Gourami Behavior

[Maltimomma]

I have 2 blue gourami and 2 opaline gourami in my 55 gallon tank. The blues are about 4 tp 5" and opalines are a little smaller. They all used to swim all over the tank, but for about a week now they have been staying pretty much at the top of the tank. They are staying in a group with some chasing and pecking. I know there is one male and I'm fairly sure the others are females. Any thoughts on this behavior?

 

[torres]

I dont keep gourami's but i think they are acting normal. Ive been reading about them a while ago and your tank is big enough to let them get their own spaces/territory. And some chasing pecking is normal, if you see my 5 red eye tetra's its crazy..
But if you see they are really fighting you should do something.
Give a check in your water parameters too!

 

[Ardynas]

Do you know the sexes? What size tank do you have? You can expect the usual flirting and bumping around with some chasing. You could try re-arranging the tank.

At that size you should be able to sex them. The females will have a rounded dorsal fin. The males dorsal comes to a point. The females will have a more rounded stomach since they have an egg sac.

I don't personally like having males chasing everyone all the time. Most females will get along fine even thought when you introduce one to a group (of gourami's) they will still establish a pecking order.

My sweet spot is generally a bunch of females and then carefully blend the male personalities. Generally start with one and maybe add another. Each male will want to become the alpha. YMMV depending on size of tank and cover.

Make a deal with your LFS (if possible) that if you get a fish that's too aggressive for your tank, that you can bring it back for exchange. I've had to return two males. An over aggressive male will probably just irritate you watching him.

 

[Maltimomma]

Do you know the sexes? What size tank do you have? You can expect the usual flirting and bumping around with some chasing. You could try re-arranging the tank.

At that size you should be able to sex them. The females will have a rounded dorsal fin. The males dorsal comes to a point. The females will have a more rounded stomach since they have an egg sac.

I don't personally like having males chasing everyone all the time. Most females will get along fine even thought when you introduce one to a group (of gourami's) they will still establish a pecking order.

My sweet spot is generally a bunch of females and then carefully blend the male personalities. Generally start with one and maybe add another. Each male will want to become the alpha. YMMV depending on size of tank and cover.

Make a deal with your LFS (if possible) that if you get a fish that's too had to return two males. An over aggressive male will probably just irritate you watching him.

It's a 55 gallon tank. I'm sure one of the blues is a male and ones a female. I'm sure one of the opalines is a female and I think the other is a female also. They've all been in this tank for several months and have never behaved like this. I was wondering if they are reaching sexual maturity. It's funny how they chase and peck, but come back close again. Today is parameter checking and pwc changing day and I'll rearrange the tank.

 

[rreekers]

It's a 55 gallon tank. I'm sure one of the blues is a male and ones a female. I'm sure one of the opalines is a female and I think the other is a female also. They've all been in this tank for several months and have never behaved like this. I was wondering if they are reaching sexual maturity. It's funny how they chase and peck, but come back close again. Today is parameter checking and pwc changing day and I'll rearrange the tank.

do you have hiding places for them? tall plants that hit the surface or floating plants seem to work the best with gouramis ( I know that's what stopped mine from that type of behavior. the more.breaks in the line of sight you have the more they will venture freely

 

[NYgiantsRP]

I had 5 gourami in my 65g when I first set it up, and they kind of did the same thing. Then one day I read that they liked shade, so I got a couple of fake floating plants and put them in each corner, and my moonlight and opaline cliamed the shady spots and now they stay at the top and the others (only 2 others now my platinum died) swim around and get along great, UNLESS they try to come into the shady spot!!

 

[NYgiantsRP]

+1 reekers, we pretty much posted the same thing at the same time haha

 

[rreekers]

+1 reekers, we pretty much posted the same thing at the same time haha

yup. I found out they like the shade because they utilize the shady and well lit areas to express/ show their mood. which makes sense if you think about it... IMO

 

[Maltimomma]

Thank you so much everyone. I do have live plants but they do not reach the top. What do you recommend for live floating plants. I don't want anything that will eventually take over my tank. I have medium lights. What live plants that will grow tall enough? I've made the mistake of buying a few plants lately that aren't truly aquatic and they ain't cheap LOL.

 

[KaylNeko]

I like my hornwort, but it does shed needles so they just need vacumned up when you do a PWC. Grows fast but not 'overtake the tank' fast. Some folks use frogbit, dwarf lettuce (I'd love to find some of this), water sprite. Duckweed is a possibility but will take over your tank very quickly. Any floater will continue to grow, so when it gets to be more than you want, just pull out a handful and chuck it (or put it in another tank =P )

For height, with medium lights, Vallisneria, water onion, swords like amazon sword, anacharis, wisteria, and a lot of stem plants (like ludwigia or bacopa) would work. I'm sure others can come up with other plants--those are just the ones that spring to mind *lol*