Whats killing my Gouramis?

[fishjamin]

I've put some food in and he's going for it although not with as much enthusiasm as the others!

 

[Avel1896]

I persist in saying this male Trichogaster lalius is stressed-out by the 2 other males.

 

[SarahPar]

I've put some food in and he's going for it although not with as much enthusiasm as the others!

Hmm yea wait to see what its poop looks like

 

[fishjamin]

I persist in saying this male Trichogaster lalius is stressed-out by the 2 other males.

If this is the case this must be very common? They came from a respectable LFS in a 2 for X deal so there must be loads of tanks with multiple males?

 

[Essjay]

Fish in shop tanks cannot be compared with our tanks. They are overcrowded as the shop expects (hopes) they won't be there long as if they don't sell them they don't make money. Because they are so overcrowded the fish cannot display their normal behaviour and there is no room for any one fish to establish a territory.
In our tanks, the fish are not overcrowded, and as they settle in they start to behave normally for their species. With territorial fish like dwarf gouramis, this means one of them deciding he is top fish and he then tries to chase all the other males from his territory which is the whole tank. The other males cannot leave his territory so he sees that as a challenge to his position which he must defend by continually attacking the other fish, both physically and chemically. The dominant male will secrete aggression pheromones which will stress the other fish even if we don't witness any physical aggression.


The 2 for X deal is common with dwarf gouramis and is meant to be a male and female. Or at least that's what it was originally but as males are more colourful many shops have stopped selling females as "they are plain and boring and no-one buys them".
Even a male/female pair is not a good idea with these fish as males have been known to kill females if he wants to breed and she doesn't. This is why it is recommended to buy 1 male and several females - difficult when they are only sold as pairs.

 

[DoubleDutch]

Agree with @Essjay .
Multiple Dwarfs in an open tank like this (not densely planted) will end up in war, battle and dead fish.

DG's are a mineymaker of themselves.
Buy 2 for X, one or both will be dead and need replacement.

 

[fishjamin]

Crikey. Is there anything that can be done (other than get rid of 3 of them)?

 

[Avel1896]

If this is the case this must be very common?

It is !
Reason why I always insist on the importance of "tons" of plants to give fishes lots of hiding places. Excuse me but your tank is arid. The dominated is at the risk of dying of stress.

 

[Avel1896]

They came from a respectable LFS in a 2 for X deal so there must be loads of tanks with multiple males?

Obviously. Most of sellers are unable to sex them.

 

[Avel1896]

Crikey. Is there anything that can be done (other than get rid of 3 of them)?

First of all post pics of the 2 others. As clear as possible. to make sure the "red" one is also a male.

 

[Sunnyspots]

I've had honey gourami aggression problems, male on female. I've solved it by buying a tank divider and giving them half the tank each. But mine allows water through it and aggression pheromones can pass through. Perhaps if you could get or make a solid one and put up two filters and heaters you could avoid needing another tank?

 

[SarahPar]

Moving the stressed one is a good idea but it may not necessarily purely be from the other males

 

[Colin_T]

The gourami has clamped fins, a damaged tail, looks very pale and is very stressed. There is also too much water movement in the tank for them.

The clamped fins can be from poor water quality or an external protozoan infection. It might be from stress but is unlikely.

Gouramis are labyrinth fishes and can breath air from the atmosphere/ surface and the tank should have heaps of oxygen for them due to the aeration.

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Some of the neon tetras have white marks on their tails and that is not normal.

I'm not sure what the white stuff on the neon tetra's tails is. I need clear pictures of them.

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You can try adding lots of plants to break up the territories. Floating plants like Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) is a great plant for small gouramis.

Try moving the unhappy/ unwell fish into a separate tank or a breeding net to stop the others being able to get at it.

It could the fish from the shop are not as healthy as the fish from the second shop.

 

[Avel1896]

I've had honey gourami aggression problems, male on female.

Males can turn very aggressive up to kill females. I (unfortunately) know what I mean.

 

[Sunnyspots]

Males can turn very aggressive up to kill females. I (unfortunately) know what I mean.

He was being awful to her; wouldn't let her eat or even breathe. Thank god for the tank divider.