Dwarf Gouramis - always fighting...

Gouramis are quite aggressive fish. Same family as bettas. They also can seem to get along one minute and then go at the next. Generally they work well in a setup that is overcrowded (like in a petstore) or when the tank is large and has lots of places to hide or get away.

If there is room in your 10 gallon then a dwarf will fit fine in it. They can still be nippy with other fish if they feel like they need more space, so keep your eyes on him.
 
A pair also usually means a male/female combo that are bonded. Many species of fish will still be aggressive even towards a female if he has not bonded with her. If you just got a female for your male or vice versa it could take time for them to bond. If you dont see any physical damage to her and she is eating you could give it some time to see if he chills out.
 
Even single dwarf gouramis I have found, are semi aggresive. My Dwarf is consantly instigating fights. Mind you it's rarely more then simple chasing. But still, he tries to be the alpha male but the other bigger fish wont have nothing of it. Mind you every fish is different from the next, even of the same species. I have just expierienced Dwarfs to be semi aggresive, and if they are both males then one will most likely end up dead. Sorry to say.


Ps. If you allready know don't take offence, I'm just telling you if you don't. You can tell males/females apart by the female is less colorfull, almost greyish silver. I hope this helps you and good luck.
 
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They're both red so I'm sure they're both male. I'll be taking one to my 10 gallon. Funny, the more aggressive one doesn't look well.. all splotchy and not doing well...

How can I tell the difference b/w male and female, btw? I wouldn't mind getting a female for my larger tank after this mess is done.
 
Females are hideous ;) Most petstores don't sell them but as mentioned in earlier posts, females and males won't get along if the female dosen't want to mate and in that case they will fight too.
 
MOst likely you would have to special order a female from an online site or some fish stores will add them into orders if they can. You will pay for it and the male and female may still not get along.

I love my dwarf gourami. He is fun to watch but I wouldn't add another to my 20 gallon as he is just too full of himself and I know he would end up attacking any other fish of a simialr size. He already spends a lot of time chasing the flying fox around.
 
If you plan on keeping the , I would suggest Adding at least one more for a group of 3 or more, @ males will battle sometimes, But with Three The Aggression will be Cut down Quite a bit.
 
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