Evil Blue Gourami

[Sackett]

I have a blue gourami who is nothing but trouble. I'm trying to find her/him a buddy that she won't harass until death. She doesn't seem to mind the other fish, but so far it has killed 2 other blue gouramis, but both were smaller than it and I think the same gender as what it is. I was thinking that if I got one of the opposite sex that was much larger that it would not feel the need to kill its friend. I read somewhere that the ones with pointy topfins are male and the rounded ones are female. That would make this one female. Is this true? Should I just give up and let her be?

In a 20L, you can see how big she is.

Some pictures of the murderer.

 

[SouthernCross]

Wow, it sounds like you sure got a nasty one.

Yeah I think your best bet is to try to get an opposite sex (I think yours is female too) of at least the same size or larger. Might be difficult to find bigger ones. Also, when you add the new fish, rearrange your tank decor to break up the females territory, then she hasn't got territory to defend, and each fish has a chance to reestablish themselves. Your tank doesn't look particularly large, so this step might be very important.

If it happens again, I would say either accept that you're going to have to keep her as a solitary fish, or perhaps trade her in for something a little more peaceful, e.g. pearl gouramis if you like the look of the larger ones.

 

[fordtrannyman]

I would agree with Southerncross.
re-arrange the tank before adding another

You may even want to take her out, place her in temporary location for 5-10 minutes,
Re-arrange a little. Put in the new guest(s), then put her back.
This method worked for me once with Gold's

It is definitely a female, adding a male and another female would be ok too.

 

[Kevinator]

Sounds like the same problem we had with ours. We thought he would like another partner, it turned out we were wrong! A couple weeks later he killed the other Blue Gourami. We decided not to even bother getting another. He looks like a jerk! We even gave him the name Guido because he reminds us of a mofia hitman.

 

[freshwaterfishlover]

I had 2 3 spotted Gold Gouramis in my 29g and they ALWAYS fought. They never bothered any other fish. I have 4 huge 3" Sterbai Cories 4 Silver Dollars and 3 Mystery Snails. I now only have 1 3 spotted Gold Gourami. Everything is cool.

 

[Squidman]

You may want to trade in the blue gourami for a new one or a more peaceful species. My blue gourami doesnt cause any problems but hes stuck with two yoyo loaches now.