Dominant Pearl

[TonyUK]

I have a pair of Pearl Gouramis in a community tank. They are about 11cm.
The male has always been king of the tank, but recently has become very terretorial with the rest of the community. He is showing off to the female and last night were kissing. I'm sure it's related to his courtship display. But one off my 2 Rams was found dead and the other is keeping a very low profile and "panting" heavily. Could it be that the Pearl is sees them as a threat to his displays.
I've even seen him having a go at my corydoras cats.

Are Pearl Gouramis known for their aggression and are they likely to be the cause of the Rams death and the other being so nervous?

 

[Colisa lalia]

They are only aggressive at spawning time. If they were the cause of your ram's death probably not directly. However it is most likely the stressed ram was quickly infected by a disease or a parasite and died of that. I would suggest removing the pearls or letting them breed after about a week he should return to normal.

 

[wuvmybetta]

hmmm, are you sure they're a pair or are they two males? Locking lips is usually a contest of strength to see who indeed is the strongest male.


Maybe rearranging the tank will throw him off a bit Gouramis are aggressive,somewhat,they're more obnoxious than aggressive though. Rams are very skittish and easily spooked so it could very well be that the gourami caused his death.

EDIT~ hee hee Colisa, we posted at the same time