Big Gourami problems

[JohnnyC]

OK so I have a huge problem. I call it huge cause I have no clue of whats goibng on or what to do about it but maybe you guys can shed some light on the situation. Well I am a total newbie when it comes to fish and my girlfriend got me a tank for Valentines day its a very nice looking ten gallon but htats beside the point when we went to get fish at a local store called pet world I picked out a few different fish all community type but when I told theperson there that I was starting a new tank he said that the water had to be cycled first. Ok hood idea right, sure, if he had left it at that instead he said I would need hardy fish that could survive the cycle process so he sold me three powder blue gouramis. Only later did I learn or their temperment and that just having on maybe two in a tank together is all you shold have. Well I got 3 and they were good in the beginning now they are big and just case eachother around alot. They bang into the sides of the tank but the arent dented or buised and the two girls just hide from the boy since he does most of the chasing.

They are showingsigns of extreme stress by turning deep blue when he is picking on them and going back to normal (light powder blue) when he isnt. Anyway my girlfriend and I decided to transfer the boy "freddy" to her tankto chill out seeing as how he would be alone. When I took him over though I noticed that his under side is turning brown. I couldnt see this before when he was in the tank though even though my water is crystal clear and I always keep an eye on all of the level of nitrate and nitrite and everything else. Is this discoloration due to stress and is it developing into fin rot? If so what should I do? I know with proper medication he can heal and he is still very active and "alive" but what about when he goes back in with the other two gouramis? Can I sell him back to the petstore or what? Im in need of alot of help and guidence here. Thanks in advance.

 

[YahooFishKeeper]

i think you need to take them back. you mght be able to keep one.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Are these dwarf gouramis, or normal sized? Are the females gray?-If not, then they are normal blue gouramis which get to about 4", and even the 2 female will probably fight in a 10g.

The pet store should take him back since they only sold them to you to cycle... although many stores don't take fish back. I'm not sure if it's fin rot or anything, but even if it isn't he's just stressing out the females and it won't get any better, so you might as well take him back or relocate him anyways.

 

[fishlover1]

a ten gallon tank is too small for a 3 gouramis. if they are dwarf i suggest to keep one of them and put something else like tetras,dainos,cories, fish that stay small. if they are normal sized then take all of them back because it will out grow your tank.

 

[JohnnyC]

I relocated the boy to my girlfriends tank which contains 2 pink kissers and two black skirt tetras. He has been in there for about two days now and seems to love it. He hasnt chased any of the other fish and isnt demonstrating any of his old characteristics which is good. The girls have been left in my tank and seem to still be stressed. They still hide in the plants and under the rock which I origionally got for them to hide away from the boy. I dont know what to do to get them to relax. maybe add some smaller fish like the tetras?

 

[JohnnyC]

Anybody have any ideas?

 

[Ariaanna]

Cycling with fish is actually pretty bad for them. It stresses them out and shortens their life spans because they're essentially being poisoned. Your fish are stressed because your tank doesn't have the bacteria it needs to control the pollution they produce, which means they're breathing their own waste and the byproducts of their waste. I'm sorry I'm being harsh, but that's essentially what's going on.
This article will explain it all in better detail:
http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_ciclo.php

If you'd like to go ahead and move the rest of your fish into your girlfriend's tank for a week or two so they don't get damaged any further, this article will explain how to complete the cycle without harming any fish:

http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_fishless.php

Nice thing about fishless cycling. . . . it takes less time than it does to cycle WITH fish.

If you don't want to remove your fish, I'd recommend planting the aquarium VERY heavily with plants, as the fish waste nourishes them, and they'll use it before it poisons the fish, and do water changes every other day or so until there are no ammonia or nitrites whatsoever in the water.

If you want to keep all three gouramis, you need to be absolutely positive it is 1 male and 2 females, and maybe if you have enough decor and plants, the male won't harass the females too much. In general, gouramis are very aggressively territorial, and keeping more than one (even if it is male/female) is a risk.

Hope that helped!

(I just realized I'm about a month late, but after browsing through your post history, I've decided to leave this here for you in case you want to learn more.)