Greedy Gourami - Advice?

[aimee]

Hi!
I know this might sound stupid but I have a dwarf gourami who is incredibly greedy and is getting quite fat I think. I assume this is not really that healthy? The problem is he is in a communal tank and I also can't really quarantine him...

I have to feed flake food for my other fish so not only does he eat that but he eats the vegetables I give my pleco and the algae wafers I feed my little feather fin catfish. He is quite agressive as well and chases the other gouramis when there are wafers in the tank, just so he can have them for himself. Is this going to become a problem for his health - I know it's a bit of a long shot but is there anything i can do short of quarantining him (for a fast)?
Any advice would really be appreciated.
Thanks!
aimee

 

[sylvia]

As long as you are not mistaking dropsy or bloating for weight-gain, he should be fine. Having said that, it does sound like you are feeding all your fish a lot. While this doesn't often lead to health problems directly, you could be spoiling your water quality - and that can quickly lead to trouble. You may find varying the diet a little helps the situation also. Lots of veggies are good but maybe also try some live or frozen daphnia or brine shrimp instead of flake foods. Lastly, if you don't already do so, perhaps reduce the amount you are feeding but do so more often.

 

[aimee]

Hi sylvia, thanks for your response.
You're probably right that they are eating too much, I will try and reduce the amount and feed more regularly. It isn't dropsy I don't think. I'm not sure it's bloating either, he has been like this a while and seems healthy. is there anything i can do to ensure it isn't bloating?
the problem really is that i have the catfish which need to be fed too. I have just been watching the gourami again and really it's the algae wafers that cause the aggression/greediness but i guess there's not a lot i can do about that since i will need to feed them sometimes to the catfish. i will try and feed frozen foods sometimes like you suggest so that I can just put one type of food in the tank for them all to eat.

thanks for your time,
aimee

 

[aimee]

Ok... I have started thinking about trying to return this fish to my LFS... I know this sounds a bit radical but his aggressiveness towards my other fish is definitely getting worse and he has started 'guarding' the food I give my catfish, and will not stop chasing the other gourami when there is veg/wafers in the tank. He has also begun to chase the catfish a little bit, who is new to the tank and very small.

If i returned him this would leave the tank with two other male dwarfs - is this ok? the 'greedy' one is the most territorial as well, the other two are relatively peaceful. would this begin rivalry between the two that would be left? Also my tank is only 20 gal and I understand this is probably too small for these fish anyway.
Can anyone recommend me a solution?

 

[sylvia]

20 gallons is technically large enough for two male dwarfs (I generally say 1 male per 10 gallons) but you'll almost definitely find one of the other two automatically promotes himself to the dominant position and begins to bully the other when this one is gone. I would suggest saving yourself the trouble by returning two of them and leaving just one in your tank.