Pearl gourami being bullied

[Alien Anna]

Hi Everyone,
I just had to take out one of my three pearl gouramis because she was being attacked by the others. Last week, I took out the other dominant male, thinking this would make things easier for her, but now my second male has become aggressive, as has the second female. I think they're spawning and they don't want an auntie hanging around.

She's in the quarantine tank now, with some baby tetras, but I don't know what to do with her. She's under-size (although her colour's better now) and she's covered in bite marks! (I didn't even know gouramis had teeth). I can't take her back to the LFS because they'll put her in a tank with her old adversary (who hadn't been sold last time I saw him, and was sharing a tank with a dozen baby gouramis), and also because she looks so beaten up.

I'm hoping a couple of weeks with Melafix will sort her out, but I need to be dropping the pH of that quarantine tank (to acclimatise the tetras to the new, lower pH of my main tank) and she can't survive constant jumps in pH like that. My other, smaller tank accomodates a betta who's already tried to take a chunk out of her and my other tanks are large and un-cycled, and due to house African cichlids.

What can I do? I don't think any of you live near me, do you?

 

[Rose]

If she's smaller than the others you will have to keep her away from them till she's the same size or bigger. Most people have found that only one pearl gourami is best for them. Due to the fact that they don't have a big enough tank and or enough hidding places for them to hide in and what not.

Pearls are the most docile of the mid size gourami family. When compaired to the Blues, Goldens, Platniums, and the others, the Pearls are made to look like the most well behaved fish there is. It's just a matter of finding what works with your tank.

They do just fine singly. It's hard to keep males and females together with out fighting, or excessive amounts of it. I have 4 males, 2 in my bow (full grown) with lots of other fish (tank is over crowded) and 2 baby's in my 30g tiger tank (also over crowded). Both sets do fine, there is fighting with them but it's not so much that one can't hide if he feels the need to. Eventually all 4 Pearls will be in the same tank.

 

[Alien Anna]

Thanks Rose,
the problem is that this particular gourami can't live in the main tank because the other 2 gouramis are trying to kill her, regardless of whether pearls are generally gentle or not.

I don't have anywhere else for her to live - and she can't stay in the quarantine tank because I'm using that for quarantine and for acclimatising my new tetras to the lower pH of my tank (the LFS has pH 8.6 and my main tank is currently pH 6.5). I'm dropping the pH 0.2 per day at the moment! And she's just survived a drop from pH 6.5 to 7.5 today, when I rescued her from the main tank.

So she has to go somewhere, but where to send an under-sized, beaten up, nervous gourami? The LFS is no good because they'll put her in the tank with her former tank mate (a large and rather aggressive male) and I don't know any fish keepers locally who could take her. I haven't the space for more tanks!

 

[Rose]

You don't need another tank. divide part of the main tank off for her. I have to do that with one of my tanks every so often. Go to your local craft store and get the following and make your own divider (cheeper than buying one already made) a sheet of plastic canvis and a box of suction cups that you hang window decorations on. Cut the canvas to fit and there you go. Works wonders. Rose

 

[adeyc]

Anna. It seems Rose's solution is the best in your case. it may also be an idea to isolate the other 2 in the tank on there own for a while. (it works with tiger barbs, haven't had to try it with anything else0

 

[Rose]

it works with just about everything. I have a friend who uses it with his big cichlid fish. Rose

 

[adeyc]

thought it wouls. A spell in isolation is good for everything at times.

 

[Rose]

aint that the truth.....isn't that what parents know as bedtime? :evil: