first post - Fish going insane

[bioloj]

I have newbie shock here as I've added the second group of fish to my 29 gallon tank.

I had golden gourami balck skirt tetra and a couple of platys that survived "fishy cycling".

Today, after almost 2 months I decided to add some others. I added some rasboras (6) and some lyretail mollies (3) (all what I thought were nice community fish) and my gourami and tetra have gone insane.

They are chasing everything but each other. Will this wear off once dominance is established or do I have a problem.
:help:
I would appreciate your experience and guidance. (I know I've already learned a ton from reading the forums)

Thanks

[oscaremmy]

Wish I could help...no idea. Have to wait for help from others here. Have you plenty of hiding places for shy/victimized fish? Tall, dense plants and caves are useful for fish to get settled safely.

[lucy42083]

Gold gouramis are generally territorial and semi-aggressive. My guess is he was probably used to all the fish you had and he had worked out a territory, and now all these new fish are invading his territory. The tetra is probably just very excited if he has been alone, and is probably trying to chase/school with the rasboras a bit, since tetras are not really meant to be alone but in schools. The gold gourami though, you might have some aggression problems with - how big is he?

[bioloj]

Gold gouramis are generally territorial and semi-aggressive. My guess is he was probably used to all the fish you had and he had worked out a territory, and now all these new fish are invading his territory. The tetra is probably just very excited if he has been alone, and is probably trying to chase/school with the rasboras a bit, since tetras are not really meant to be alone but in schools. The gold gourami though, you might have some aggression problems with - how big is he?
He's (the gourami) is only about 1.5 - 2 inches.

Do you think I should get more black skirts to keep it company or will he find new "friends".

[Deadline]

I have heard it helps when you put the fish in your tank to turn the lights off on them. That was they can get established without being stressed out.

[lucy42083]

Assuming it is Trichogaster trichopterus the gourami grows up to 6" I believe. They aren't horribly aggressive to most fish, but they are territorial and in a 29 with all those small peaceful fish there might be a problem. Make sure you have lots of hiding places and cover as oscaremmy suggested. The tetra would definitely do better with like 5 friends, although I think that might make your tank overstocked...if I were you I'd take back the mollies and/or platies, but that's just my preference.

[jm1212]

my black skirt tetras will chase around newcomers. they are a bit nippier than most tetras.

[bioloj]

Thanks for the quick replies. Experience always seems to tell us more than books doesn't it.

The aggression of the gourami is still very high. He is only chasing the lyretail mollies. Does anyone think it will subside or will I have to separate them? They are definitely getting their exercise. Unfortunately, I don't have another tank to put him in.

[Wat2Go]

Whenever we add new fish to any tank, the whole tank seems to be going in overdrive for at least a couple of hours, but it generally calms down the next day. Not so much if we add only one fish, but if we - for example - add a small group of schoolers... Wow.
I would - but this is me - give it at least 24 hours UNLESS any fish is hurting another fish (liplocking or really nipping and damaging the fish) to see whether things calm down.

L.

[leighasnana]

You didn't mention what type of gouramis this is. I have a dwarf gouramis and he's territorial. He wanted 3/4 of a 55 gal for himself. I almost gave him away but things seem to have settled. What might work for you is to put a plant that touches the water's surface into a corner and hope he picks that as his territory. Tetras need to be in groups as mentioned, that really will help and they love plants to swim through. Live is best but silk or plastic are o.k. too. If the gouramis keeps it up re-arrange things every so often. I don't know why but this helped in my tanks. Just re-arrange large plants, rocks, wood etc...

Unless the gouramis is actually hurting the other fish I'd give it some time. Good luck. I know it's frustrating to watch if what you want is a nice peaceful tank.