quick gourami question

kelly82

kelly82

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Jun 1, 2007
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Lincolnshire, UK
right,in my 3' long tank i have 1 opeline gourami and 2 pearl gourami, with 4 albino corys. unfortunately the opeline bullied and killed the pair of golden gouramis (i know they shouldnt have been housed together but we were assured theyd be fine by the fish store,and couldnt return them in time), both inside a week, but she doesnt seem to even notice the pearls, they just swim right past each other like the other fish dont exist, whereas she chased the goldens on sight every time. my question is that i want to add some other fish to the tank but i dont know what. i dont want anything small, and i would like something to brighten up the tank, something eye catching,and something she cant harrass so easily,we considered a male opeline but dont want to run the risk of it turning into an all out fight in there. any help greatly appreciated.
 
The opAlines bullied gold gouramis or were they honeys? Honeys are obviously a bad choice because they are so small, but the golds would have to be significantly smaller than the opalines since they are both Trichogaster trichopterus aka 3 spot gourami strains.

Pearls are Trichogaster leeri, so being a different species the opaline isn't trying to establish dominance. In all likelihood, based on my experience the opaline and the "goldens" were the same sex. They were probably all males. The opaline was doing what is normal in establish the pecking order. The goldens simply succumbed to it or fought back and lost.

General rule of keeping gouramis:

Different color strains of 3 spot gouramis are all the same, they don't see the color difference unlike people and will attempt to establish dominance.

1.) With 3 spot color strains, I've found 1 male and multiple females work fine. Two or more males will generally be bullies while they fight it out amongst themselves. They are not only trying to gather up the females, but also prevent the other males from getting them.

2.) With the exception of giants and kissers, all gouramis will pretty much ignore other species of gouramis in a tank that gives enough surface area for them to have their own space. They will treat them like any other fish when it comes to defening their territory. It isn't any less or more because the other fish is a gourami.

3) Trios (1M 2F) work best to distribute male aggression.

I currently have a tiny pair of dwarfs in with a trio of pearls 5 times their size and they ignore each other.

Over the course of 35 years, I have kept 3 spots, pearls, dwarfs, thick-lipped, moonlights and honeys all in the same tank without a single loss and no aggression. I have bred all of the above gourami species in addition to bettas. Anabantoids are one of my favorite fish.

With 3 spot strains, it is generally best to put them in the tank all at once or put the old fish in the new fish's tank. You can have trios of multiple color strains i.e. 1 blue, 1 gold, 1 opaline as long as only one is male.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask any other questions you might have.
 
ok,right well i had 1 male 1 female golden gouramis, and 1 female opeline,first the male golden and female opeline attacked and bullied the female golden, she was smaller than both of them even though all were brought at the same time, and they together harrassed her to the point she died,she wasnt allowed out in the open at all, they would both set off full tilt after her round and round the tank,she didnt last long. after she died the male golden and female opeline seemed very close,swimming together,eating together etc, the male would occasionally get a nip from her though couldnt see why,then 2 days ago she turned on him, they were very sinmilar in size, but he didnt fight back, she started chasing him all the time like they both did to the smaller female golden, i was going to return him tomorrow as i couldnt get to the store before then,but this morning i found him tattered and dead. im gutted, im hoping she wont turn on the pearls,and am watching them very closely,but if she does start getting bit big for her boots,the male soon puts her in her place. would getting the female opeline another male opeline help, or do you think she may just be a moody stroppy fish?
 
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ye,at the moment the readings are ph 7.5, ammonia 0, nitrite possibly at most 0.1, nitrate 10
 
Three 3-spotted Gouramis ina 30G w/ 2 Pearls is very tight quarters for a species that likes their space from one another. Couple that with the stress of the cycling and the aggression is bound to happen.

The good news is that until the "opeline" should leave the pearls alone until she grows larger (over 4+ inches), but minor aggression should be expected during feedings times, crossing paths in a small tank w/ territories, etc.
 
Nolapete said:
She just seems to be an overtly aggressive fish. I'm leaning towards she's a misidentified male. A picture would be good.
Click to expand...
Gouramis in particular sure DO seem to have a wide range of personality swings from individual fish to individual fish!!!
 
she has small dorsal fin,small and rounded,and i was told it was definately female,i would add pic but dont know how,can take pic on digital camera and get it onto laptop,but not sure from there. shes bout 3" at the moment.
 
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