Move him or Leave him?

[Teresa]

I have two tanks, one twenty five gallon and one ten gallon.

The large one is my community tank and is very busy, the smaller one is set up for my betta so the temperature is a little higher and the water a bit less turbulent.

I would like to move my male dwarf gourami to the smaller tank as I think it better matches his requirements, HOWEVER he is doing really well in the big tank, he holds his own against the tiger barbs and parades up and down the front of the tank showing off his colours. He has definitely carved himself out a place in the large tank.

What do you think? Is the tiger barb situation just an accident waiting to happen?

 

[CFC]

Sounds like a case of being stuck between a rock and a hard place,in the community tank he runs the risk of being torn up by the tigers but if you put him in the other tank the betta may mistake him for being another male betta and attack him (bettas are well known for attacking any similar sized fish with bright colouring and/or fancy finnage)If he seems to be OK where he is then i would leave him there,but keep a close eye on the tank and be prepared to move him or the tigers at any sign of trouble.

 

[Kryten]

Here is what I would do

1. Depending on how many tiger barbs you have, have more. If Tiger Barbs are in a larger shoal they are more likely to fight amongst themselves (the pecking order, kinda like fish mafia), and ignore other tank inhabitants. Gives them confidence in a tank. If any fish feels threatened, he or she will become aggressive. Shoaling fish eliminates this

2. Leave the Gourami where he is. You will often find that Bettas and Gouramis don't get on very well. Apparently, the slightly larger fins on a gourami seem to resemble another male siamese fighter, and I'm sure you can work out the rest

3. You will probably find that the Gourami likes the challenge of living with Barbs. You could maybe make a hidey hole in the tank for solitary fish such as the gourami to hide in if he feels too threatened, using an ornament or a large-leaved plant.

 

[gadazobe]

Leave him where he is. When I put my beta in the community tank, he finished off the male dwarf gourami within a few days In fact the beta finished off the male platty and male swordtail. Now there are only females and larger fishies in his tank and he's very happy

 

[playfulalliecat]

Years ago, I went to the lfs and brought home 3 male gaouramies. They had just come in a shipment a few days earlier. Billy, the owner, a good friend of mine, told me they were basically peaceful community fish and I should have no problems at all with the various fish I had at the time. Boy, was he wrong. They started terrorizing everything and I mean everything in my tank. The tiger barbs were being nipped at, as well as the black skirts, irridescent sharks, everything. Needless to say within 2 days they were back at home in the tank at the lfs.

If he is anything like mine was then no worries he will hold his own against the tiger barbs. Maybe I just got some fish with bad personalities but then again, every zebra danio I have had ripped my other fish to shreds until I got rid of them. I would leave him in the community tank unless you see something picking on him then move him. I wouldn't be sure about the betta as except for one very short period of time, I always kept my male bettas in a seperate tank from anything else.

Good luck with whichever direction you decide to go!

 

[Pufferpack]

We tried putting Dwarf gouramies in with a male Betta, caused fights all day. the Betta even managed to pick out one of the Gourami's eyes. Needless to say they don't reside together.