Just Bought Gold Gourami... Missing One Tentacle...

[Blaizze]

So I just purchased a female Gold Gourami to add to my tank, as I currently have one male in there looking fairly lonely.. but I noticed once i was in the car, that one of the two tentacles they have on the front is missing... is this a problem or will it grow back?

Also, so I will have One male and One female... should be alrite I'm assuming?

Thanks...

[sumthin fishy]

The "tentacles" or pelvic fins ( http://badmanstropicalfish.com/anatomy.html ) like other fins, are capable of growing back, provided that the root (where the fin meets the body) is not badly damaged. Keep an eye out for any signs of infection, adding a tablespoon of salt per 10 galons can help ward off the chances of that.

[Blaizze]

Ok, so these two "tentacles" are called Pelvic Fins?

http://www.brotherspets.com/fresh/goldgourami.jpg

Hopefully things go well... I will add some salt... appreciate the help..

[sarcare]

My dwarf gourami had his nipped down pretty bad by some unfourtunate early tank mates--since then they have grown back longer then ever--the new part sort of comes at an angle, but it is flexible and functions.

[Ghostshrimp55]

Ok, so these two "tentacles" are called Pelvic Fins?

Yep. Anatomically speaking, those fins are the pelvic fins. The fins behind those are the anal fins (or fin in this case). If you watch a gourami poop (Hopefully you'll have better things to do with you time) you'll see that the poop comes from the start of that fin, way up in the middle of the body. That's because gouramis, among many other species, are considered to be more advanced ray-finned fish. They don't exhibit the familiar arrangement of pectoral, then pelvic, then anal fins in the way that we'd expect to see them. That condition is considered to be primitive, meaning it's been the way that fish have been for a long time and reflects the way that the early ray-finned fish looked. The arrangement in the gouramis, and other species, are generally considered to be newer evolutionary adaptations. Some fish even have the pelvic fins before the pectoral fins. Wrap your head around that one. That's like having your legs before your arms.

[CaptnDan]

Also, so I will have One male and One female... should be alrite I'm assuming?

What else do you have in with them?

I had a pair for quite a while. They were big and beautiful, and very docile. They were in with a couple of Angelfish, and some Dwarf Gouramis. They were all about the same size when we introduced them. We lost a Dwarf or two during the power outage after a hurricane.

We replaced them. OOPS! Putting the new Dwarves in there was like hitting the "ON" switch for "Gold Gourami Aggression - Turbo Mode". They terrorized everybody.

We ended up having to trade them in. Bummer... They were gorgeous fish.

[Web Gazelle]

What else do you have in with them?

I had a pair for quite a while. They were big and beautiful, and very docile. They were in with a couple of Angelfish, and some Dwarf Gouramis. They were all about the same size when we introduced them. We lost a Dwarf or two during the power outage after a hurricane.

We replaced them. OOPS! Putting the new Dwarves in there was like hitting the "ON" switch for "Gold Gourami Aggression - Turbo Mode". They terrorized everybody.

We ended up having to trade them in. Bummer... They were gorgeous fish.
Right. Once their territory has been established then they will show aggression to other Gouramis. Placing the two fish in at the same time will make it so they both have to establish a territory at the same time.