Honey Gouramis

[Chris #]

Hi,

Popped three Honey Gouramis (10cm long) in my tank yesterday (love them!!) but something strange is going on.....

I only have guppies and a Red Tail Shark (8cm long) in there and they're terrified of them

The Gouramis are terrified of the Guppies and the Shark too........

So the Gouramis spend thier time hiding at the bottom or darting to the surface to breathe away from the guppies.

The guppies stay at the surface away from the Gouramis and the Red Tail Shark spends his time keeping out of the Gouramis way at the bottom.

If either meet the dart away from each othe.....

There's no agression going on ...... I've watched the tank very closely and I've seen one half hearted chase from a Gourami after a guppy which lasted a couple of seconds.......


Is this just settling in behaviour or do I have a problem?

 

[-germ-]

Sounds like settling in behaviour to me....
Honeys are extremely nervous fish and take a while to get settled in. Once they are out and about i'm sure all will calm down.
There are no nipped fins are there, have you checked?

 

[Chris #]

Sounds like settling in behaviour to me....
Honeys are extremely nervous fish and take a while to get settled in. Once they are out and about i'm sure all will calm down.
There are no nipped fins are there, have you checked?

Hi Germ,

Do you mean nipped Gourami or Guppy fins?

How long do they take to settle down as a rule?

As far as I can see ..... no .... but I'll double check.

cheers

 

[-germ-]

Any nipped fins (or scale damage) whatsoever....
Can't predict settling in TBH, there are alot of factors involved, my honeys took about a fortnight till they were truly comfortable with their tankmates, the tank, me being around the tank etc. Yet are still a little wary of my panaque maccus after a good 5 months(ish), generally the more cover you provide, the quicker they'll settle in.
Do the guppies and honeys feed together?

 

[Chris #]

Any nipped fins (or scale damage) whatsoever....
Can't predict settling in TBH, there are alot of factors involved, my honeys took about a fortnight till they were truly comfortable with their tankmates, the tank, me being around the tank etc. Yet are still a little wary of my panaque maccus after a good 5 months(ish), generally the more cover you provide, the quicker they'll settle in.
Do the guppies and honeys feed together?

Hi Germ,

Thanks!!

My tank has loads of cover...... and theres' no scale damage at all and no agression (that I've spotted)


They are starting to feed together but they are still very wary of each other........ the honeys tend to feed in the middle of the tank with the guppies at the surface..... if a honey goes to the surface the guppies will dart and the honey does the same.........


no agression they're scared of each other by the look of it..... that's what's confusing me TBH......

 

[Chris #]

OK - yes it is agression............................. they're not nipping just chasing.


The Honey's are stopping the Guppies leaving the surface of the tank.............


will this settle down or do I need to do something about it?

 

[Chris #]

Thanks for your help with my Gouramis I really appreciate it.........

After looking at your Gourami ID link I've realised I've not been sold Honeys....... they are Golden Three-spot Gouramis.... which would explain the behaviour as well.

I'm really not having much luck with this tank.......


I'll have to call my lfs and see if I can take them back - they're beautiful fish but it looks like they don't mix well with smaller ones.........even though I was told they would be fine........

 

[roseK]

its horrible when stores dont know what their doing, and its sad when u get something and dont want to give it back.... but you have too

 

[-germ-]

Have you got a pic, or ar you sure of the ID?

Trichogaster trichopterus are often considered one of the most aggressive Gourami you can keep......

What happened today? Did you return them?
If anything you'd probably be best looking at Trichogaster chuna, Colisa labiosa or Trichogaster leeri.....

Colisa labiosa are often reported as being extremely peaceful (3.5" max size) mine certaimnly are, although there is always the odd one out; one i had to return due to seriously vicious behaviour, even attacked me as best he could when i was performing water changes.
Leeri get a bit bigger and while normally fairly easy going can be sensitive in too small a tank and with less than ideal water conditions.

 

[Chris #]

Hi I'm 90%+ I'm right

The dorsal fins are the same shape with the black marks and the top of the body has the same specled effect.......


I haven't returned them but I think I will tomorrow (if I get time) as I think the guppies are starting to suffer a little........ it's a big shame because they are so beautiful but I can't keep them.....

I'll look into Colisa Labiosa and see if they have any.........I've decided I like Gouramis and did even consider moving the guppies out for a moment......

well....... hey ho you live and learn............


Thanks for your help Germ

 

[Chris #]

What's worse is two of them are males by the look of it.................

 

[Chris #]

well..... took them back this morning and she shop owner confirmed that they were Golden Gouramis...................


Mistakes happen........


I'm going back later to Pick something else......

They don't have any Sunsets but they do have some Dwarf and Kissing gouramis - are these OK?

 

[-germ-]

No!

Dwarfs have serious problems atm due to inbreeding which has resulted in general weakness and a certain virus (DGIV) see the link in my sig for more info on this.
Kissers get big and are one of the few gourami considered to be more aggressive than trichopterus, sorry!
The LFS seems to keep pretty much the 3 most aggressive species of gourami there are (excluding osphronemus), i'd look for a different LFS or ask if she can order the colisa chuna in for you......
You could also order them online.....

Some people may disagree with this but on the off-chance you are determined to get some fish today DO NOT get the kissers due to potential size (up to 12") and ask (without hinting at the answer) where the Dwarves are from, if she says from Singapore, don't buy them, honestly......
If you live in Australia (didn't notice) then avoid Dwarves altogether.

 

[Chris #]

Thanks Germ,

I'm soooo glad I joined this forum..........

I'm actually in West yorkshire so I'm not that far from you......

No I'm not desperate to get fish today but I will pop back and take a look this afternoon and see what they have........

And I won't be getting the Dwarves or the Kissing Gouramis.............

 

[bubblesburst80]

sorry your having such a hard time finding a fish for your tank, luckily germ knows more than me and has been able to help, hope you can find something suitable soon

xXx