My Blue Gourami was the first fish I put in my 55 gallon after it finished cycling. I have been slowly introducing new fish over the last few months, but the Gourami has always been my favorite fish. Very peaceful, he has always kept to himself (and has gotten fat). Well today I decided to buy a Opaline and Dwarf Gourami. Blue went nuts, all he has done is chase them since I put them in there. He will chase one, stop to take a breath at the surface and then chase the other one. Round and round the tank - the other fish have hidden ever since it began. Help!! Will this calm down after they have been in together for a while? Any advise?
Ooops! Campatability Issue?
- Thread starter jclark
- Start date
Gouramis (especially the common Blue and Gold varieties) are one of those fish that really have a personality that differs from one individual to another. Some are fine with others of their kind, other go nuts and try to attack anything that goes near them. Sounds like you've got yourself a nice little territorial one who's not too pleased with the idea of other Gouramis entering his tank.
How long have the new Gouramis been in the tank? There's always a chance that the chasing will die down once he's gotten his dominance established, but I wouldn't count on it unless it's only been a day. Another thing you can do is remove the three Gouramis and rearrange the tank completely. After you're done, place all three back in a the same time. This'll put them all in the same situation with no established territories and allow for each of them to find a new spot to call their own. Your Blue Gourami may consider the entire tank his "spot" so by taking away what he's used to, he can't defend it anymore.
If you're still having problems after that, I'd suggest either setting up a new tank for your new Gouramis or finding them a new home. I know it's not the best answer, but it'll be for the better of the fish; sometimes Gouramis can get so aggressive that they'll prevent the others from eating and they'll starve to death. Not fun.
Sorry that was so long, hope it help!
How long have the new Gouramis been in the tank? There's always a chance that the chasing will die down once he's gotten his dominance established, but I wouldn't count on it unless it's only been a day. Another thing you can do is remove the three Gouramis and rearrange the tank completely. After you're done, place all three back in a the same time. This'll put them all in the same situation with no established territories and allow for each of them to find a new spot to call their own. Your Blue Gourami may consider the entire tank his "spot" so by taking away what he's used to, he can't defend it anymore.
If you're still having problems after that, I'd suggest either setting up a new tank for your new Gouramis or finding them a new home. I know it's not the best answer, but it'll be for the better of the fish; sometimes Gouramis can get so aggressive that they'll prevent the others from eating and they'll starve to death. Not fun.
Sorry that was so long, hope it help!
Wow, thanks for the fast reply. Actually the 2 new ones have only been in there for about 30 minutes, so maybe it will calm down. It is just shocking to see such a peaceful fish go crazy on it's own kind. I had read a thread somewhere by a guy who had a tank with several kinds of Gouramis that had never had a problem, so I thought I was safe. I'm going to give it some time and hopefully the Opaline and Dwarf will make it, if not I'll try to change the tank around and see if that helps. I love this site... Thanks again!
Keep an eye on them over the next few hours to see how they do.
I know my Rainbows will chase anything first put in the tank, but calm down after 10 minutes or so when they lose interest. I've had Gouramis that go up to new fish and poke them with their feelers to get a sense of them. So like I said, if it continues for more than a few hours, it'll incredibly stressful on the new fish. Yet if your Blue is just saying "Hey, I'm the dominant one in this neck of the woods", it should die down within the hour.
I know my Rainbows will chase anything first put in the tank, but calm down after 10 minutes or so when they lose interest. I've had Gouramis that go up to new fish and poke them with their feelers to get a sense of them. So like I said, if it continues for more than a few hours, it'll incredibly stressful on the new fish. Yet if your Blue is just saying "Hey, I'm the dominant one in this neck of the woods", it should die down within the hour.
Yeah he has kind of been the "King Fish". He usually just wacks new fish with his feelers when they are first introduced, and seems like he will intentionally swim right through the path of my Bala Sharks, just so they will have to move out of his way. Plus he is the largest fish in the tank.
I'm gonna watch them and if they are still getting picked on I will try to change up the tank tonight while I am doing a water change. Hopefully I wont have to get rid of them.
On an entertaining note - every time Blue starts chasing one, my Clown Loach will swim up and join the chase. He will follow them a few laps around the tank and then just drop back down to the bottom like nothing ever happened.
Thanks again for the help.
I'm gonna watch them and if they are still getting picked on I will try to change up the tank tonight while I am doing a water change. Hopefully I wont have to get rid of them.
On an entertaining note - every time Blue starts chasing one, my Clown Loach will swim up and join the chase. He will follow them a few laps around the tank and then just drop back down to the bottom like nothing ever happened.
Thanks again for the help.
Well rearranging the tank did not work last night. At that point there wasn't much I could do, My daughter has a 10 gallon aquarium, but it has goldfish in it and doesn't have a heater. My son has a 20 gallon that I just filled and hasn't finished cycling, so I figured it would kill them it I put them in there.
The situation has calmed down a bit today though. He will chase them a bit if they come anywhere near him, but not too far and he doesn't seem to be searching for them to chase now. One thing that worries me is that he bit a chunk out of the Dwarfs tail fin. They both are getting plenty of food, during feeding Blue doesn't pay any attention to them.
I'm hoping it continues to calm down as time passes as they are such beautiful fish and I want them all, but my wife will kill me in my sleep if I tell her we have to buy another aquarium right now.
The situation has calmed down a bit today though. He will chase them a bit if they come anywhere near him, but not too far and he doesn't seem to be searching for them to chase now. One thing that worries me is that he bit a chunk out of the Dwarfs tail fin. They both are getting plenty of food, during feeding Blue doesn't pay any attention to them.
I'm hoping it continues to calm down as time passes as they are such beautiful fish and I want them all, but my wife will kill me in my sleep if I tell her we have to buy another aquarium right now.
Have you sexed the gouramis? The dwarf is easy as I'm sure you know, brighter colours are males, duller more grey ones are females. The blue and opaline can be sexed by their dorsal fin - generally a pointed dorsal is a male, and a rounded dorsal a female. If they're all males, this may be the key to the aggression. The only thing I could suggest without having to take the new gouramis out is make sure there are as many hiding places as possible - the sooner the dwarf and opaline can build up their own territory, the better. If they're not all males then I'm sure as plecocollector said, it'll be the blue trying to assert its dominance and show the other two who's been there longer, I've had similar problems in the past and generally it's always died down! But gouramis are as unpredictable as the next fish so it depends on the individual - if it doesn't die down, then you'll have to separate them as pleco collector said.
Yeah, they are all males. It seems to come and go. Last night he was totally ignoring the other 2 unless they came close to him then he would lung at them, but not really chase them. This morning he was chasing them again. Looks like I am probably going to have to separate them as soon as my other tank cycles a little longer.
Any suggestions on the Dwarfs tail fin? It has a small chunk torn out of it. I've heard there are treatments for fin damage, but don't know much about them.
Any suggestions on the Dwarfs tail fin? It has a small chunk torn out of it. I've heard there are treatments for fin damage, but don't know much about them.
MELAFIX! It's the fish-healing god of all things. Seriously, grab some of that stuff, follow the directions, and you'll see the difference. It's a natural healer and it smells amazing, so not only will your fish grow back his fins, but you'll have a nice smelling fish tank.
I've used it a bunch of times, most recently on a Walmart-bought female Betta who was looking pretty shabby. In two weeks her fins were beautiful.
It's the fish-healing god of all things. Seriously, grab some of that stuff, follow the directions, and you'll see the difference. It's a natural healer and it smells amazing, so not only will your fish grow back his fins, but you'll have a nice smelling fish tank. I've used it a bunch of times, most recently on a Walmart-bought female Betta who was looking pretty shabby. In two weeks her fins were beautiful.