Help!! Kissing Gouramis are TOO aggressive

[xxlilmaryxx]

hey all!
im new to this forum and im in desperate need of major advice and help..

i have a 60 gallon tank that has a pair of parrot fish, a pair of black ghosts, a pair of kissing gouramis, and a pair of albino plecostomus (sp?)...

however, my kissing gouramis have been wayy too aggressive lately... they bigger of the two keeps nipping at the smaller one's tail and fins to the point where it's shredding.. he also chases the other one around the tank constantly.. i tried separating them but then the smaller one starts to pick on the other fishes in the tank..

my questions are... is this normal? how can i stop the kissing gouramis from being tank bullies? and is it possible to have the gouramis stop being aggressive?

im on the verge of selling both of the pink gouramis to the pet store if this keeps persisting and i cant correct the problem.. any comments would be greatly appreciated!! thank you all!

 

[snapcrackler]

I had a big pink kisser and sold him to LFS because it was a real "butt". The pink kissers are supposedly semi-aggressive but mine was a real pain in the you know what, chasing, chomping, being mean, and generally making me annoyed.
Here's a little blurb on them

Compatibility
Peaceful with similar sized fish, but will eat smaller fish. Kissers will tolerate their own kind, but sometimes will quarrel.

I wonder if they kiss their meals before they eat them.

Good luck with your angry kissers... I wish I knew better how to help, perhaps you could send them to a counselor and they will "kiss" and make up...

 

[madasafish]

They're also TOO big!!! They grow to 10 inches. Even a 60G isn't big enough for them. Trade them in for some Firemouths (max 6"), and you can have a South American Biotope!

 

[ferret]

Somehow I don't think firemouths will solve the aggression issue

 

[lmw80]

I had 2 kissing gouramis that I had to trade back because they were too aggressive for my tank. I agree with madasafish that they need a bigger tank. Especially with 2 of them. There is not enough room for them to feel they have safely staked out territory, so they will be aggressive trying to defend what little area they can. You may want to trade them in for another type of gourami...pearl, blue, etc.

 

[madasafish]

Firemouths aren't that bad, actually. Often cracked up to be more aggressive than they actually are. But I'd probably go with larger gourami spp., nonetheless.