Dwarf Gourami aggressive towards neons

[sixstringphil]

I just moved my new blue dwarf gourami from a 5 gal qt tank into my 12 gallon aquarium. I currently have 5 neons and 2 corys that are all at least a year old. The gourami seemed to do well the first day: swimming, eating, pooping. But last night I noticed a good bit of aggression towards the neons in the tank. They tend to stick together, but when one wanders off into the gouramis space, he strikes at the neon. My water parameters all seem to be in check. I have a moderate amount of plants for hiding. Do you think this will settle down after a day or two? I know they can be aggressive towards other males, but I thought I'd be safe putting him with the tetras.

 

[swinneyw]

i have a dwarf gourami with 3 corys 10 neons and 7 rasboras and he don't pay them any attention when the corys get close to him they get out of his way but hes not aggressive when i bought him i picked out the most aggressive one in the tank i figured if he was aggressive he would get to his food faster and he does

 

[illgore_trout]

give him a week or two. when i added my new dwarf gourami to my tank, he was a superjerk for awhile. now he's still territorial, but most of the time he just ignores the other fish.

i had another male in the tank, so i think my tank took a tad longer to settle down. a week should do it. he'll still chase them, but probably won't bite anymore. mine stopped biting

 

[joel.uejio]

I wonder if the tank size could be a factor...what are the dimensions of your 12g?

I have a DG in 20g long with 7 zebra danios and 7 julii corys and he doesn't bother any of them, but I notice that the danios usually give him a wide berth. Might be that your neons are just too close to your DGand he's not havin' it.

 

[sixstringphil]

Well, things seem to have mellowed out, but I'm still keeping an eye on him. My tank dimensions are the the same as a 10 gal, but taller. Since posting this I've had some changes in my parameters. I posted in the planted forum http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208021 regarding cloudiness and a drop in nitrates, but not showing anything harmful and the fish don't seem bothered.

 

[majortank]

Dwarf gouramis can be aggressive at times, especially when food is around IME. I have some tetras and cories with a DG in a 20g tall and he'll chase the tetras around if they come too close. He never catches them since they're too fast so I just ignore it. He's kinda like the sheep herding dog for my tetras, makes sure they all stay together.