Three-spot Gourami

[djloach]

About 3-4 months ago I bought 3 three spot gouramis for my 90g aquarium. At the time they were all more or less the same size, probably around 2" in length (about the size of a dwarf gourami). I wanted to get 1m and 2f but it appears I ended up with 2m and 1f. The female and one of the males has grown substantially as to the point that they are are both around 4" or so but the second male is still small. It's hardly grown. It isn't as agressive as the other two or my other fish at feeding time but I do see it eat. From time to time all my gouramis have little fights and he participates in them and doesn't back down at all or get injured. He holds his own. In fact he probably has the biggest territory of any of the three gouramis. He does hide out a bit more than the other two but generally seems happy enough and behaves like a gourami should behave.

My question is, has anyone else seen this where one gourami stays very small? Early on I had an internal parasite that affected a lot of my fish but I cured that and my other fish have been healthy and growing ever since. Could this have maybe stunted his growth? Should I try moving him to another tank (20g) and see if he does better away from the other two? Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

 

[sylvia]

Are you sure of the sexes first of all? Males tend to grow a little larger than females.

I would have to say that it's because of your having two males and I realy don't think this is something that'll turn out pleasantly. The small size suggests he is getting less to eat and is generaly more stressed than the others so he needs to spend his energy on staying healthy rather than on growth.

Also, the idea that he might have a larger territory worries me a little. Are you sure you are realy witnessing territorial behaviour on his part? I suspect that, actualy, he hasn't managed to establish a territory and 'displays' when confronted by the other male who has established a (small - as is typical) territory and that this is simply giving the impression that he has control over a large area of the tank. I could, of course, be entirely wrong as the size of a species' territory varies from tank to tank and fish to fish.

Normaly, as you probably already know, size wins arguments and the larger a fish the more dominant it is. You only ever (normaly) see this overturned when you're dealing with two different species (eg: a small three-spot may bully a larger banded gourami despite size) and even then its usualy short-lived.

Short of removing the 'extra' male altogether, you can try to help him grow a little by feeding more 'high quality' foods such as live or frozen blood worms and brine shrimp. Daphnia are also good for preventing constipation and veggies are essential in most gourami diets - these could blanched zuchinni or other greens, deshelled peas or just a nice algae/spirulina-based flake. It's also a good idea to add some floating plants to your tank and some tall plants (if you don't have some already - but add more either way ). These will help encourage the fish to establish territories - hopefuly at opposite ends to each other - and make them feel more secure. Similarly, it's a good idea to reduce water flow a little if your current is strong - at least while feeding.

You asked whether the size issue your fish has could be due to disease - yes it could, but not a parasite that you have since removed from your tank.

In terms of moving the fish to another tank, I certainly would. However, you may find the two left behind start to quarrel so you may want to consider another two large (ie same size as the two 'big' three-spots) FEMALES as replacements. This change would probably be for the best anyway as two males will not normaly get along once both are sexualy mature and the female would also have to deal with a lot of attention - even if it's only one male she's in with. Adding more females devides the male's attention.

 

[djloach]

I was under the impression that for three spot gouramis the females actually get larger than the males. My female is at least as large as the big male. I am pretty sure I have 1f and 2m because the 2m show much darker blue colors while the female is pretty much all a light blue. It is a well planted tank with lots of tall plants at the back and on the sides. There are no floating plants but many of the background plants reach the surface and create cover for them. The female has territory at the front left part of the tank under plants and around some drift wood. The larger male has territory at the back of the tank about 1/3 of the way from the left side. The smaller male gourami is all the way to the right hand side of the tank and the other two gouramis rarely venture down there. I certainly don't see the smaller one getting bullied though maybe he was put in line a long time ago. He also shows good colors which I wouldn't have expected if he were overly stressed so it is a little strange.

I'll maybe try deliberately putting lots of food down his end. If that doesn't work I've got a 20g tank as well which would be too small for a full size three spot but might be OK for him right now. Maybe if I can get him to grow a bit I'll consider putting him back in

 

[sylvia]

Males are larger than females in almost all gourami species. You certainly won't ever find females that are larger unless there's an age difference (or stunting issue) though in some species both sexes are about the same size.

Three-spot gouramies (Trichogaster trichopterus) come is several color morphs including the typical 'blue' and 'opaline'. These are probably what you are reffering to when you talk about color differences. There are many other morphs too - lavender, platinum, cosby, gold etc

You cannot use color to sex three-spots. Both sexes have the exact same coloration. What you need to look at is fin and body shape. Males' dorsal fins are almost twice the length of females and noticeably pointier. The female's is short and rounded. Males are also more streamlined in appearance and, when viewed from above, mature females are clearly wider than males and deeper-bodied. I'll post some pics to explain:

Male blue: http/www.wiljo.nu/images/fiskar/trichoga...ichopterus1.jpg
Female blue: http/www.jjphoto.dk/fish_archive/aquariu...chopterus_x.jpg

Male opaline: http/badmanstropicalfish.com/who/mystery_july.JPG
Female opaline: http/badmanstropicalfish.com/mb_pictures...line_female.jpg

Male lavender: http/www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Gouramis,%...ichogasters.htm (very last pic) - actualy this site has lots of pics to look at and compare
Female platinum: http/www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Gouram177.jpg and http/www.lasercannon.com/Aquarium/images/Platinum/001.jpg
Female gold (for comparison): http/badmanstropicalfish.com/mb_pictures...female_gold.jpg
Male gold: http/users.kent.net/~lisab/goldgouramimale.jpg (note the bright red eye rims - that^s typical of male three-spots in good condition)
Another gold female: http/www.worldfish.fr/cbx/gold_gour_yvonne.jpg (see her obvious belly?)

 

[djloach]

I have the standard three-spot goruamies, not the color morphs. Somewhere I thought I read that females get slightly bigger but I could be wrong or it could have been wrong.

As for color differences between males and females, by that I mean that the female is generally paler than the two males. The dark blue patterns over the males body are stronger and they have a stronger contrast between the white spots on the fins and the darker background. But I also know they are males because they have the pointed dorsal fins where the females are rounded.