Help New Gold Gouramis Chasing My Dwarfs

[cardinal sinner]

Hi Everyone

I bought a pair of Golds today, put them in at 2pm.All they have done since is to chase my 3 pair of Dwarfs.Will they settle down, or should I remove them. There is plenty of room in the tank.dont know what to do Im worried

 

[sylvia]

Two things to point out here - one, yes, they'll probably calm down a little as the dwarfs learn to stay out of their way. HOWEVER, the dwarfs are going to be constantly stressed and gold gouramies are one of the most aggressive species. It is best to move them elsewhere where there are no other gouramies as the result of this is almost definitely going to be the death of the dwarfs (and this death is the indirect result of disease brought on by the stress, they could take several of their tankmates down with them - if the disease is contagious).

The other thing is that a 'pair' of golds is a terrible idea. What sexes are they? If you have 2 males, they'll eventualy fight each other to the death - return one. If you have 2 females, get 2 more (assuming you have room) or return one (or both) as the larger or more dominant will stress the other out. Keeping four divides out the aggression so no single fish gets overly-stressed. If you in fact have a male/female pair, either return the male and get two more females or just get two more females. Returning the male would be a good decision if you want them to coexist with community fish as these fish (golds are just a three-spot color morph - Trichogaster trichopterus) spawn easily and males that are guarding a nest are perfectly capeable of killing tankmates - even things like cories that would traditionaly be considered non-intrusive, non-threatening and therefore easy for the male three-spot to ignore.

 

[cardinal sinner]

Hi Sylvia
Thanks for your reply. I have returned the golds back to the shop. My tank has returned to a peaceful place now.Would it be ok to put a pair of Pearls in, or are they just as bad at chasing?I dont want to upset my Dwarfs again. Advise appreciated. Was also looking at putting a couple of honey gouramis in will these be ok as well? Thanks

 

[confusion]

I have a pair of pearls with two dwarfs and every now and again they'll lock lips, but for the most part they ignore each other.

 

[Biulu]

I have a pair of pearls with two dwarfs and every now and again they'll lock lips, but for the most part they ignore each other.

I agree. I also have a pair of pearls with 3 dwarfs and they are doing fine.

 

[sylvia]

Again, don't go for a pair. A trio - 1 male, 2 females - would probably work but this depends on your tank's size. With 3 dwarfs and 3 pearls, you'll be needing at least a 40 gallon and that's still quite full. A trio of honeys should work fine as an alternative.

Having said that. if your tank is not over 20 gallons, stick with just your dwarfs. These fish are fragile and prone to disease so you really need to avoid stressing them as much as possible.

You could always try a trio of croaking gouramies or, better yet, 4-5 sparkling gouramies. These are not top-dwelling like honeys, dwarfs or pearls are so won't be competing with your existing gouramies for space. They are charming little fish that'll 'sing' and 'croak' when showing off or spawning.

 

[cardinal sinner]

Thankyou Sylvia, you have been a great help. My tank is 55 gal & I have 3 male dwarfs & 2 females(I lost 1 female last tuesday).I also have other fish so ill keep it at that. the tank is well planted & the dwarfs are doing fine.Thanks again

 

[Angel98]

I had a dwarf gourami which was very peaceful and i bought a golden gourami and added it to the tank and all he done was chase my dwarf gourami around and in the end i noticed that my dwarf gourami had part of its tail missing! The Golden gourami is very aggressive i think, he ended up killing my dwarf gourami in the end through stress i think!! When i noticed my dwarf gourami really ill i put the golden gourami in a tank on its own hoping it would get better but it still died now the golden gourami is still in the tank on its own and just swims round n round n round non stop (think he is bored with no1 to pick on) Im not sure if they were male or female either. I hate the stupid thing, its goin back to the shop!!!

 

[sylvia]

Lol - Angel, don't blame it on the fish. It's your fault for not researching (I don't mean that in a harsh way) - the fish is just doing what comes naturally. You can tell whether it's male or female by looking at the dorsal fin. Males have a longer pointed one. Females have a short rounded one.

 

[Angel98]

Yeah i suppose but im only a beginner so ive learnt from my mistakes! Thats why i come on here now as theres soooooo much info on here! The bloody shop should also ask you what fish you have when purchasing fish really! When i went back to the shop and said about it they then told me "oh yeh they are aggressive"

 

[sylvia]

I know exactly what you mean - shops are a pain. that's why it's important to do your own research. LFSs are useless when it comes to advice - even when they know, they won't always tell you