Gourami & Molly fighting - What to do?

[jkoven1]

hello,

i'm a complete newbie to this so bear with me...

i bought a small 1 gallon fresh water fish tank a few days ago. I decorated the tank with some gravel, a plant, and mini treasure chest. i added a male dwarf gourami to the tank and let him get settled.

after 2 full days in the tank i added a dalmatian molly. right away the gourami started chasing the smaller molly and became aggressive. the molly seemed quite frightened but was never in much danger b/c the molly is much faster and both fish generally stayed away from one another.

the next day (today) i woke up to find the molly now attacking the gourami by nipping at his back fin. the gourami is pacing while the molly has become aggressive. im not sure of the gender of the molly

does anyone have any ideas? should i let this continue or remove a fish? if so, which fish?

thanks

 

[missileman]

Both fish can be terratorial and 1 gallon is not big enough to keep them both in.

 

[jkoven1]

so should i remove both fish? or can i keep one and add another friendly fish?

if i need to remove both, any recommendations on fish that can get along in a small tank?

 

[asudavew]

For a 1 gallon tank, I fish is plenty.

Did you cycle the tank?

 

[jkoven1]

well i really want more than one fish, and i was told at the pet store i could have 2-3 small fish in this tanks... hmmm....

right now, the molly is still nipping the gourami but the gourami has started to fight back a bit too.

i haven't cycled the tank, i read a little about this. can you explain?

 

[missileman]

General rule of thumb is 1" of fish per gallon. Both of those fish will grow to 2"to3" so technically your tank is too small for either one, but with regular maintanance you can get away with one of them by themselfs.
If you want a couple of fish get rid of both and get something smaller like neon tetra.
These are tropical fish, does your tank have a heater?

 

[jkoven1]

no heater, just a undergravel filter and a small light bulb

 

[missileman]

You need to keep the water temp in the mid to upper 70* range for tropical fish. They make a heating mat that sits under small tanks like yours or a small in tank heater 30 watt or so.

 

[jkoven1]

any other fish that i can add more than one of? without buying a heater

 

[missileman]

Bloodfin Tetra can stand temps to the low 60s
Maybe some guppy's
Alot of people keep goldfish but they will outgrow the tank.

 

[asudavew]

If your house always stays in the 70's then tropical fish should be fine.

Cycling your tank takes time. Your tank has to build up bacteria that eat fish waste. Ammonia from fish waste is highly toxic to your new friends. And it can easily kill them. Be careful here! Gourami's are really to big for a one gallon tank. Neons, as suggested early, would work well or some guppies.

But you should really research fishless cycling of your tank.

 

[jkoven1]

ok so i'll have to remove at least one of these fish or both if i want to add more than one...

can anyone direct to me to a good source of tank cycling? keeping in mind i have a small 1 gallon tank and i'm a novice, thank ypu

 

[missileman]

here is a link to a rather long article on cycling an aquarium.
Aquarium Nitrogen cycle and cycling. Methods for ammonia, nitrite removal.

 

[asudavew]

Here you go.
I hope this helps.
And good luck!
It's a great hobby!

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/fishless-cycling-for-dummies-103339.html