Honey Gouramis , One constantly chasing the other

[Mrfishy2020]

Evening all. Now I've had a 10gal (38 ltr) long tank set up for around 3 months now. I have 2 honey Gouramis and 6 neon tetras. All water parameters are fine. The tank is also planted. Now I put the 2 honeys in first. One is slighty larger than the other one. The big one pretty much from day one has chased the little one around the tank. It looks like he is always nipping and seems quite aggressive. The smaller one never hides away though, they are always up and about around the tank. I was hoping that it may have calmed down a bit, but it hasnt and to be honest it is starting to annoy me a little bit. I don't have any other tanks so I can't remove one.
This is only the 2nd tropical tank I have had. I started with a 10ltr Betta tank and he lived for almost 3 years. Everything else seems to be thriving in the tank so this is the only blip. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Essjay]

What colour variant do you have? Honey gouramis come in three colours: natural (tan male, beige female), yellow and red. The natural coloured variety are the easiest to tell males from females, yellow are a bit more difficult but do-able, while reds are very hard to tell apart.

There are a couple of possibilities.
You have 2 males and one has claimed the tank as his own and is bullying the other one.
You have a male and a female, and the male wants to breed while the female is not ready.

If you could tells us what the two gouramis look like, or even better, post a photo of them both, we'll have a better idea of which is more likely.

 

[Mrfishy2020]

Thx for the swift reply. They are definitely the natural honeys. They were sold as all males so I'm.assuming there both males. I have took a short video of the big one chasing the smaller ones. I tried to upload a video however it's too large.

 

[Essjay]

Upload the video to YouTube and post the link.

Two males in a small tank is not going to work, I'm afraid. It just isn't big enough for 2 territories. Would the store take one back; maybe exchange it for a female?

 

[Mrfishy2020]

I doubt they would take it back now. I'm basically stuck with it I think. I thought you had to have a minimum of 2 females to each male?

 

[Essjay]

Other species of gourami, yes; but honey gouramis are fine as a male/female pair.

That does look like a dominant male chasing a subordinate male. You need to rehome one of them before the subordinate one is killed.

 

[Mrfishy2020]

Oh right. You read that much on the internet about pairs etc. Would it be fine for a male/female pair in the tank I have?? Would it be a good idea to get rid of the bigger one or the smaller one?

 

[Essjay]

I've kept honey gouramis over the years and I always had more trouble with female-female aggression than with male-female aggression. Yes, males do chase females when they want to mate but mine never had more than a bit of tail damage which healed quickly. Other gourami species such as dwarfs and the various colours of the three spot gourami can be very nasty if the male wants to breed and they should be kept with several females per male.

As for which to one to rehome, the dominant male may see any other gourami as intruder now, and the other one may have been severely weakened by being bullied. Also 10 gallons is on the small side (mine were never in anything smaller than 16 gallons) so it might be better to rehome the bullied one and have just the dominant male, no other gouramis.

 

[Mrfishy2020]

Thanks for all your help it is much appreciated. Now I know this question is daft and I already know the answer but I still have the 10ltr tank. If I plant this up would this be suitable for the smaller one for the time being? Surely living in this smaller aquarium would be better than chased all day. I already realise that this size tank is way too small normally but for an easier solution it's all I can think of at this time.

 

[Retired Viking]

You could try,live plants really make a difference in water quality and help reduce stress. I have kept Betta alone in a 10 gallon tank.

 

[Mrfishy2020]

The plants in my 10gal are doing great, growing rapidly and have been pruned loads. I can easily take cuttings and replant in some soil in my 10ltr tank, and I got plenty of Java moss.

 

[Retired Viking]

Sounds like a plan to me, I hope your fish does well, good luck

 

[Essjay]

10 litres (2.6 gallons) can only be a temporary measure. Honey gouramis do need a bigger tank long term.

 

[Crispii]

Not a true honey gourami, but rather a thick-lipped gourami.

 

[Essjay]

The one being chased looks like a very stressed natural coloured male. The one doing the chasing looks like the red colour variant of honey gourami, which tends to be larger than the natural and yellow variants. The OP lives in the UK where thick lipped gouramis are not common, while red honey gouramis are very common.