female gouramis

[sarahp]

I have a 180l planted community tank which is home to 2 male dwarf gouramis. One of them is quite bossy and will chase the other one round if he gets in his way but nothing too serious.Neither bother with the other fish in the tank. My question is would it be safe to add a couple of female gouramis to the tank so hopefully they can pair up?

 

[Alien Anna]

I started out with two pairs of gouramis but my dominant male harrassed my beta male half to death and the beta female started to waste away. I got rid of the dominant male but the main pair started to harrass the third female. I've now concluded that you'd be better off with a mated pair. Why not ask your LFS if they'll swap one of your males for a female?

 

[sarahp]

i have an empty 70l tank cycling so it maybe best to put one pair in that. I would like to add a pair of lace or gold gouramis to the larger tank will that cause problems with the dwarf pair?

 

[Alien Anna]

i have an empty 70l tank cycling so it maybe best to put one pair in that. I would like to add a pair of lace or gold gouramis to the larger tank will that cause problems with the dwarf pair?

In my experience, yes - gouramis seem to regard other gouramis as competition.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi sarahp!

I'm always happy to find a new member interested in gouramis.

Your experience with them is typical. They are generally considered to be good citizens in a community tank, but they tend to be territorial among themselves. If you watch, you will probably notice that the male has staked out a particular area as his own territory and is defending it against the other male. This has nothing to do with sex; he will probably treat a female the same way.

You mentioned that you have a planted tank and that is a plus when you have gouramis for two reasons. First, it seems to divide the tank into areas so that each can have his own spot, and second, it provides hiding places if necessary. Usually that is all that is needed since the objective is to chase the intruder away, not kill him. Female gouramis can be territorial too. Gouramis do not really "pair up" except in the breeding tank, but since they do look different, it is nice to have a male and female in the tank.

They are beautiful and graceful fish that are frequently misjudged by people who do not understand their behavior.