My Gourami Is A Bully!

[kilantro]

Hi,
I have recently started my first tropical tank. It is about 40L, so only smallish in size
First we bought a dwarf gourami and and blue gourami and 2 pakistani loaches to get the tank going.
We recently added a small angel fish.

I have read that gouramis are usually placid and good natured, except if you put alot of males in the same tanks with limited space.
Well the dwarf is a male( assuming?? pretty colours and fins look male) and he is pestering EVERYONE in the tank. He looks really aggressive.
He especially picks on the angelfish. I am just a little worried, because he practically never leaves the angelfish alone (only stops when he occasionally chases the blue gourami around) The blue one is placid.

What should I do? Should I be worried? I don't want the Angel to die of stress related causes.
Do I need to seperate them? Why is the dwarf gourami so aggressive?

Thanks

 

[stang1]

To be honest, you'll have to take the angel back as they need a lot bigger tank.
Dwarf gouramis can be quite aggressive, we had the same problem with ours. He chased everything else in the tank.
I'd consider taking the Dwarf Gourami and the Angel back and finding something else you like. As for the Blue Gourami, I'm not sure if the tank is big enough or not so hopefully someone else will be able to help you out there.

 

[kilantro]

How large exactly should my tank be to safely and happily house my fish?

If they were in a larger tank would they leave each other alone, or is it just the personality of the fish?

 

[stang1]

An Angel needs a tank that is at least 18" high and the tank needs to be a bit more mature, not sure the overall size in litres/gallons though.
We had a Dwarf gourami in a 48G/180L tank and he showed signs of aggression so it could be a personality trait I'm afraid.

 

[bobross]

I think that your male is going to be aggressive in your tank with the other fish you have. If not now, eventually. IMO, the three spot(male) need 20+ gallons minimum. also, the males' aggresssion is relative to the size of the tank... I would say that your blue gourami will eventually outgrow that tank.....
I had two males in a 20g for a couple of months, and the older of the two (Agent Blue) picked on the other (Mr. yellow) all the time - eventually, the gold gouramI hardly every came out from under the shade unles it was feeding time. Now, since they've been ina 55g, the seemed to have marked out their own terrritories and they hardly even notice each other anymore.....



Hope that helps,



BobRoss

 

[sylvia]

40 litres is 10 gallons - none of your fish, except the dwarf gourami, should ever be in that size tank. Rehome them ASAP. Afterwards, take a look here for some ideas: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=116208 Avoid adding any more gouramies.