Gourami Loosing colour

[Barday]

Ok after just reading the pinned topic, I have 1 pearl gourami and 2 Opaline's The LFS had them all labeled as Pearl!

Anyway, One of my opalines is being constantly chased by the other, and sometimes it does look pretty aggressive. The colours on the one being chased are much dulled than the dominant one's. Is there any reason for this? Are their colours a sign of dominance in the tank??

 

[sylvia]

Is there a chance you have a male and a female? Males are much more brightly colored and have a more pointed dorsal. It is normal for males to chase females and is the reason I often suggest keeping more females to every male in smaller tanks.

 

[sylvia]

Oops just noticed you weren't talking about the pearl but about the opaline - in that case you should know that these are rather aggressive fish and if you have 2 males (pointed dorsal) they can fight quite violently. Males will also chase females. These fish don't usualy show any difference in color between the sexes and paleness usualy suggests stress. It is likely to be a dominance thing as well. I have to suggest you remove the dominant male if both are males or get more females if the one being chased is a girl. If they are both females, which I doubt, you may consider replacing one with a different three-spot variety such as golden as the different variants often treat each other less aggressively than other fish of the same color.

 

[Barday]

Thanks Sylvia I'll check on the sexes when I get home!