Aggressive sparkling gourami

[Fishymishy]

I noticed that one of the two sparkling gouramis is constantly chasing Cardinal tetras. He harasses them and chases after then until they get out of the way. I am not sure what to do. Did he establish a territory!? I saw him chase honey gourami too but he seems to be mostly bothering tetras now. Will this pass or should I get a new tank for the sparklers?

[Fishymishy]

The tank is 23 gallon, lots of plants. But it’s a cube like tank so not much length wise. I am willing to invest in a 21 gallon long UNS but want to make sure that I absolutely have to before i do that

[Andy Sager]

Originally Posted by Fishymishy

The tank is 23 gallon, lots of plants. But it’s a cube like tank so not much length wise. I am willing to invest in a 21 gallon long UNS but want to make sure that I absolutely have to before i do that

Fish aggression is usually a sign of territorial claim, mate protection or egg protection. If your fish has not spawned, your fish may be doing the territorial thing and if the tetras and other fish obey his territorial claim, things should be fine. If not, things could get worse. If your fish spawned, it may do you well to remove either the other fish or the spawn. If you want to keep the spawn, you would be best to set them up in a separate breeder tank for the next spawn as at some point, you are going to have to remove the parents ( female first then the male later) in order for the fry to not get eaten by them.

[Fishymishy]

Leaning towards getting another tank and moving these two sparklers. I have heard that they can go after shrimp. Would it be a bad idea to have a shrimp tank with just these two?

[Colin_T]

shrimp should be fine with sparkling gouramis

[Andy Sager]

Adult shrimp should be fine but like with any fish, a shrimp larvae would be a tasty meal. If your plan is to breed the shrimp, you might want to think twice.

[Colin_T]

if you breed anything in an aquarium, make it a single species tank.