Thicklip Gourami Problem

[SamLovesCorys]

I have 2 Gold morph Thicklip Gouramis in my tank (1 male 1 female), and am slightly concerned about them - Specifically the female. She is more cream than gold and the male is always chasing her. I wondered if this colour was natural or whether it was was due to stress from the male chasing her. Is it advisable to have more females in a group?

Cheers, Sam

 

[Ruskull]

What's up Sam,

I have had three very similar looking Golden Honey Gouramis which I purchased together as very young fish. They turned out to all be males Go figure.......

Anyway, one of them started to look a bit fat & it also started to look more creamy white rather than the translucent gold & silver/gray coloring of the others. Before I could react with any treatment or QT the fish died. To this day I'm not sure what it was and I don't recall any real chasing going on at that point. A few weeks later one of the males started chasing the other relentlessly so I had to separate them. Both are the dominant fish in each of the 20 gallon tanks in which they live. They actually boss the Bolivian Ram Cichlids around and I'm keeping a close eye on them.

What size tank are these Thicklips in? How sure are you that one is a female? I would suggest seeking out another female to spread out the male's attention if your tank can handle the additional bioload. Almost all Gouramis do best in ratios of at least 1 male to 2 females because of this. I may be adding another female Pearl Gourami to my 36 gallon for this exact reason.

I hope this helps!

 

[SamLovesCorys]

They are both in an 18 gallon tank. I'm pretty sure the creamy one is female due to the different shape of the dorsal.

I think i'll get another female when I next find one.

Thanks, Sam

 

[Ruskull]

Good luck, post the results in a week or two.