Gourami Issues

[starrynightxxi]

a while a go i got a pair of (male) dwarf blue gouramis. I expected there would be some fighting and so i added more plants and another cave so that they could get away from one another, but it doens't seem to have made much difference. The more dominant gourami is actively seeking out the less dominant one and has him pretty badly stressed. I know sometimes the solution is just to add another fish to the tank to spread out the agression but I don't have room in the tank for more than the two gouramis. The store i got them for said i could return them for store credit, but i have a few issues with that. One, I'm worried that if i take them both back, the weaker one will not get a chance to return to normal and will either be put in the "hospital tank", or back in the tank with the other dwarves who will have to re-establish their pecking order with two new fish added in. Two, I'm concerned that the less dominant fish will still not do well if I were to keep him by himself as gouramis are community fish (even though the guy at the store said its fine, i have my doubts).

any opinions?

 

[sylvia]

If you keep both, one will die and the other may be stressed out by the end of the ordeal to the point where he might suffer damage as well.

It would be the lesser of two evils to return one and keep the other in my view.

Also, male gouramies do better alone than with other males so keeping the less dominant one on his own would be absolutely fine.

Its true that females are quite social - but males are actualy territorial and quite solitary and remain in better health for longer when kept away from other gouramies.

 

[starrynightxxi]

thanks for the advice