Three Spot Gouramis Kissing/fighting

[Mr Melt]

Hi all;

I've had 2 female three-spots in my Juwel Rio for quite some time now. One is an Opaline and the other is a Gold three spot. They have a habit of chasing each other round the tank, but there is no actual nipping occurring, nor are there any injuries on any of them, so I never worried too much about their behaviour.

However, the other day I added a male Paradise Gourami to the tank. He is peaceful himself (eg. doesnt harass the females), and hes quite small compared to the larger females.

However not 10 minutes ago I noticed the 2 females lip locking/kissing; isn't that a sign of aggression or fighting? Furthermore the missus has told me that they have been doing it over the past week.

Why are they doing this? I thought females were relatively peaceful =/

UPDATE - I'm gonna post this in the emergency page because my Blue Gourami has gone berserk, is chasing my gold one constantly (at speeds I didnt know they could reach) and is also attacking Nemo, my Paradise Fish. All of this has begun within the past half hour =/

 

[Hermithall]

Are you sure they are both females - sounds just like male dominance aggression? Be double-sure of sexing, then one solution might be to add some more trichogaster gouramis (if you have room ofc). By having a group with a good balance of males to females, aggression should be dispersed to safe levels. Surprised to hear the male paradise fish is the one being attacked - it's usually vice versa according to their reputation.

 

[Mr Melt]

Are you sure they are both females - sounds just like male dominance aggression? Be double-sure of sexing, then one solution might be to add some more trichogaster gouramis (if you have room ofc). By having a group with a good balance of males to females, aggression should be dispersed to safe levels. Surprised to hear the male paradise fish is the one being attacked - it's usually vice versa according to their reputation.

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, I'm quite sure they're female. I'll show pictures:

This is Nemo, the Paradise Fish:

This is Goldie, the Yellow one:

And Opal, the Blue one:

Sorry if the pictures are bad; my camera is crap, AND the gouramis are afraid of it ¬_¬

As of this morning the aggression has diminished, but I can still see them occasionally chasing each other. The bloke at the LFS claims its due to the fish reaching sexual maturity and the seeking of territory (in spite of their sex).

If this keeps up I may end up replacing them with Rainbowfish, which I hear are far more docile =/

 

[Hermithall]

Pics are great, yep they definitely look like females. Glad to hear the aggression is calming down

 

[Mr Melt]

Pics are great, yep they definitely look like females. Glad to hear the aggression is calming down

Thanks. Could there be any reason for such a random spurt of aggression?

 

[Hermithall]

Hard to say, I used to have a mixture of trichogaster gouramis myself and there was a lot of chasing and mild aggression between them, but nothing too bad. I had 6 (4 females, 2 males) which worked out well for me. Maybe your 2 are establishing a pecking order between themselves, as the lfs guy says - just watch out for ripped fins and stressed out behaviour. Fingers are crossed for peace in your tank mate