red honey gouramis

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Hi folks I added 2 red honey gouramis to my tank about 2 weeks ago and they seemed to be getting on great together,but a couple of days ago I noticed that one of them ( the smaler one) has a big chunk missing out of its tail fin, at first I thought it was the fighter fish that I had in the tank that had caused this so I removed it. Now I see it is actually the other gourami that is constantly chasing it around the tank nipping at and it does not stop chasing it until it has had a bite at it. Is this normal behaviour for this breed of fish as I was under the impression that these ones are meant to be really placid with other fish and also its own breed. Please help beginning to feel sorry for the little blighter who is now constantly hiding itself away in the corner of the tank not wanting to come out even to feed.
 
Can you specify the sex of these 2 gouramies? Males have a blue-black throat when in breeding condition but younger individuals are only realy possible to distinguish by looking for the pointier, longer dorsal of the male and the considerably brighter color the males display. Females also tend to be deeper-bodied and wider when viewed from above but this is difficult to see in younger fish.

If both are male, adding 3-4 females and some floating plants should do the trick. If one is female (the one being chased) and the other male, add another female or two. I doubt both are female.
 
I dont know to much about honey gouramis but judging by your description neither of the 2 of them have darker throat areas and apart from size (the bully one being at least 1.5x the size) i cannot see any difference in them. The larger one chases the smaller one with a vengeance, yet when i first got them they swam everywhere together.
 
The gourami is no more I think the larger one finally put the nail in the coffin and harassed the little blighter till it could take no more. what a bully. Dont know whether or not to replace it or not with having that bully in the tank.
 
Any chance you could post a pic of the bully? Maybe I can sex it (though I'd think it's a male).

If you do choose to replace the dead gourami, first re-arange the tank just before adding the fish and I would get 2 rather than one so the aggression is devided. Try to sex the fish at your LFS and choose 2 females. Also get some extra floating plants and a ceramic pot or two for the newcomers to hide in until they have all established hierarchy. The fighting and chasing will eventualy stop as they settle their territories and decide who's boss.
 
sorry for butting in, but i've just read this thread and im shocked!!

my pair of red dwarf honey gouramis are the opposite sexes i thought they were!

i wondered why the female had gone bluey/black underneath :blink:

and now the one i thought was male looks very chubby around the 'egg' area.

could you tell me a bit about what happens if he/she is pregnant, and babies etc please sylvia?
 
I'll try to help :)

First it sounds like you have two very healthy fish in breeding condition which obviously is a good thing :)

Female gouramies are egg layers so they cannot get 'pregnant' so to speak - instead, what you see is the female becoming fat with eggs.

When honey gouramies breed, the male builds a nest of bubbles at the water's surface. This bubblenest is guarded by the male and he gets the female to release eggs into it which he fertilises and will fan and clean until the fry are free-swimming. In a community tank, the fry, and usualy the eggs as well, don't survive as the other fish will eat them. If you were to try breeding them, you'd need a seperate breeding tank to truly be successful and the female would have to be removed right after the eggs are placed in the bubblenest and the male starts guarding them. Then, when the fry start leaving the nest, the male also needs to be removed and the fry fed on tiny, near-microscopic foods - at first infusoria, later microworms and still later powdered flake and commercial fish foods. Unfortunately, their tiny size and need for tiny foods, means they won't survive in a community tank. The fry will get eaten, starve or be sucked up by the filter (a sponge filter is good for fry breeding/rearing tanks).

If you decide to seriously breed your fish, I'd first do as much research as possible and then gather all the equipment and especialy all the special food cultures you'll be needing and then try finding possible homes for any fry so you aren't left with 20 fish and no where to put them :p.

Good luck if you do decide to breed. It's a worthwhile experience but you need patience and a lot of time as at the first attempt things usualy don't go to plan. Still, it's worth it when you do succeed!
 
thanks for all the info! :D

unfortunately i cannot cater for the babies as well - it doesnt look they will make it then. i have quite a strong filter current and i cant turn that off as the other fish need it, as i have enough potential water problems as it is.

i guess i'll just have to let them be food for the others until i can afford another tank and can get it all set up properly :-(
 

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