Gourami Trouble

[shinglyelm]

I just started my dream 40gal and am already hitting a wall. Gourami have been catching my eye for years and so they just had to be in my tank. But I'm having trouble. I bought a male (long top fin, red stripe on bottom fin) and female (shorter top fin, no red stripe, and slightly less colorful) gold gourami initially. The female would swim around fancy and free but the male would sit in the corner, only to leave to chase and bite on the female. The male was boring/frustrating so I returned him for another female because I would assume two females would get along, they're pretty enough, and they wouldn't sit in a corner.

Since then, female1 gone from super aggressive towards female2 (when I put them in the tank together) to now (a week later) sitting in the corner only to leave to chase and bite on female2. Female2 generally swims around fancy and free and female1 has switched roles, if you will. Also, sometimes instead of the ambush bite then chase, female1 will come up to female2 and ...try to lay horizontal? It reminds me of when scared dogs that get real low then wet themselves when scared. Thats probably a real bad comparison, but after female1 tries to lay flat for female2 or whatever that behavior is, she gives up and snaps at female2, so it's probably an aggressive behavior. Female2 is getting bites out of her fins now.

Should I get rid of the aggressive gourami again (female1) and see if the new gourami will get along with female2? Would I replace with a male or a female? I'm afraid the established gourami will become the aggressor again. Should I replace them both? Should I wait it out? Any and all help will be greatly appreciated!!!


ShinglyElm

PS the tank is med-heavily planted, just cycled, clean, and only has one platy from my previous tank and two mystery snails as tankmates. Platy seems fancy and free. If that makes a difference.

 

[mbsqw1d]

they are usually aggressive over territory. And 40 gallons sounds plenty big enough... I would attempt to move a few things around in your tank if possible. Not a full re-scape but enough to convince your Gourami that they are somewhere else almost. This will force them to re-establish their territory. Also, what filtration are you using? I have an internal filter that creates quite a strong flow and my Dwarf Gourami generally stays around one end of the tank where the flow is slower. By the way, I like your style of writing 'fancy and free'

 

[shinglyelm]

they are usually aggressive over territory. And 40 gallons sounds plenty big enough... I would attempt to move a few things around in your tank if possible. Not a full re-scape but enough to convince your Gourami that they are somewhere else almost. This will force them to re-establish their territory. Also, what filtration are you using? I have an internal filter that creates quite a strong flow and my Dwarf Gourami generally stays around one end of the tank where the flow is slower. By the way, I like your style of writing 'fancy and free'

Thank you for such a quick response. I assumed I would get an email notification but I guess not. I have cleaned it a couple time's since and rearrange my fake plants every time. That doesnt do the trick. I have a Fluval 4plus with the flow turned all the way down. Female1 has calmed down for the last week or two, like only chasing once or twice a day as far as i could tell, as opposed to every 20minutes. But last night Female1 really kicked the aggression back up. Can't think of what might have triggered it. Pretty big tear in the top fin of Female2. Would more gourami maybe allow another chance to pair off? Thank you again for your advice!

 

[OldMan47]

Your description of a submissive female is quite enlightening ShinglyElm. If you have a submissive female gourami and another less submissive one, you are in a good position to watch your fish for a while. I would keep an eye on your fish. It is entirely possible that your gouramis are establishing dominance in that tank. There is no need for a male to be present for that to happen. I would be looking for a true male of the same species to break up that situation. A male will be recognized by the females in your tank and each one will do what she can to get the attention of the male. Once one has formed a pair with a male, the other will be much less threatening to her.
The down side to establishing a breeding pair of fish is that you must then be ready to deal with the results of mating behavior.

 

[shinglyelm]

Your description of a submissive female is quite enlightening ShinglyElm. If you have a submissive female gourami and another less submissive one, you are in a good position to watch your fish for a while. I would keep an eye on your fish. It is entirely possible that your gouramis are establishing dominance in that tank. There is no need for a male to be present for that to happen. I would be looking for a true male of the same species to break up that situation. A male will be recognized by the females in your tank and each one will do what she can to get the attention of the male. Once one has formed a pair with a male, the other will be much less threatening to her.
The down side to establishing a breeding pair of fish is that you must then be ready to deal with the results of mating behavior.

So are you saying wait it out until one of the females establish dominance? Or are you saying I should introduce a male to get these ladies in line? As for waiting, female2's fins are getting pretty frayed and I would think 3-4 weeks would have been long enough to figure out their pecking order. As for introducing a male, I'm just afraid there will still be abuse, just two victims instead of the one. I am prepared for fry if that was what I would have to deal with. Thank you for your advice!

 

[mbsqw1d]

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