Gouramis problem

[Tiara]

Hello all. My tank is 20 gal., I have few Rumy nose tetras, few Pentazona barbs, and 2 Panda Garras, who live very peacefuly for about 2 years now.
Five days ago I bought a male and female Dwarf gouramis. In the beginning everything was fine, they swim everywhere, zero aggression etc. Since yesterday I noticed that the male Gourami is staying on the top-middle of the tank, and whenever he sees the female, he chases her back down and then goes back in the exact same spot.The strange thing is that from time to time the female goes to him and then 'dance' together. After some time he start chasing her again. I am not sure what is happening, is this normal and will he stop chasing her at some point?

 

[fishorama]

It's been a long time since I kept dwarf gouramis, but that seems absolutely normal. He wants to establish a territory at the surface for his bubble nest & he's not quite ready for her...or she for him?

Do you have lots of plants or other decor for her to hide from his attentions? & or for him to make a surface bubble nest? That would be my best suggestions.

I've had panda garra twice. While I loved them, they might get too big & rambunctious for a 20g. I take it they're still small? Make a plan for your future, they seem too boisterous for a small tank in my limited experience with them.

 

[Tiara]

It's been a long time since I kept dwarf gouramis, but that seems absolutely normal. He wants to establish a territory at the surface for his bubble nest & he's not quite ready for her...or she for him?

Do you have lots of plants or other decor for her to hide from his attentions? & or for him to make a surface bubble nest? That would be my best suggestions.

I've had panda garra twice. While I loved them, they might get too big & rambunctious for a 20g. I take it they're still small? Make a plan for your future, they seem too boisterous for a small tank in my limited experience with them.

Hey! Yes, I have a lot of plants, she can hide easily, but she prefers to be in the upper layers of the tank and to swim freely. I was thinking that he may want to establish a territory, but why is she keep going back to him from time to time?
The Garra pandas are small indeed (maybe 3 cm), for now they are feeling great, if they get too large for the tank I may bring them back to the store or buy a bigger tank If I find space to place it.

 

[fishorama]

That's great you have lots of plants for both male & female. It sounds like she's "almost" in the breeding mood. But be aware, if they breed (quite fun to watch!) he will drive her away pretty forcefully afterward. He'll likely be a very attentive egg guardian, but he might need a couple tries to really "get it right". Does he blow bubbles at the surface? That's a good sign. Not just surface spitting but actual bubbles forming & staying along the surface. Hopefully you'll see what I mean.

Be patient & as I always say, do water changes...but not in the middle of his proposed nesting site. He needs to claim that as his area without people or fish interruptions.

Our dwarf gouramis bred a couple times, but we didn't see any fry. Don't be disappointed, it's all fun without the "what next" aspect what to do about hatchlings & feeding them or moving them. That's a different thing altogether. Enjoy their behaviors & pay attention, it's pretty fascinating however far they get Good luck!

 

[Tiara]

That's great you have lots of plants for both male & female. It sounds like she's "almost" in the breeding mood. But be aware, if they breed (quite fun to watch!) he will drive her away pretty forcefully afterward. He'll likely be a very attentive egg guardian, but he might need a couple tries to really "get it right". Does he blow bubbles at the surface? That's a good sign. Not just surface spitting but actual bubbles forming & staying along the surface. Hopefully you'll see what I mean.

Be patient & as I always say, do water changes...but not in the middle of his proposed nesting site. He needs to claim that as his area without people or fish interruptions.

Our dwarf gouramis bred a couple times, but we didn't see any fry. Don't be disappointed, it's all fun without the "what next" aspect what to do about hatchlings & feeding them or moving them. That's a different thing altogether. Enjoy their behaviors & pay attention, it's pretty fascinating however far they get Good luck!

Hah, I am not sure about the bubble nest, because there is a spot in the tank where the bubbles form the filter gather, and he stands right there. But the fact that he is not swimming around and stays only there means that he probably is guarding something I don't know, I will observe their behaviour for few more days and if the female becomes too stressed form the chasing, I will probably return the male to the fish store.

 

[fishorama]

A bubble nest without actually having to blow his own bubbles? I bet he's in male gourami heaven, lol. When he's making a "nest" the bubbles are spittier (more mucus enabled?) than just a filter outflow bubbles. But I think he's got the idea & will work on building a better nest in time.

Keep us posted on your tank drama, maybe with pics?

 

[Tiara]

A bubble nest without actually having to blow his own bubbles? I bet he's in male gourami heaven, lol. When he's making a "nest" the bubbles are spittier (more mucus enabled?) than just a filter outflow bubbles. But I think he's got the idea & will work on building a better nest in time.

Keep us posted on your tank drama, maybe with pics?

Thanks for your great comments! I will definitely make some pics and videos when I get home tonight. About the bubbles... Tbh they seem like just water bubbles

 

[Colin_T]

Pictures of the fish so we can confirm you have a female and not 2 males?

 

[Tiara]

Pictures of the fish so we can confirm you have a female and not 2 males?

Here is a video of both of them. Sadly the quality of the camera is very bad, the lighting also. But I think you can see the sex. Even now, when I'm filming them, he is chasing her...

 

[MuddyWaters]

This is making me want to get a female for my male dwarf gourami. Up to now, I've just been grateful he doesn't (so far) suffer from that genetic disease they get from inbreeding.

I'd love to see them mate. The tank I have him in is already over-crowded, though, so probably not. Plus I just re-did it completely, so I need to move some fish around and let the new setup settle before I'd do anything, but nice to have another thing on my "sometime-in-the-not-so-distant-future" list.

 

[Colin_T]

It's an actual pair (1 male & 1 female)
Sorry if that sounds bad but lots of people come on here saying they got a pr of dwarf gouramis from a pet shop and they don't get along. When we see pictures of the fish they have 2 males. I just had to check to make sure the shop didn't give you 2 males.

The male is in full dress and wants to breed but the female isn't ready (she isn't fat and full of eggs). You can separate them for a week or two and then try them together, or just leave them together and see how they go. Make sure she has plenty of hiding place and if she looks too stressed, move her out for a week.

 

[Tiara]

It's an actual pair (1 male & 1 female)
Sorry if that sounds bad but lots of people come on here saying they got a pr of dwarf gouramis from a pet shop and they don't get along. When we see pictures of the fish they have 2 males. I just had to check to make sure the shop didn't give you 2 males.

The male is in full dress and wants to breed but the female isn't ready (she isn't fat and full of eggs). You can separate them for a week or two and then try them together, or just leave them together and see how they go. Make sure she has plenty of hiding place and if she looks too stressed, move her out for a week.

Thanks for the advice, sadly I don't have a place to move her into Probably I will give the male back, because this behaviour will be the same when he wants to breed... do you have any idea how often this may be? If it happens too often, he will definitely stress her out,

 

[fishorama]

Yes, a real pair. Females are "drab" compared to the prettier males, although females have some subtle coloring in the right light. So, males are selected for increased sales. That didn't used to be the case. It's nice you can get females, I rarely see them anymore. (well, I don't look too often).

If you prefer the more colorful male & need to return 1 you could give up the female instead. Choose based on how you want your tank to be...not based on his breeding urges. Those are natural. Does he chase other fish as much as he does the female? I think not, but I could be wrong. He'll likely stay near the surface & practice blowing bubbles.

Nice tank! Can you move plants & decor to give each a territory so she can get out of his line of sight? That may help with the chasing. I forgot to ask, is it a 20g long (30 x 12 X12 inches, please don't ask for me metric, but I can...) or a 20g "standard" (24 x 15H x 12? front to back)? Or some other shape? I can't tell from your video. With smaller fish those few inches can make a difference sometimes.

 

[Colin_T]

You could get a large plastic storage container and put the male in that. Let him build a bubble nest and then breed them. After they have bred you put the female back in the tank and leave the male to look after the babies. He will care for them for about 1 month, after which time he chases males out of his territory so he can breed again.

If he doesn't get a chance to breed and look after the babies, he will probably be like this most of the time.

 

[Tiara]

@fishorama
Yes, you are right, he is beautiful, but probably I will return him, because I like the female more (her personality).
He does not chase other fish at all, but chasing the female got worse over the night, now he is chasing her around the tank, not only removing her from the surface layer.
About the tank...I am not sure either....it is not standart at all, I mean it is not standart long, more like higher (almost like cube). I know this is not the best choice, but this is my first tank and was supposed to be for glowing tetras (The WORST fish ever)!