please help

[u8mypaygoo]

im new this forum and to gouramis. I need help. today, i went out and bought a gold gourami.. looked really nice. I already have a blue gourami in the tank(tank is 28 gallons) when i put i the gold gourami, my blue gourami, which had already been in the tank, was attacking, or sort of niblling on the new, gold gourami. I want to now if this is a problem or not. I also dont know which is a female or male. please help. i dont want my new gold gourami to die

 

[Morrgan]

Gold and blue gouramis are both the same species (Trichogaster trichopterus). These gouramis grow big and especially the males are very aggressive. Two of the same species in a 28g will lead to trouble, possibly even deaths.

You can tell the difference by looking at the dorsal fin, which is longer and pointier in the male.

 

[fishwatcher]

I have to agree... I think it'd be best if you remove one of them. Possibly return it to the store and get something else.
Good luck!!

 

[u8mypaygoo]

will two different types of Gouramis every get a long???

 

[sylvia]

Firstly, what sexes are the two. Have you determined that yet? Secondly, what sizes are the two? Even if they are females, the bigger is bound to harass the smaller a bit. You also need to realise that the original occupant feels this new fish is an intruder. Picture a stranger suddenly being dropped into your home and you are expected to live happily with him even though you know nothing about him and have lived in this home all alone for a long time. You need to share your food, your bed, your space and neither of you is allowed to leave. Simialrly, the new fish is in a new environment it isn't used to so is in a much mroe vulnerable position than the one that has settled down and knows the tank like the back of its fin. The first thing you should do is re-arange the tank to amke both feel like new-comers so that they both have to re-settle and you give both a chance to establish their place. Then, work out whether they are both male or not. If they are, you're going to have to take one back. if they're not, I'd get one more female three-spot gourami (whatever color). 3 females or a male and 2 females is much better than just 2 of any sex as aggression is spread out and no single fish gets bullied. 3 gouramies is as much as you could fit in a 28 gallon anyway. You are also kind of lucky because I've observed that three-spots belonging to different color morphs tend to interact with each other less than those of the same color so yours should be nicer to each other (particularly if they are both male) than they would be if they were both the same color. That doesn't mean you can keep them together though - just that you may have mroe time to amend the situation. BTW, three-spots get to 6" though females are usualy slightly smaller than the long-finned males who also have a more pointed dorsal. Females also appear wider when viewed from above and are deeper-bodied.

As for whether any different types of gouramies get along - do you mean different 'types' as in the blue and gold you have or different species? Either way, it depends on the tank's size, the gouramies' sizes, their sex, the tank's set-up, whether it's planted, the tankmates, the species of the gouramies involved, sometimes even what color morph they are makes a difference. As you can see, that question is not that simple to answer without you being a little more specific.

 

[u8mypaygoo]

http/us.f3.yahoofs.com/users/426028f3z33...hDPc1CBOIQQwdfR


there is a picture of my 3 spotted gourami, do you think you can tell me if it's a male or female?i kinda think it's a female but.....


next is a picture of my gold gourami. I think that it is a male.

http/us.f3.yahoofs.com/users/426028f3z33...hDPc1CBGaSquawJ

can you please help me identify them both if they are female or male or what not. thanx for all the help in advance.. if any of the pictures are unclear, i will try my best to post new ones.




-vince

 

[sylvia]

Sorry I can't see the pics. Try uploading them in the member's pics forum... Then link to your thread here so we can go see.

 

[Morrgan]

Then, work out whether they are both male or not. If they are, you're going to have to take one back. if they're not, I'd get one more female three-spot gourami (whatever color). 3 females or a male and 2 females is much better than just 2 of any sex as aggression is spread out and no single fish gets bullied. 3 gouramies is as much as you could fit in a 28 gallon anyway.

Three Trichogaster trichopterus in a 28 gal tank? I'm sorry if I sound rude, but are you serious? I've had nothing but bad experiences with them in a 34 gal with lots of plants and hideouts, I don't think this is something one should even try in the hope that "it might work out". Nobody I know has had any luck with several of these gouramis in tanks about this size. I really think one fish at most is appropriate for that size tank.

 

[sylvia]

Well Morrgan I have kept several three-spots and have also had many bad experiences with them but I still stand by what I said before. It's true that three-spots are aggressive and, yes, a 28 gallon is a tight squeeze for 3 but it does work. A male with two females or 3 females should work in a 28 gallon. 3 females is better than a trio. Obviously, if they start breeding, the nest has to be destroyed (or just have a strong current to begin with) or the male becomes very territorial and can harass and kill any other tankmates - whether gourami or not. You'll note that I didn't suggest keeping several males (which would deffinately be disastrous) and I don't suppose you think keeping a pair is going to be less of a problem than keeping a trio? Pairs usualy end up with the female dead. Also, I do believe I made it quite clear that 3 is the maximum you should ever try to keep in a 28 gallon. Any more and it's too crowded. There is ofcourse the chance of getting a particularly aggressive fish (which isn't uncommon considering how different individual gouramies can be) and this has also happened to me. A little re-shuffling usualy solves the problem. Now I don't know whether you ended up with gouramies of different sizes (which I mentioned earlier would be a problem) or if you had more than one male, a pair or if you just got a particularly aggressive individual but, to answer your question, yes, I'm serious.

 

[Morrgan]

To make my opinion clear, I think one should keep at most one blue gourami in a tank that small. Not two, not three, not any other number. It's better to just stick with just one than get several and take the risk of getting an especially aggressive one. If it happens to be an aggressive one, things won't end well and I don't think it's worth the risk, based on my experience and the experience of others.

I know someone who kept blue gouramis in a 300 l (what's that, about 75 gal?). During spawning season, the male took over 2/3 of the tank and wouldn't let any other fish near. What if these fish in a 28 gal happen to spawn when the owner is away and can't destroy the bubble nest? Dead bodies for sure, methinks.

I do know about the behaviour and mentality of gouramis, I've had quite a few of them during my fishkeeping time. I know a pair is definitely out of the question, as you said, as are several males. I also think that since blue gouramis grow so big, there just isn't enough room for a relatively stress-free life for 3 of them in a 28 gal, especially if there's a male involved.

You can stand by what you said if you like, and I'll stand by what I've said. In the end, the decision is up to the person asking the question.

 

[ANIM4L]

I think blue gouramis are a really aggressive type of gourami, i have a 60 gallon with a gold, blue, opaline, powder blue, fire red, dwarf, pearl, albino paradise, and blue paradise gourami, and only today have i noticed (after 1 month) the blue gourami chasing everyone around during feeding time, but i work at petsmart so i will be taking him back for a new one, he is a male, so i will be getting a female, i think i have only 3 female gouramis in my tank, but other than that, the tank is fine! Actually my little 1 inch cory cat is the only other fish that chases anything, but it is pretty funny, he is so tiny and chasing around 4-6 inch fish if you get any fish when it is young and tiny though, you can make it work, because they will grow up with thier tankmates and then they will be less aggressive, but i suggest more females than males. But always keep a watch on them! You never know what could happen, all fish have thier own personalities!

 

[pica_nuttalli]

if you get any fish when it is young and tiny though, you can make it work, because they will grow up with thier tankmates and then they will be less aggressive,

not true, not true, not true... some fish are just aggressive and a lot of fish that are passive when young can turn vicious overnight once adult. the vast majority of fish don't maintain familial relationships when mature.

don't ever think you could work against genetics; if you've got a fish that will be mean when its grown, don't try cramming it into a bad situation when its a baby.

 

[sylvia]

I don't want to argue about this any further because I agree that it's up to the person concerned to make their own descision but I just want to point a few things out:

It's better to just stick with just one than get several and take the risk of getting an especially aggressive one.

Just because you've only got one, doesn't mean you won't end up with one that's particularly aggressive. Very aggressive three-spots aren't just aggressive to other gouramies but to all their tankmates. At least if you have more than one three-spot, they pick on other gouramies more than on little tetras or platies or whatever which realy can't handle any amount of the aggression. Having said that, I do agree that just one (male) is a better option. Just, in this circumstance, the person already has 2. However, females do appreciate company (though they can still be aggressive) so I'm against keeping them singly.

What if these fish in a 28 gal happen to spawn when the owner is away and can't destroy the bubble nest?

Like I said, a relatively strong current to begin with solves this problem. It also doesn't matter whether you have one or two or a million gouramies. A male can build and deffend a bubblenest regardless of whether there are other gouramies around. It's also more likely that non-gourami tankmates would get killed than other gouramies. Simply because gouramies stay out of the way while little schooling fish etc would constantly be trying to eat any eggs. The bigger gouramies can also handle the aggression more and at least the females would distract the male a little from the other fish which he'd easily kill.

I also think that since blue gouramis grow so big, there just isn't enough room for a relatively stress-free life for 3 of them in a 28 gal, especially if there's a male involved.

I do agree with this but it depends on many things. For a start, males tend to defend a territory in the upper layers so a tank with floating plants or tall rooted plants usualy allows the male to stick to an undisputed area near the surface where other fish learn not to intrude. The females can then freely move to the lower areas. Also, depending on the dimensions of the tank, most 28 gallons are actualy quite tall - giving the females more space below to get away from the top-dwelling male. I agree that 3, 5-6" quite aggressive fish in a 28 gallon is not the very best option - but this person already has 2. I'm trying to suggest a simple solution that won't necessarily involve taking the gouramies back - something which could (and IMO probably would) be unecessary.

Anyway, I guess it doesn't matter now. We're all entitled to our own opinions so we can let the poster make his/her own descision.