Gourami Help

[knt5005]

Hey everyone,

I recently bought two female opaline gouramis. I know the males can be aggressive, but one of my females is creating havoc with the other. It seems that I happen to have one aggressive female, and one incredibly shy/passive female. I'm afraid she'll be beaten up because she continually chases the poor thing. I have them in a 10 gallon tank with some silver tip tetras and a cory. There are hiding places (rock structures) and plants as well. Is there anything I can do to get her to stop chasing the other?

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!

 

[GoldLenny]

http/fish.mongabay.com/species/Trichogas...ichopterus.html

You may be having territorial issues due to limited space in your tank. I'm not sure how big any of your fish are but your gouramis can grow to 6" each and are not suitable for long term in a 10G tank.

Are you sure you have two females? Did you sex them or rely on someone else?
http/freshaquarium.about.com/od/fishqa/f/faq2060.htm give simple methods to sex your gouramis.

 

[knt5005]

http/fish.mongabay.com/species/Trichogas...ichopterus.html

You may be having territorial issues due to limited space in your tank. I'm not sure how big any of your fish are but your gouramis can grow to 6" each and are not suitable for long term in a 10G tank.

Are you sure you have two females? Did you sex them or rely on someone else?
http/freshaquarium.about.com/od/fishqa/f/faq2060.htm give simple methods to sex your gouramis.

I did and the clerk at the shop has about a million tanks, so I trust she was correct. I confirmed that they are indeed female through various websites...i.e. they both have rounded dorsal fins. They are only about 2 - 2.5 inches, and I plan on buying a larger tank this summer.

 

[sylvia]

Even females of this species will fight and harass each other. They shouldn't be kept as pairs - never IMO. The more dominant inevitably chases and stresses the other. In fact, I'd suggest a minimum number of 4.

Having said that, you absolutely cannot keep these fish in a 10 gallon. I would suggest you return them to your LFS immediately and replace them with a trio (1 male, 2 females) of honey gouramies (Colisa chuna/sota) which are far better suited to that size tank and much more peaceful.

edit: Don't confuse them with dwarf gouramies (Colisa lalia) - learn the scientific names.