Gourami Compatabilty?

[addey411]

I've got one male and one female gourami in my 36 gal. It's been about two months now and yet the male still seems a bit hostile towards the female. He's even grown to be 3 times larger than when I bought him, size isn't an issue for me but for Rihanna it might be ( after witnessing the attitudes they had for each other they were aptly named Chris and Rihanna by my little sister). Is this alright? I've looked at Rihanna and she looks as healthy as ever, but I see her constantly being chased by Chris and she's always hiding. I just want to know if gouramis naturally behave this way towards one another and if I need to rehome Rihanna any time soon.

 

[Ninjouzata]

It's best to have 1 male & 2 females, though not sure if the male harassing your female is due to wanting to mate or being territorial, since I've only had 1 gourami myself :c
 
Do you know their genders for sure? If not it'd be good to post some pics and someone should be able to help with that.

 

[addey411]

I know them for sure. The male has the pointed top fin and the female has a rounded one as well as having a round stomach.

 

[Ninjouzata]

I know them for sure. The male has the pointed top fin and the female has a rounded one as well as having a round stomach.

Well that's good at least. Sorry I can't be of more help. Hopefully someone with more experience in keeping more than 1 gourami will come along shortly!

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

What kind of gouramimis is it?

I've had experiences with bigger females bullying the males. Guess with gouramis, size determines who bullies who. Just try breaking their line of sight or try adding another gourami

 

[Lawalk]

I learned from experience that 2 gouramis together isn't a good thing.  They never left each other alone, and eventually I ended up returning one to the store.  Based on what I've heard, you need either a single gourami or 3+ to keep the peace.  My tank was too small for 3 so I went with the single option.  You might need to consider your tank size/stocking level and decide your course of action from there.

 

[addey411]

It's a bit full at the moment and I don't want to risk upsetting the bioload.... If I were able to add another gourami however, should it be a female or male? I'm guessing female, but I just want to double check.
 
And they're three spotted gouramis.

 

[Lawalk]

If it was me, I'd go with a female.  I've never had more than the two together though, so that's just based on what I've read.  There might be someone with more experience than me.
 
I just ran a search here on FishForums and found this by Ruskull in a post about opaline gouramis which are the same species as three spot, just a different color variety:
 
 
"Just a bit of advice:  One male, 2 females minimum, bigger is better with tank size, and lots of hiding places and plants are appreciated.  Male Gouramis are very territorial & they will usually bully a weaker male to death.  Some males can be downright nasty and even tough to keep with females so keep an eye on them, good luck!"