Sexual Harrassment

[Mrwoody]

I bought 2 dwarf Gouramis last weekend... One male one female....

The male is constantly chasing the female, the female is now hiding away in the plants and under the rocks!!... I think she will soon be asking for a restraining order & sexual harrasment charge against the randy male!!...

Any suggestions?, Ive read on here that maybe getting another female may help?

 

[Fillet 'O' Fish]

I have heard that 2 females to 1 male stops the chasing as he has to share his affections
Its strangle though as most fish shops sell them in pairs ?
I had the same issue as you, but because my tank is heavily planted she used to Hide most of the time, although eventually after about 3 months he harrased her to death
I would defo think about getting another female if I were you.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah get another female and make sure there are plenty of hiding places for them, the males can be pretty fiesty

 

[Squid]

Its strangle though as most fish shops sell them in pairs ?

I thought that yesterday when looking at Mbuna.. A lot of people say that you should get 1M to 3FM.. yet they sell them as £x for 1 and £y for 3.. why not 4.. doh..

Squid

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Its strangle though as most fish shops sell them in pairs ?

I thought that yesterday when looking at Mbuna.. A lot of people say that you should get 1M to 3FM.. yet they sell them as £x for 1 and £y for 3.. why not 4.. doh..

Squid

had a massive row with an lfs once cos they only sold mollies in pairs when you shouldn't keep them 1:1 was shouting about how the male would s@#g the female to death and how cruel they were. probably being a complete embarassment as per usual

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Mrwoody

The behavior of your male gourami is not due to sex, but to his staking a claim to what he thinks of as his territory. He is not trying to attract a female, but to drive her away.

Adding more females could result in a bit more peace for the one you now have, since she there will be more periods when his attention is diverted elsewhere. On the other hand, it will just make more females miserable.

Your tank is too small for her to find a place where she can feel secure. Perhaps when you upgrade she might be more safe. If not, please consider separating them.

 

[TheRedDarren]

yea would have to agree with inchworm here, ya tank is too small really, i had trouble with my gourami battering my females until i bought some moe, now i have 3 and his attentions are split between them and all are much happier, but wait til you upgrade before getting more m8, gl.

 

[LouiseRat]

we would like another female but no lfs will sell us just 1 female

 

[Mrwoody]

Your tank is too small for her to find a place where she can feel secure. Perhaps when you upgrade she might be more safe. If not, please consider separating them.

I have a fair few plants in my small tank and she seems to hide away in there quite a bit, the new tank will be set up in next couple of weeks, hopefully she'll be happier in that tank....If not then I may have to seperate them like you say.

Thanks very much for your helkp guys, I dont like to see her in distress! Damn Bully!!

 

[rhysiboy]

my female recently died from harrasment and now alls the male does is stay in one section of the tank going up and dwon the glass. hes a real weirdo sometimes.

 

[Mrwoody]

Ive had exactly the same behaviour from my male Gourami, they are weird fish but quite funny & entertaining at times!!

 

[Mrwoody]

There has been quite a strange shift of power in the tank...

The male now seems terrified of the female... She is swimming around like the queen & he is cowering in the plants!?!?

Very Strange!....

 

[wendyngd]

There has been quite a strange shift of power in the tank...

The male now seems terrified of the female... She is swimming around like the queen & he is cowering in the plants!?!?

Very Strange!....

Hi-

I know they're in a different forum, but my male molly just died of harassment, too. There was one adult female and one male in tank and many fry. The bigger male kept terrorizing the smaller one--chasing him continuously!! Wouldn't even let him eat! So I wasn't too surprised (after I read this string) to find the smaller male floating at the top of the tank dead--just sad. It amazes me how quickly the "pecking order" will change in a tank as different sized or kind of fish die--the one who was chased by a bigger fish that died now does the same thing to a smaller fish he seemed to have gotten along with before!

Regards,
Wendy

 

[sylvia]

This is why having more fish of the same species reduces aggression. It forces them to split their attention. To the molly person P) - get some more or you'll have a repeat of what happened before.

 

[wendyngd]

This is why having more fish of the same species reduces aggression. It forces them to split their attention. To the molly person P) - get some more or you'll have a repeat of what happened before.

Thanks--we have about 30 2 week old molly fry. I don't think our 10 g tank can manage anymore. What would I have to do--get more females or males? -Wendy