expert - who seems to have vanished for the time being) has also recommended, in the past, feeding them small amounts at several points around the tank - so that they don't compete too much for the food.

Look at the other posts on dwarf gouramis as well - they can have health problems which makes them very susceptible to disease once you get them home. Have you got a reliable source for them?

 

[sylvia]

Lol yes, the vanishing act is over - not so shure about the 'expert' part

If you want to keep dwarfs, it would be better to remove the three-spots altogether. Find them new homes I mean. The male three-spot will be just as aggressive towards the dwarfs (if not mroe so) and dwarfs, being the rather fragile fish that they are, cannot take this aggression and may succumb to disease due to the stress.

Also, if you plan to add more females to even out the aggression amongst your three-spots, get at least 2 more that are about the same size as the existing ones. If you only get one, both the current gouramies will bully her - with two the aggression is at least split between them. It's also a good idea to re-arange the tank and do a water change just before adding the new fish to disorient the existing fish a little so they feel less 'intruded-upon' when the newcomers arrive Note also, BTW, that three-spots are, IMO anyway, the easiest gourami to breed. When they do start spawning, the male can become extremely aggressive and may well kill even non-gourami tankmates. While bottom-dwelling fish and fast barbs/danios etc are usualy safe, mollies are very likely to be killed. What I suggest is simply that you keep an eye out for bubblenests and destroy them if you see the male becoming aggressive while gaurding it. Increasing water flow has a similar effect as it prevents the male building a nest to begin with but it can be a little stressful for the fish as well if it's too strong.