Hello, I have a male Opaline Gourami who lives in a tank with two Rope fish and a Pleco. I have been thinking of purchasing 2 female Gouramis to live with my male, but it's really important that the females are very peaceful because Rope fish will get picked on by nippy or territorial fish. Right now everyone gets along fine, but I feel that the Gourami would probably enjoy the company of others, but I wanted to know what you guys think about all of this. Thanks.
Should a male Gourami be with some Females?
- Thread starter jessa10
- Start date
Gouramis are generally peaceful fish, with the major exception of during breeding. I've had a breeding pair gouramis (albeit a different species) literally kill everything else in their tank because they felt that their nest was threatened. Because of that experience, I've never tried keeping females and males together in the same tank unless it was a species only one.
With that said, it's entirely possible that yours will be calmer, and that because the other inhabitants are primarily bottom dwellers, you won't have any problems. It also depends on how much cover is available in your tank. If the rope fish has places to hide out in case of aggression, or if there's enough there to break up the line of sight from the surface, then you may have better luck. Do keep in mind that if they do start breeding, you'll likely need to remove the female just after the nest is laid, otherwise the male will kill her since his job is to drive her off and keep her from eating the eggs.
With that said, it's entirely possible that yours will be calmer, and that because the other inhabitants are primarily bottom dwellers, you won't have any problems. It also depends on how much cover is available in your tank. If the rope fish has places to hide out in case of aggression, or if there's enough there to break up the line of sight from the surface, then you may have better luck. Do keep in mind that if they do start breeding, you'll likely need to remove the female just after the nest is laid, otherwise the male will kill her since his job is to drive her off and keep her from eating the eggs.
I had a female a year or more ago. I got her a tiny new male and she totally lost her fish mind on him. She terrorized him and attacked him to no end. I found him on the garage floor during winter. He was fairly dry and dirty with several holes, missing fins, missing scales. Amazingly, he survived. I sold the female and placed the male into a Platy breeding tank. He is now the most passive fish I've ever known. I wouldn't try messing with things unless you have time to watch them and space or a plan on what to do if the do not get along.