female gourami bullying and a female betta question too

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SwerveDriver

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Jul 9, 2004
Messages
51
Location
Toronto, Canada
I have two female red honey gouramis, and one of the females bullies the other. The funny thing is that when I first got them the one being bullied now is the one that originally was a bit of a bully, go figure. My question is do female gouramis fight for territory like the males? I have no male gouramis in the tank. And I'm guessing that I have females because of the roundness to the dorso fin and the fact I haven't seen them make a bubble nest. Everyone talks about male gourami incompatiblilty but why the females? Is this common?

I have separated the two gouramis because the bullied one was probably stressed and didn't eat much, losing some weight and was constipated.

My other question is regarding female bettas and if they would be compatible with my female gourami.

I have a 39gal tank with 4 danios, 6 rasboras, 2 otos.
 
My other question is regarding female bettas and if they would be compatible with my female gourami.
Usually there is agression issues between the two, but it really does depend on the individual fish, as i have personally known some people to mix them with success for years.
Your other questions I am unable to answer though sorry...
 
I've heard female gouramis are very dull in color and many LFS's don't sell them because of this, so maybe you unintentionally picked up two males?
 
I'm not 100% positive I have two females, as I'm only going by what I have read (regarding rounded dorsal fins). Both are pretty much identical. I haven't seen them make a bubble nest yet either.

Separating the two gouramis has helped the one being bullied. When she gets her strength, appetite and weight back I'll try once again whether they can live in harmony. But I just might keep them separated for good.
 
you can also try taking out the larger gourami (if you have another tank) and allowing the other one to establish herself in the tank and then return the other after a few weeks where she will be "the newbie." I've heard of this working before. Oh, and I beleive you would also need to rearrange the tank as well. OR you could just add a ton of hiding places now and that might help prevent the little gourami from getting so stressed because he/she could get away to safe places.
 
Gouramis are one of those types of fish that need a manual. Some mix, some don't and as always, YMMV! As for the female betta, that is a bad idea. Female bettas, like the males, will fight with other fish that resemble them and will nip at nice looking fins. I had two females together in a 50 gal and they tried to tear each other apart. Now, one lives with my Badis with no problems and the other one cannot live with other fish.
 
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