Added 3 new Gourami's Help please...

[pondmom]

Went to the LFS last night and bought 3 new fish to put in my 125gal tank with my 3 Angels.
They are freaked!! I thought they would pick on my angels but it's the other way around. The Angels are picking on these Gourami's. Mind you, the Gourami's are about 3".
Is this normal? The skid across the tank and hide behind the filters. I just hope they don't hurt themselves.
Never had this type of fish. any suggestions??

Thanks always

 

[Terry]

Your Angels are cichlids and are very territorial, What you have done is put the Gourami's in the Angel fishes territory and they are telling them who's the boss. I would keep an eye on them, hopefully your angel fish will leave them alone after a while. But they might not, so keep an eye on them and see how the Gourami's are fairing.
You could try taking the Angels out for a while, moving the decor around a bit and then put them back. By doing that you are putting the Angels in the Territory of the Gourami's.

But that might not work.
If the Angels keep harassing the Gourami's that will totally stress them out and that could lead to other things (whitespot, Ick etc. etc.).

 

[jasonit]

You might clean the tank and move the plants and rocks around a bit. That way the Angels will feel that they are in new territory and quit being so aggressive.

 

[nguyen27]

Hi,
I'm looking to add like 2-4 kissing Gourami into a 54gals tank which already got 2 gold severums and a jewel cichlid in it, it is a good idea to do this? The severum is about 1", and the jewel is bit longer.
Thanks

 

[TankGirl]

Pondmom- I would think in a tank that size they would be able to sort out some territories. I put one dwarf gourami in with 4 angels in a 55 and there was some nipping but they worked it out, though it was hairy for a couple of days.

Do you have plenty of hiding places, especially tall plants, real or fake, and tall driftwood or something that comes up to the surface? The gouramis mainly reside in the upper strata, for bubblenest building, so they will feel safer if there is a structure close to the surface where they can hang out, and not be forced to go to the middle or lower regions. Good luck!

 

[guppylove]

angles are like that my to think they rule my tank but my 2 gourami soon settled in and now they give as good as they get dont for get you have just put them in they need time to settle in give it time if they still pick on them then chain your tank and then they will all think they are in new tank...good luck hope it all gos well...

 

[pondmom]

Thanks for the replies.

One of the Gourami's is starting to come out. As soon as the angel draws near, the gourami will nip back.
The other 2 are still hanging out behind the hoses.
I would like to get plants(real) but not sure what is easy to grow with little light.
I'm always open for suggestions!!
Thanks
pondmom

 

[TankGirl]

For live plants I would say java fern, java moss, and anubias, or crypts. However, none of these are going to provide the cover that the gouramis are going to need until they get established. I would recommend getting some nice tall silk plants for cover and as your real plants fill in and grow, you remove the silk (that's what I did!). Even now, my gourami likes to hang out in the tall grass (fake, the only fake thing in there now) that goes all the way up to the surface. I won't remove that since he really favors it as a reatreat from the angel.

 

[ferret]

Hi,
I'm looking to add like 2-4 kissing Gourami into a 54gals tank which already got 2 gold severums and a jewel cichlid in it, it is a good idea to do this? The severum is about 1", and the jewel is bit longer.
Thanks

The jeweled cichlid will get upwards to 5 inches, while the gold severums and pink kissing gouramis can both get upwards to 12 inches and possibly larger. You may want to keep that in mind. Off the top of my head though, I do not recall any of these 3 species being particularily aggressive.