Interesting Question. Severum-vs-gourami

[Mantis]

I've owned many severums in the past, and to be honest they are my favorite's besides some of the africans like the kenyi, frontosa, soccofoli, etc...

My question is my girlfriend got a 5 gallon starter fish tank from her parents. I told her it wasnt quite big enough for a severum, but both a blue gourami and torqoise severum were bought as babies.

Now I know the severum can be aggresive and territorial, but my experience with them, has been pretty good, and find them to be fairly calm and friendly fish. The severum is now the size of a quarter maybe just a bit bigger after 2-3 months. The gourami has also gotten bigger, but the severum is still bigger.

However, the Gourami keeps beating the crap out of him. I've as much rock and live plants as you can fit in the darn thing, and I am going to buy a bigger tank soon.

However, I figured that severum being a cichlid would hold his own, however, he justs hides and is afraid of the Gourami.
I hate Gourami's, I would rather shrow it in my garbage disposal and turn it on, however, im not cruel.

Any idea's besides getting a bigger tank on how to fix this issue I am experiencing?

 

[Glenbo1981]

Take them back to shop,its liek keeping a cat in a shoebox,its so bad its almost offensive holding a 14" Cichlid in a tank thats probably only big enough to keep 2 neons.

Also far to small for the Gourami,they need 25-30 gallons minimum

 

[minxfishy]

Agreed, if you have owned severums in the past, then you should know the size they can reach, keeping them or a gourami of a reasonable size, is very cruel in that small a tank.

Please take them back or rehome them to a much larger tank, 75g minimum in the case of the severum asap. Whilst it may well be small now, it will never reach its potential adult size in that size tank and it will be stunted, stressed and very miserable.

 

[Glenbo1981]

Not to mention the ammonia and nitrite levels a Severum and a Gourami would achieve in a tank that small...even if you was doing 2 100% water changes a day.

Poor things probably wont last a month.

 

[Faythee]

Oh my goodness