Is Chasing a Problem?

[Lansirill]

I have a pearl gourami that likes to chase the female gourami I have in the tank (both of them for the week I had two) as well as the keyhole cichlid. I don't see signs of stress in the two chased fish, so I'm assuming this isn't a serious problem. Should I be worried? Is there anything I should be keeping an eye out for, beyond hiding, clamped fins, poor eating or, of course, physical damage?

 

[davexstumpe]

i think it'll definitely catch up with them. im confused as to how many you have, just 1 male and 1 female? or 1 male and 2 females? how big is the tank?

 

[jm1212]

it is best to have at least 2 females per male to keep his attention split between the two of them, so one is not getting all of the attention all of the time.

 

[Lansirill]

I only have a single female right now.

However the number of females or the size of the tank is rather irrelevant to my question. I want to know how much of a problem the chasing is. I know what I can do if I need to do something. I don't want to be snotty, but what I really want to know is if I need to be concerned about the behavior or not.

 

[Ruben Tolon]

You should be concerned.

 

[Beasts]

The size of the aquarium is important as a larger aquarium allows for more separation between individuals. With more space, territories become larger and the chasing less intense. Hiding places provided by such things as driftwood, plants, rocks and other decorations will also help. Distractions such as other fish to chase or that might harass the gouramis would also help. If you don't consider the environment in its' entirety any answer would be meaningless. The chasing becomes less relevant if the "chasee" has a place to hide or the "chaser" has other distractions.
As an example, I have 4 pictus in a 410 gallon aquarium. They harass each other constantly.The aquarium is chock full of hiding places and yet they all live within a 2 square foot chunk of space on the substrate. They never hurt each other but they do love to fight! They have many other neighbors to cope with and their space has lots of plants and driftwood to create individuals niches for each fish within the space they have collectively staked out. But they prefer each others' company to the loneliness of being alone and without the aggressive interaction. Go figure!
If you want just a simple answer, yes that male gourami is quite capable of killing the female. We are all just trying to be more helpful than that. I guess we just figured you knew. Sorry.
Beasts

 

[davexstumpe]

The size of the aquarium is important as a larger aquarium allows for more separation between individuals. With more space, territories become larger and the chasing less intense. Hiding places provided by such things as driftwood, plants, rocks and other decorations will also help. Distractions such as other fish to chase or that might harass the gouramis would also help. If you don't consider the environment in its' entirety any answer would be meaningless. The chasing becomes less relevant if the "chasee" has a place to hide or the "chaser" has other distractions.
As an example, I have 4 pictus in a 410 gallon aquarium. They harass each other constantly.The aquarium is chock full of hiding places and yet they all live within a 2 square foot chunk of space on the substrate. They never hurt each other but they do love to fight! They have many other neighbors to cope with and their space has lots of plants and driftwood to create individuals niches for each fish within the space they have collectively staked out. But they prefer each others' company to the loneliness of being alone and without the aggressive interaction. Go figure!
If you want just a simple answer, yes that male gourami is quite capable of killing the female. We are all just trying to be more helpful than that. I guess we just figured you knew. Sorry.
Beasts

:iagree:



the number of females and tank size are both important to the question, no way around it. If the male is chasing 2 different females it cuts the chasing essentially in half. and the tank size will allow room for the females to get away and hide for a while if they choose.


so if you want a simple answer, than yes, you should be concerned if your male is chasing your female, but you should really consider the fact that the number of females and tank size is an important aspect of why its happening and how much.

 

[Lansirill]

I understand that both tank size and the number of females is important. I simply wanted to make sure I found out what I wanted to know, and it looked like it was going to turn into a what I should do thread. I wanted to keep things on track. I appreciate the extra help, but I didn't want the thread to go off on a tangent.

 

[doreenjoy]

The answer really depends on the type of fish, gender, and size of tank.

I believe the answer to your question is, if your tank is too small, yes, chasing is a problem particularly when it's a male gourami chasing a female.