gourami tank madness

[adblair]

I have a 55g. tank with 5 gouramis, a clown loach, a butterfly loach, and a couple of otos. (yes this is the same tank that had ich not long ago, but I added the otos and butterfly loach back in) The gouramis vary in size from a dwarf that is about 1 inch to a male blue gourami that is about 2.5 inches. In addition to the blue male, two of the other gouramis (I think) are blue females (both around 2 inches long). The problem is that yesterday he built a HUGE bubble nest and turned a beautiful deep navy blue color. BUT he was severely picking on any fish that came on the side of the tank where the nest was. Even the ones I think are females were chased chased away. Is this normal behavior? I destroyed the bubble nest thinking that might help with the aggression. It helped some, but he still has been bullying the other fish. Have I just made a mistake by trying to keep these fish together? The tank is moderately planted with crypts, frill, and foxtail.
Any suggestions?

 

[OrionGirl]

Very typical behavior from a male that's in the mood. He will defend that nest from everything--and he's likely to rebuild it. If the females are in condition to spawn, they will be courted over, then chased away as soon as they've released the eggs. They won't be allowed back over by the nest, or near the fry once they hatch.

As long as there is enough space for the other fish to get away from the male, everyone should be okay. He can be a bully during this time, and if the females are not in condition, they could be injured if they can't avoid him. But, with plants and decorations to hide behind, it should work out--you'll just need to monitor. Mine did okay in a 40 that was heavily planted, and they never hurt anyone.

 

[adblair]

So should I continue to destroy the nest? I don't really care either way about having babies, but I don't want him to hurt the other fish because he is protecting the nest. It would get a little bothersome having to watch for and destroy a nest every day.
Today his colors are lighter, but the color of one of the females is slightly darker and they have been feeling each other with their feelers and wiggling in front of each other all morning. The darker female has been chasing away the other female, in addition to the male chasing her away. There is no nest currently, but he probably will try to rebuild. I can't move the other fish out of that tank, but I could move them to a smaller tank if that is what would be best.
One other question, if they DO have fry, will the male eat them when they start to hatch?

 

[OrionGirl]

With a community tank, you likely won't end up with any survivers, despite his best efforts. He won't eat them, but the other fish likely will. You can always mjust increase the surface water movement a bit, and this will deter him. Moving them to another tank will likely result in surviving fry--put them in til you see the eggs in the bubble nest, then put the female back in the main tank. Add some java moss and a corner sponge filter , get the tank cycled, move them over. When the fry hatch, you'll need to feed them a bit--infusoria, as well as what they can hunt from the java moss.