Dwarf Gouramis are nuts

[Aido97]

Last week I bought a flame red dwarf gourami, hes been getting on great and has settled well in my tank. But today I bought two more, both males. As soon as I introduced them to the tank my first gourami "Buster" as I like to call him went nuts. Hes been chasing both of them around for hours now, taking nips at them. The two new fish get along fine and even swim alongside each other, but Buster isnt liking them one bit. I want to know if this is a just a temporary thing or not. Will he settle with them after a day or two? Or is this going to be a fight to the death? Is there any way for me to stop him bullying them?

 

[Yumar]

What tank Size? Usually 3 mal e gouramis is a receipe 4 disaster

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[Aido97]

Its a 50 gallon tank

 

[Aido97]

I dont know why they are fighting because they werent fighting in the shop and that was a smaller tank had about 15 of them.

 

[emilygupps]

I had two males in a 30 and the red one chased the blue one relentlessly. I ended up rehoming them both to a guy who planned to separate them.


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[Aido97]

what should I do

 

[emilygupps]

Separate them? Who is your favorite? You could move (or rehome the aggressive one) but eventually those other two will probably fight too.

If I knew then what I know now I would have only got one and left it at that.


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[Aido97]

I dont have another tank to separate them with. [mod edit] I wish they could get along.

 

[azmodan]

Gourami males very typically won't tolerate each other once they've reached sexual maturity. Adding more decor/plants could help but I agree that your best option is to rehome some and not just hope they get along.

 

[absolutangel04]

I will also have to add that I think you should separate them. Sometimes males will do together with enough space, but often times they do not. Depends on the individual fish and situation.
Stores stock animals very different than you do in display tank because 1) it is temporary and 2) the fish are usually acquired young before sexual maturity brings about territorial aggression like in later adulthood.

 

[Aido97]

My tank has very little plants and stuff in it. Its kinda empty at the moment, should I give furnishing a bit more a go? Thanks for all the replys guys, I appreciate it.

 

[MaffooJ]

Like what azmodan said, making large walls of plants and decor to separate them can help if you really don't want to rehome it. Like everyone else, best option is rehome them.

 

[absolutangel04]

So, if you would like to try re-furnishing the tank, feel free. Just keep in mind, stress kills fish. Even if one fish is not directing doing fatal damage to another, one fish bullying another is NOT good for the overall health of a fish. Some are more tolerant of it than others. If you want to try adding more decor, I suggest doing it quickly to see how it goes. You can try some cave type things, those can give a place to escape. Gouramis (ime) seem to like floating plants as well. There is driftwood (and fake dirftwood) that looks great in tanks. I would go see what is available. One thing that can be tough is finding plants that are tall enough, they tend to be sold at small sizes. Another thing you can try is rearranging everything that is currently in the tank. Sometimes that makes for a break in bullying while the fish re-establish boundaries. It is rarely a long term fix, but it can help sometimes.

 

[Aido97]

I woke up this morning and had a look at the three gouramis. It seems like theyve calmed down, they chase each other a bit now and then but they arent really fighting or taking nips at each other. I think they might be settling in with each other, hopefully. Im going to add more plants to the tank anyway.

 

[Hulka9]

3 male gouramis in an aquarium is no bueno

 

[absolutangel04]

I woke up this morning and had a look at the three gouramis. It seems like theyve calmed down, they chase each other a bit now and then but they arent really fighting or taking nips at each other. I think they might be settling in with each other, hopefully. Im going to add more plants to the tank anyway.

I hope it is indeed working our for you. Sometimes fish do chill once they have a pecking order established.
I just want to point out something, not chasing doesn't mean getting along. The boss fish can still make life pretty miserable for the subordinate fish by bossing them into corners and not letting them freely use the tank. I have seen fish die slowly from stress in situations like that. I am not saying this is what is happening to you, because I am not there to see it. Just to keep an eye out on the situation. I am somewhat skeptical that you will have 3 males getting along well and happily for life in a scantly decorated tank, so I am glad you are still adding more plants and whatnot. Fish are individuals and sometimes things work that other people said wouldn't work. But also, better safe than sorry. If it was me, I would honestly still rehome a fish or 2 unless you can get it pretty densely planted and are positive things will work out.