Red Dwarf Gourami with attitude

[leongreenway]

Hi,

As well as my own fish i look after a 110L tank at work for the boss.

It contains
2 New Guinea Rainbows
1 Angel
6 Neon Tetras
3 guppies
4 Corrie
3 some sort of orange loach looking algae eaters
1 Red Dwarf Gourami

The Red dwarf as of this morning has got a serious attitude problem. When i usually go to feed them, the 2 New Guinea Rainbows, Angel and RDG come up to be fed.
Usually the RDG just swims round these others, picking up the food as and when. The guppies pop over as well.

Today if i go right up to the tank, he chases the 2 New Guinea Rainbows (which are much bigger than him) away from the front of the tank and will randomly chase either the guppies or the tetras. If i watch from a distance he clams down again. I only noticed him doing this today when i fed them. Earlier this morning, he even charged at one of the sort of orange loach looking algae eaters (cant seem to work out what these are). He doesnt Both the Angel fish, but all others at the moment seem fair game.

Any suggestions.

 

[sylvia]

Firstly, I need an idea of the tank size - I suppose you mean 110 litres? That's 30 gallons which means your tank is somewhat crowded and this is likely the cause of your problems (male dwarfs like to set up a territory and don't appreciate being over-crowded). If you meant 110 gallons, ignore this but do consider some of the incompatibilities I've mentioned below:

Have you heard of the inch per gallon guideline?

2 New Guinea Rainbows - 10" - also happen to be a schooling fish
1 Angel - 6"
6 Neon Tetras - 6" - might get eaten by a fully grown angel
3 guppies - 3-4" (if male,larger if female - males might get shredded or eaten by an adult angel)
4 Corrie - 12"
3 some sort of orange loach looking algae eaters - if these are 'golden algae eaters/chinese algae eaters/sucking loaches', you have a serious problem on your hands and must get rid of them. These fish will get to be 10" (a total of 30") and become aggressive towards each other and towards other fish as they mature. They have been known to stop eating algae and instead go for slime-sucking to which flat-bodied angels and gouramies are especialy suceptible. They will also suck out eyes and shred fins.
1 Red Dwarf Gourami - 2"

Anyway, the inch per gallon guideline is not accurate and by no means set in stone BUT it IS a good guideline for smaller fish such as the majority of those you keep - looking at the total length of your fish, you have 70" of fish in a 30" gallon (potentialy - as they grow). No wonder the gourami is becoming stressed.

What I suggest you do is start off by getting rid of the 'algae eaters'. Replacing them with otos would be fine. I would then consider getting rid of the angel and, if you can bring yourself to do it, the rainbows (I know how beautiful those fish are though). The reason I am suggesting these is because the rainbows would be much better off in a bigger tank with a bigger school and the angel will probbly cause more trouble than it is worth (eating those neons, possibly killing the guppies and taking up a lot of room ). Your tank should then be in balance and you'll probably find all your fish are better off. The gourami will almost deffinately show improvement.

Also increase the number of hiding places and especialy floating plants but you still need to re-consider your stocking as the problem will not be solved in the long-term otherwise. Even if you got rid of the gourami, you still have to remove some of those fish or your other inhabitants will eventualy suffer.

 

[sylvia]

Sorry, I just noticed this isn't your tank - that might be a problem?

 

[Terrorbyte]

Hi,

As well as my own fish i look after a 110L tank at work for the boss.

It contains
2 New Guinea Rainbows
1 Angel
6 Neon Tetras
3 guppies
4 Corrie
3 some sort of orange loach looking algae eaters
1 Red Dwarf Gourami

.................................

Any suggestions.

My tank is also somewhat over-stocked with fish (according to common guidelines), but it is certainly possible to make some adjustments that may allow the fish to coexist peacefully in that tank. The addition of floating plants and other natural plants can help with territorial disputes and at the same time enhance your boss's tank conditions. Also, heavily-stocked tanks do require more frequent water changes -- I change 10-15% of my water every week in my 40 US gallon tank to keep water conditions optimal. I do a more thorough siphoning of the gravel at least once per month to remove waste from the tank. It has worked well for me thus far in my similarly-stocked 40 gal tank (no fish casualties or loss, other than an overly-aggressive opaline gourami killing off a couple of angelfish).

Most gouramis seem to be territorial in nature, but this is more the case with males than females. I have 3 dwarfs and they have minor territorial disputes amongst themselves, but I have yet to see them chase any of the other fish in the tank.