Mean Gourami, Help

[Betta06]

Soooo I'm relatively new to the fish world and I got a betta about a year ago. Anyways, I few weeks ago, someone left a Kissing Gourami in the hall of my dorm, and i picked him up and adopted him. He was in a small tank. Anyways, now he is in a bigger 2 gallon tank and I decided to get him a friend... a very small goldfish. Except he seemed much harmless before I stuck the goldfish in. My gourami chases my fish around like it's his job.. so now i have him in another tank. I heard if I re-introduce him in a few day, he'll be the newcomer and he won't attack the other fish anymore.. is this true?

 

[SouthernCross]

2 gallons???

I'm sorry, but that is way, WAY too small to house either a kissing gourami OR a goldfish, let alone both together! Another problem is that your mixing coldwater and tropical species. They have different requirements, for example, the kissing gourami needs a heated tank.

Gouramis, in particular some species are known to be aggressive and territorial - the only way these problems can usually be alleviated is by giving multiple fish enough space to have their own areas in the tank - virtually impossible in a 2 gallon! The species profile on this website recommends at least a 25-30 gallon aquarium for kissings as they will grow quite large - here's more information about them on the profile Here - Kissing Gouramis

Now the goldfish
They are very messy fish, and can grow quite large themselves, so they need a larger tank, not only to account for their size, but for dilution of all the waste they produce - in a tank that small they would constantly be poisoning themselves (I'd imagine being new to the fish business you haven't got a cycled tank either - check out some stickied threads in the beginner forum). I think I've read that you should have 20 gallons for your first goldfish, and 10 for each thereafter - but ideally, most goldfish are happiest in ponds. A lot of goldfish suffer in this world because people think they can be kept in small tanks. I used to be one of those people!

IMO the only fish you could ever keep in a 2 gallon would be a betta, which you have (although I'm worried about what kind of tank you have him in now!)

Unless you can buy bigger, separate tanks for both these fish, I would suggest rehoming them.

 

[SnBMeg]

I think I've read that you should have 20 gallons for your first goldfish, and 10 for each thereafter - but ideally, most goldfish are happiest in ponds. A lot of goldfish suffer in this world because people think they can be kept in small tanks. I used to be one of those people!

A little clarification: "fancy" goldfish (those with double-tails) have these space requirements as minimum. Single-tailed varieties grow much larger, and so need--at bare minimum--30 gallons for the first, and 20 for each additional. Given how messy goldfish are, you also need to have some very robust filtration: the water needs to be filtered at at least 10x the tank volume (i.e.: for a 20 gallon tank, you'd need a filter that runs at at least 200 gallons/hour.)

These really are mistakes that many, many people make when first getting into fish, so don't let it discourage you! The first two goldfish I ever had initially shared a 5 gallon tank with a common pleco!

I heard if I re-introduce him in a few day, he'll be the newcomer and he won't attack the other fish anymore.. is this true?

That is, unfortunately, complete BS. As SouthernCross said, some species of gourami--including kissing's--are aggressive by nature, and being the new guy isn't going to change that in the least.

 

[Betta06]

Thanks guys, I know my mistakes now and I'm doing my best to fix em haha... It didn't take me that long to do it but I haven't been back on the site for a while, thanks for your help

IMO the only fish you could ever keep in a 2 gallon would be a betta, which you have (although I'm worried about what kind of tank you have him in now!

My betta is in a 2 gallon tank, which is big enough for a betta from what i've read on this site - He's gotten big and his birthday is coming up so don't worry haha

 

[jasonskillz]

i think someone has to have like a thread pinned up that warns people that almost every gourami is aggressive. i see a new post almost everyday about how mean someones gourami is. boo hooo